My swim felt good, but I didn't feel it mentally. I felt like I was along for the ride rather than pushing the edge. A little better than last year's time (34:12).

Not a bad transition. Felt slower.

I'm disappointed that my time was only 8 seconds better than last year. There was a bit of a headwind on the way back, but I can't really calculate how that affected me. I had really hoped for a 20 MPH average, but it just wasn't there. I did, however, feel good coming off the bike and into the run - did I not push hard enough?

A little slow. Not sure why. I did have some trouble getting one shoe tied.

I wish the other two events had gone this well. A full 4:18 faster than last year. I had to stop for a pee break and my drawstring was in a knot, so I lost at least 1.5 minutes there. Even with that break, I was only about 1 minute off of my best 10K time.

I'm very disappointed that all the hard work I've put in over the last 6 months has only translated into a 5 minute gain in time. It seems like a number that is almost inconsequential or even just random variation. I feel like I've put in the hours and the effort - check my logs - but the result just wasn't there.

Swim - a little improvement.
Bike - no improvement - big disappointment there.
Run - big improvement.

Clearly I now need to maintain my run and work on bringing the bike up.


This is a very well run race and a fantastic course. If you have the chance to do it, give it a shot. Remember, though, this is a nationals qualifying event. That means there are some very well trained athletes. I personally fall from FOP to MOP for that very reason.