We had a bit of wave action the first few hundred yards. I struggled to the first 2 buoys, getting discombobulated and slightly dizzy, before finally settling in. Even then, I took it pretty slow until I finally felt comfortable. After that, it was mostly uneventful. A couple of times, it got a bit crowded when waves behind caught up, but otherwise, I felt like I was swimming alone. My time was significantly better than I anticipated, given the rough start, and 2 minutes faster than my 2007 GCT race, which makes it my fastest legitimate swim at that distance (I don't consider Augusta legitimate). Finally, I think my swim is making progress, and it's beginning to show.

If I hadn't let the waves at the start get to me, I probably could have shaved a minute or so off my time.

Given that my T1 time in 2007 was over 8 minutes, I would say this is a huge improvement. I ran from the beach to my bike and was very methodical about putting myself together for the ride.

Just need to cut my wetsuit so I can pull it off faster.

I would have liked a wee bit faster on the bike, but I think the wind probably sucked back a couple of minutes. I felt strong and as if I was riding fairly hard from start to finish. The "detours" helped to break up the wind some, which was mostly a crosswind on 79, but really hit us in the face when we came back along the beach. I had to pee for a lot of the ride, and finally hit a porta-john right before the last stretch on 79 (about 15 miles or so to go). Wow! I've never peed that much in a race. Apparently, I was doing a good job with hydration.

Despite wanting to see a time about 3 minutes or so faster, I don't think this ride could have been better. Effort felt perfect.

My 2007 T2 was in the 4-minute range. Yeah. Much improved.

Nada.

Ah...the run. It has been my nemesis for much of triathlon and no more so than at the half ironman distance. Rarely do I feel as if I run to my potential. I felt good about my first run at GCT in 2007 (2:29), but I knew that I could run a stronger pace. Well, I finally did. I walked the first couple of minutes 'cause I wanted to get a gel in me, but after that I settled in. The miles started clicking off, and I was thrilled I was able to keep it under 10 min/mile pace...in the past, I could barely pull off 11 min/mile, if that. Again, I felt great, in control, and strong. I was passing people, and only walking the water stops to make sure I got hydrated and cooled. For a bit, I thought I might scooch in under 6 hours (2:06 run), but started to slow with 5k left to go. That was okay, though. I don't think this run could have been better.

Skip the potty, but really this was just about perfect for me.

I crossed the finish line, got through the phalynx of medals, water, towels, chip removal, picture...and then, burst into tears. No Richard. Found some friends to hug, drank water and a beer.


Just the challenging start to the swim...other than that, I think it went just as well as it could.