Unlike last year, I did NOT have an open water panic attack on the first leg. I calmly waded into the water and got going and got into a good rythm fairly quickly. Getting to the first rounding buoy seemed like it took forever, but strangely the second (and longest) leg of the triangle didn't feel as long. When I was done it didn't feel like I had been swimming for a half-hour. Open water swims are so different than pool swims. I guess it has to do with actually going somewhere as opposed to going back and forth a number of times, and also not looking up at the interval clock all the time.

This year I decided not to wear a heart rate monitor at all during the race. I think wearing one under my suit was a major contributor to the panic attack I had last year, as my chest always feels constricted when I'm wearing one. And I was more comfortable not just on the swim but on the other legs, too. In a 5+ hour race comfort is a good thing.

Nothing. Very pleased with my performance.

27/76 AG, 157/410 overall
T1 went about as well as could be expected. I stripped my suit down to my waist before I hit the swim timing pad, and I didn't have trouble finding my bike (I had done some practice run-in from the swim area before the race to figure out how to find my row). Sat down to get in my socks and shoes and as I did, I hit my front tire and knocked my helmet and (clear) sunglasses down. So, I just put them on while I was sitting - no worries. I also took the time to put on my headsweat - again with the comfort.


Nothing - this went pretty well.

Due to construction on one of the causeway bridges over Lake Anna, the bike course was completely different this year. Last year's course was pretty hilly, and that - combined with the windy conditions - made for a pretty slow ride for me (3:06, 17.9 avg MPH last year).

I did not have time to come down and check out this year's course, so I didn't really know what to expect. The course started out with a 3 or so mile hill coming out of the State Park, and then onto nearby roads north of the park. At about mile 10 my average MPH was over 19 and seeming to rise. I was pleased, but not overly confident given I knew nothing about the rest of the course. At around mile 18, my avg MPH was 19.6 and I was beginning to wonder given all the gradual-to-moderate downhills we had hit, when we were going to have to "pay the piper" (hit some hills - had to happen because the course was a loop). There a few small hills and one moderate one. I had to hit the small chain ring for that moderate one, but it was not that long and really wasn't a big deal at all.

I finished the first 28 miles in 1:26 or so with an average MPH of 19.4. I was tickled by this as I was on pace to beat my bike time from last year by 10 minutes or more. On the second lap I actually felt a lot stronger. Somehow, I hit my stride on the bike at about 30 miles - I've felt this in my training rides this spring as well. The second lap turned out to be a bit faster than the first, and when I came to the dismount line and hit my garmin stop button I saw that I had come in about 12/13 minutes faster than last year. I was totally pumped, because the bike is my weakest leg and I knew that I was primed to do significantly better than last year on the run. I knew then that beating 5:30 was a definite possibility as long as I could keep the cramps away on the run.

One footnote about the ride: There one or two peletons of very fast riders who blew by me, all of whom had very expensive bikes. What the hell? I have never seen so much drafting going on in any race in the four years I've been doing triathlons. I mean, if you have the coin to shell out on an expensive bike there should be no reason to draft like that. I saw that there were some drafting penalties doled out, but there should have been a hell of a lot more among the fasties given what I saw out there. Play by the rules people!

Win the lottery and get a better bike.

33/76 AG, 216/410 overall
T2 did not go as well. I got my bike racked OK, but for some reason my brain was just not focused on the task at hand. After I got my Garmin transferred to my wrist strap, I took off, still wearing my glasses. I ran back and dropped them off, and as I was running out again I realized that I had forgotten my race belt with my running bib. When I went back to get it I went down the wrong row and had to figure out where my transition space was again. Once I grabbed my race belt took off again and put the belt on while running, and then switched my Garmin into Run mode , both before hitting the transition timing mat. I left a good 60 seconds on the table here with this T2. I probably should have practiced this - I had time before the race.


Practice before the race.

Since last year's race, where I came in at 1:58, I have run two marathons, coming close to BQ'ing on the second one. I have improved my running ability a lot since last May. I was expecting to be able to significantly improve my run leg time this year, but the only thing I thought might trip me up would be cramping.

This spring I did one brick where I didn't hydrate enough on the bike and had significant cramping issues on the run. So, during the race I made sure to take on a lot of liquids during the bike. I went through 2 20oz bottles of HEED and 2 20oz bottles of water. My stomach felt a bit sloshy, but that was the same feeling I had on my last brick where I hydrated properly and did not cramp on the run.

One side-effect of properly hydrating is the need to - well, relieve yourself during the run. It occurred to me before the race that the best way to do so would not be to use port-a-potties which might have lines, but rather use the clubhouse facility (because the run course goes right by the entrance to the bathrooms). Pretty much immediately after exiting transition, the run course went by the clubhouse, and I quickly availed myself of the facility. No line, quick in and out - it's good to be a guy :)

After that I went out and hit the first big hill. The run is three loops of a fairly hilly course, so you get the pleasure of hitting hitting both of the big hills twice. I felt pretty strong going up and managed to not dip below 9min/mile. After that there is a long downhill stretch where I was able to average about 7:45/mile. Then at the second hill I dipped below 9min/mile for a bit. By the end of the first lap my average was about 8:09/mile. I was on pace for about a 1:46, if only the cramps would stay away.

During the second and third laps I did not feel crampy at all. I did, however, have a strange pain in my left ankle. I don't really know where this came from, but it could have been due to the fact that I wore an older pair of running shoes. I didn't have my new running shoes set up with elastic laces, and I was reluctant to do so and use them for the first time on race day. So I went with a pair that already had Lock Laces on.

I started my final push at about half-way through the third lap, just after climbing the second hill for the last time. On the flat-to-uphill portion I was at just under 8min/mile, and then after I made the final turn to the all-downhill last 1.5 miles I was sustaining about 7:30/mi. As I hit the downhill wooded trail on the last .4 of the last loop, I really picked it up a lot and sprinted as hard as I could for the last .2 of a mile. As I crossed the finish line I did the math and figured I had come in at about 5:17 or so, and let out a big guttoral "YEAH!!!!" as I did. I had a hard time catching my breath, and I was hyperventilating for a bit. The volunteer (a boy) who was handing out the medals looked at me like he thought I was going to keel over and die. After about a minute I had collected myself enough to get my medal and get a post-race picture. I haven't seen it yet but I'm sure that picture will be entertaining to look at ;-)

Nothing

Very well run race. I will probably email the race director about the bike peletons though. It is aggravating to see so many people flouting the rules when I was trying to obey them.