This swim was typical. The sprint men started in the first wave, the sprint women in the second and then it was us, the Olympic men. I really took it easy on this swim as my times in training have been much quicker. Even the time on my ½ IM was at a faster pace. I am not sure what to say about it being so slow, but it is what it is.

I really did not like the way they organized the waves. Within about five minutes I hit the female sprint breaststrokers and a couple of minutes later I hit the male sprint breaststrokers. I really got knocked around trying to weave my way through those two groups. I never really got run over from the waves behind us.

I never did find a set of feet to hang on to. I was sighting like a pro as the course was a very large triangle and the buoys were about 250 meters apart. That made for a really tough site and I had to depend somewhat on the people around me, hoping they were going in the right direction.

I did the first loop without problems and I came into the boat ramp after finishing my second loop feeling pretty good. I was a little tired, but nothing too bad. I skipped the strippers because they were not very good at their job.

I should have found a pair of feet to draft.

This time is deceptive as there is a half mile run after the finish of the swim up to T1 along a dirt road. I ran up the boat ramp, started stripping my wetsuit and got the roughest cramp in my right calf. I never get cramps, so this was really new to me. I took about 10 seconds to stretch it out a little and it seemed to go away. I started putting on my shoes and there it was again. I think my wife got a picture of me in mid-cramp. Finally got my shoes on and run up to T1.

Actual time in T1 was 1:24, which I will take any day.



Nothing.

This course was a modified two loop course. The first seven miles were an out section and then we turned around and followed the same road for about two miles. We turned up on a great .25 mile hill that was about an 8% grade up and then turned onto the main highway and went down all the elevation we had gained on the first section of the course. You went back towards the state park and at the ranger station, turned around and did it again.

Man did this not go according to plan. I really wanted to average about 21 mph on the bike and it obviously did not happen. This was a tough course and it showed across the board in the times of all the Olympic competitors. The times were on average slower than last year on the bike because of the course change.

I started off fairly strong, but soon realized that the wind had kicked up to a head wind on the out portion of the course. Then I realized that with the course changes the first seven miles of the course were uphill. On my training rides I will average anywhere between 19 and 21 mph. On the first section of the course I was averaging about 16 mph. This part was tough on me mentally. I had a goal of 1:10 on the bike, but I did not realize that the course was as tough as it was.

I am not complaining – the course was tough, but manageable. There were some fun parts of the course. At one point on the big downhill, I hit 50 mph. I rode a 12/25 cassette because of the hills I knew were on the course, so I did not have gearing big enough to push above about 36 mph. I hit 50 because the hill was a 10% grade for about .25 miles.

The first loop went fine. I got passed by a ton of people and I passed more. The stragglers from the sprint were on the same course and so while I was getting passed by the hammerheads, I had to be careful to not run over the slower people from the sprint. The second loop was much better because the crowds had thinned a little.

There was one guy that I kept leapfrogging with. At one point I said something to him about it in a very nice way and I believe he thought I was ragging on him. He yelled a couple of words that I don’t really understand and I let him complete his pass. When he finished I passed him and left him in the dust. Nothing like a rude racer to get your adrenaline flowing.

I tried really hard to pass people in the last couple of miles instead of taking it easy at the end of the bike like I usually do. I think this paid off. I have done enough bricks in training to know when I am really tired and I think this race course really tested me, but because of my training I was able to place as high as I did. In my first race of the season, I was in the top 50% on the bike. Today I was much higher than that.

My nutrition on the bike went according to plan. I drank a bottle of Gatorade and Gu2O mixed that provided me with about 400 calories and I drank about half a bottle of water. I took an Enduralyte at the end of the bike. I never really felt as if my nutrition was a problem throughout the entire race.

One amazing story on the bike – a friend of mine was right behind another kid in his AG and the kid in the AG went down hard. He actually required stitches in his stomach and his hand – obviously he hit something on the pavement that cut him up. So my friend goes on and finishes third in his AG and a couple of minutes later, here comes the kid with brand new stitches and takes fourth in his AG. That boy is a fighter.

I came to the dismount line, left my shoes in the clips and ran to the T-zone.

Not sure -- I trained a ton and I think I did the best I could have during the race.

I am really pleased with my time here. I racked my bike, removed my helmet and sunglasses, changed my shoes, grabbed a gel and some Enduralytes and I was off.

Nothing.

I am so excited about my run time for this race. My PR in a stand alone 10K was a 48 until today. I have run several bricks of a 10K in 48 minutes this summer, so I knew my running was faster than it has ever been before. My goal was a 48, with a 45 being my stretch goal for the run.

The run was a two loop course mostly over trails. There were short, steep up hills and down hills. It was a little tough to get into a rhythm because of the varied terrain, but I think this is where your mental toughness either saved you or killed you. The last mile of the run was over the road that leads into the state park, which was the same place the spectators had to wait for the shuttle to leave the park. This made for some great spectator support on this section.

The first loop I felt fine. I was tired, but I knew I was running well and comfortably. All I can say is bricks, bricks, bricks. Over the last two months I have done at least three bricks per month of varying times and distances. I am so glad I did. I felt like I was passing a ton of people and I was supportive of all the sprint people that were still on the course. There were some people who were really struggling with their race and I was glad to see them overcome their demons.

I started the second loop and noticed I had not stopped at any of the aid stations. My stomach was feeling a little sloshy at that point, so I put two Enduralytes in my mouth and got a quick cup of water at the next aid station. That was the only point I got any water on the run course. I just felt fine. I had set myself up well with good nutrition on the bike.

I turned on the road to the park and I had about a mile to go. I picked a couple of people ahead of me and tried really hard to pass them. I had left a little in the tank and really pushed myself to finish strong and I did. I think that last mile was about a 6:40. It was tough, but again manageable. I crossed the finish line and wanted to fall over.

Not much. This was a great run for me and I will keep it.

I did beat my friend by more than 10 minutes. His run was five minutes faster than mine, but I put enough time on him during the swim and the bike that I really smoked him. He had a great race as he is training for his A race marathon at the beginning of October.

I saw my wife several times on the course and she did a great job cheering me on. I really meant a lot to me to have her there. She got some great photos of me at real awkward times, so the photos of this race will be choice. It was fun going over the race with her after and talking about some of the people we both saw while we were there.

I thought I would be disappointed in my time when I finished. During the day today I was a little down, trying to figure out why my bike was so slow. But then they posted the chip times online and I saw that I placed well in the swim, bike and run. I started this season a staunch 50th percentile guy and this race I finished in the 30th percentile. My swim time wasn’t great, but it was good enough for 6th out of 27 in my AG. I thought my bike was really slow and it was in the 30th percentile overall. And my run was a PR by almost 2:30. This was a great race for me and I think my placement is reflective of all the training I have been putting in this year.


Things I Learned:
1. Nutrition on the bike will set you up for your run. I never struggled on the run when it came to my nutrition because this was a short race and I drank so much on the bike.
2. Bricks really work.
3. If you want to get off the bike feeling fairly fresh, you have to ride lots.
4. All the time in training pays off come race day.