the swim was tougher than i thought. it wasn't the cold as much as the darn wetsuit that seemed to impede my arm and shoulder movement. i was struggling by the time i got to the first buoy. ooof! i was winded but determined at the end.

maybe use a different wetsuit or no wetsuit at all.

can't complain about my transition. much better than last time. well-prepared layout and all. i was huffing and puffing but moved ahead. the wetsuit came off really easily, so that was a good thing. putting on my socks took most of my time.

try it without socks maybe

i was really huffing on the way out of T1. but i was kind of pushing it anyway. after a few miles or so i calmed and worked on going faster, pumping the pedals, working on technique, unfortunately i didn't seem to go very fast. maybe it was the wind. so i relaxed a little and put it on an easy gear. i started to feel better and again tried to go faster, but no. people started passing me which i expected anyway. but more and more showed up and i knew the later waves were showing up, because the girls who started after the guys were speeding by me on their zipps and kestrels and what nots. so i chugged along, resigning myself to my pace and looking forward to that tailwind that never came. sigh. at about mile 15 i see a referee taking notes as he passes me by on a motorcylce. uh? what? i guess i took too long in passing the guy on my right or something because my final results show a penalty of 1 min. ugh.

relax and take it easy. forget about speed. enjoy the ride. don't draft!! the last thing i want to do is cheat, so it makes me feel really bad when something like that happens. this race was very well organized. officials everywhere. also drink more. my bottle should have been empty or close to it. then again i don't want a full stomach for the run. but i tend to forget to drink. i'm going to get one of those aero bar bottles and keep it near my face.

a little slower than what i would like but still not bad, for me. i was pretty winded so i fumbled somewhat with my changing.

speed laces!

i'm not sure if i got enough to drink. i didn't feel thirsty. i took a cup of water on the way out and a second one on the second turn. i was pretty winded and i cursed myself for going too hard on the bike, if that was the reason. i couldn't run as fast as i know or thought i could. i grinded on actually worried if i could make it. well, i wasn't going to stop. by the final lap and after a little water hmmm... i felt a little energy coming in and i pumped it up a bit. i had to stop to tie my one of my shoe laces (definitely go for speed laces). but i came in feeling a little stronger.

again not worry about my time. just enjoy it. and leave my best efforts for the run.

took some water. picked my stuff up and took it to the car. left the bike in transition as we couldn't remove the bikes yet. went to the restaurant for the post race party and had my bowl of jambalaya. that came down pretty good. no beer for me though. not yet anyway.


i'm not sure. partly shoddy training, and partly general fatigue. energy sapping jitters didn't help any either. the cold weather and water might have played a factor. i may have not been warmed up enough and my muscles might have suffered for it. my calves are sore now and that never really happens. my butt muscles and hams were really sore immediately after the race but abated the next day. i don't know. a better warm up might be in order.


a good, well organized race in a nice area. i think it was tougher than i expected due to the conditions. that was the general commentary at any rate that i heard at the race. people complained about the cold and the wind. but all in all it was good. i just have to be better prepared.