This swim was fun for some reason. It was all contained in a small harbor and was a two loop swim seeing us exit the water and run around a timing mat and back in. The swim was obviously pretty short as I am not a sub 20 minute 1500 swimmer. I would say it was easily 100 meters short, maybe more. The buoys were also fairly close together and kind of scattered and random. I found myself a couple times having a tough time figuring out where I was going. Throughout the whole swim I was pretty much battling with the same dude the whole time. At the first exit, I told myself I was not going to jog around the timing mat. So I really hustled out of the water and around the mat and back in. When I got back in, I was pretty winded...lol. I got it sorted out by the first buoy though. My swim nemesis came by and beat me out of the water by a few seconds.

Happy with the swim...I swam fairly hard but still pretty easy. I like to come out of the water feeling fresh. I also told myself before the race that I was going to run hard through the sand to my bike. That lasted about 2/3 of the way up the beach before I returned to my normal slow jog through the soft sand...I tried to run hard once I hit the parking lot of transition though.

Nothing...did pretty good. I did crash head first into one of the buoys, but whatever...not sure how that happened. Try not to do that I guess.

Good transition and right up there with the top guys. I contribute the few seconds off the fast guys due to the long run to transition. My timing chip also started to come unraveled and I had to deal with that for a second.

Nothing.

Headed out on the bike and got up to speed well and into my shoes. Felt pretty good and tried to use the first 10-15 minutes to warm up. It takes me a while to get the power up. It is also difficult for me to produce power on really flat courses. It's fine though, the speed is there. I started to catch some people and go by them but no one in my AG until the end of the first lap. I caught some guy named xxxxxxxxxx. I post his name because he cheats. He was in a Navy kit. I caught him from pretty far back and passed him without incident. From the amount of time I made up and how far down the road he was, I thought I would go by and leave him...No, He decided to sit on me and pull ahead every 30 seconds or so. As he would go by, I would drop back, regain some speed and go by. He would sit in, rest and then repass...yeah, OK, great. Then two riders come by...xxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxx...I post their names because they cheat too. As they ride by, Cheater#1 now latches on to them and gets pulled away...WTF? As I watch them down the road it looked like a breakaway at the TDF, rotating like clockwork and totally working together. I let them pass and there was no way I was staying with them if I didn't sit in. After the race, my friend Scott Cheney who won my AG said the EXACT same thing about this little train that caught and passed him about a minute up the road. I just love the fact that I could figure out who these guys were and at least call them out here. Fast guys too, no idea why they feel the need to cheat like that in a small local race. I'm also really surprised the ref didn't catch them...too bad, I guess they'll continue to do this until they get a penalty or DQ'd.

Rest of the ride went well and the power slowly started to come up. The course never really got that crowded and there was plenty of room to ride around folks. Took in one Gu before the last lap and that was it for the race besides some water on the run. As you can see from the data below, the bike was a bit long. Actual MPH was 24.1 which I am happy with. Made up for the swim I suppose.

Duration: 1:03:32
Work: 800 kJ
TSS: 64.7 (intensity factor 0.783)
Norm Power: 212
VI: 1.01
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 25.598 mi
Elevation Gain: 89 ft
Elevation Loss: 108 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-13 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 436 210 watts
Cadence: 19 118 89 rpm
Speed: 9.3 28 24.1 mph
Pace 2:08 6:26 2:30 min/mi
Altitude: 2 45 22 ft
Crank Torque: 0 544 199 lb-in
Temperature: 62.6 64.4 63.3 Fahrenheit

You know, I went back and crossed out the names of the cheaters after thinking about this for a while...you know why? Because I don't give a shit...lol. I don't care that these morons cheat to get ahead. I had a great time and I'm not going to let them infringe on that. I don't get paid any more for 3rd than 4th. I don't get any more satisfaction of hanging out with friends all morning than I do if a couple guys don't draft. Have at it guys...because I'll tell you something now, pretty soon, it won't matter. Pretty soon, I'm going to pass your lame ass as you attempt to work together and there will be nothing you can do about it. I know who you are, and when I see your names below mine in the near future, I'll know I'm that much better than you...in honor and racing.

Nothing...felt good, legs came around...best I could do.

Great transition...shoes on, grabbed everything else and I was gone. Put visor and race belt on during the run.

Nothing

Felt the same the whole run...breathing easy and legs screaming. I was super happy with this run considering the state my run is in right now. Took off and legs had that weird just got off the bike feeling but they came around in the first couple miles. I just wanted to avg around 7 minute miles and I'm happy to say that I averaged every mile under 7 minutes and felt fairly strong doing it. Pace never fell off and I had TONS of encouragement throughout the run. I've never had so many fellow athletes encourage me by name. Never so many high fives passing people on the way back. It was just great. I did grab one glass of sports drink but it was disgusting...no idea what it was..lol..so it was water from then on. Didn't matter though, I felt fine. I wasn't passed by anyone in my age group and was able to hold on to a solid 4th. I was a ways back from the top three as my run just isn't there for a podium just yet. Looking forward to getting back and going sub 40 to at least give me a chance.

Nothing...super happy with my run.

This is the best part...I was fine. No soreness the rest of the day and no soreness today. I really think the best part about getting fit is how quickly you recover. An Olympic distance race used to be a heavy load on me...not anymore. It's now fairly easy on my body even though I'm giving it everything. I'm excited for the next one in a few weeks. Should be just as fun.


Lack of run training...but that is now in full swing. Should be a few months and we'll see some solid improvement. I had zero pain in my abdomen and my groin wasn't tight at all...I've been working on that as well.

Everything is full speed ahead now.