This is the most civilized swim in triathlon. With a small field and 4 waves, there are probably 50 guys in my wave. I think I had contact once. I started out pretty smooth and was swimming side by side with a guy for about 100 yards, then he pulled ahead so I just drafted his feet for most of the remainder of the swim. Eventually my hands hit sand, I [pulled off my goggles stood up, and someone was yelling to keep swimming or I'd be DQ'd. I had hit a sand bar about 75-100 yards from the end! I just swam in the rest of the way with the goggle off, but I don't think it cost me much time.

Not much. I know this swim was short, but with basically zero swim training, this was an outstanding swim. I guess all my tri-genetics are in the swim area. Why couldn't I have gotten the running genes?

Not a great T1. I had some trouble getting the suit off and I wasn't rushing in general. I really need to work on lowering this time. I did wear socks, which is probably something I need to drop for these sprints.

No socks, practice transitions.

It starts with a pretty good hill right out of T1, so getting the HR down is tough. I didn't press too hard on the way out, and hit the turn around at 21:20. I pushed a little harder going back, but not too much since I knew the run was nasty. I came home in 17:35. This was basically a high effort but with a little more reserve than normal due to the expected tough run.

Not too much, I think I hit this pretty much at my fitness level.

Just an ok T2. I do not go hard enough in transition.

I knew what to expect, so I took it fairly easy and picked my way through the trail. I started off pretty relaxed and waited for my legs to come clean. It was about 1/2 mile in before I felt like they were in control. I pushed a little more int the middle, but held back since I knew the uphills at the end were coming. I finished very strong, so I probably ran too conservatively. Not even close to puking as I crossed the finish line! Miles were 8:53, 8:17, 9:03, 7:36 (last 1/3)

Maybe push a little harder from the start. I remembered this being a harder run last year, and I think I held back too much as a result.

Got ready to help Z with his race, so not much cool down.


Two weeks off running due to Achilles issue (other than the 5k race) might have hurt, though it didn't bother me at all during the race. I'd say I just need to run more and bike more. I'm just not a natural runner, and it's obvious as these young kids and skinny guys fly by me throughout the run! Keep working on the run is the key. I also need to keep working on my mental ability to push harder when running.


I love this race. It's a small field, it's a challenging course, and the set up is spectacular. A lot more really fast dudes showed up this year and I think that will continue as it becomes more known since it's so tough. This isn't a course to PR in terms of speed, but it's just a fun event.

And thanks to Leigh, I have a real race kit now - if you can't be fast, at least look fast!