Water was very dark and murky. For some reason I didn't want to put my head in the water until right before the start. I payed for that since one of the goggles started leaking. I adjusted them after about 3 minutes and keep on trucking. Fun little swim. Its really strange to see folks just pop up and start running in the middle of the lake but there were a few shallow spots where the guy next to me would do just that. I think that move probably backfires since you burn a ton too much energy if the water is deeper than your waist, but there was one spot where I was grabbing the roots and branches on the bottom on my follow thru.( Probably about 20 inches deep). I keep swimming throughout cause I didn't want to chop my feet up on all the roots and branches, etc. Good easy controlled swim throughout.

Do a warm up swim and make sure my googles are adjusted before the start.

Decent transistion. Slow and delibrate. Big drink of water.

Nothing.

Great bike leg. First time I ever averaged over 20 MPH (20.8 mph). I had just gotten my bike back from the shop I didn't check to see if I could shift my front gears. I was down on my small ring and of course I couldn't shift up to the big ring. I was a bit pissed but I made due and in hindsight it actually helped me out. I got going at a nice aggressive cadence (95-100) and shifted thru my top four gears. Before I knew it I was flying. The LBS also hosed up the magnet for my computer and that stopped reading. Once again it turned out to be a good thing. I focused more on my body and picked out other riders in front of me I wanted to catch. I had a few folks pass me but for the most part I was doing the passing. Did a back and forth with one guy who passed me three times over the course and would pull away only to have me reel him back in on the hills. I finally put him away on the last couple mile stretch which was a long gradual hill. I really excelled in the second half of the bike. At one point going up a hill, I passed a truck on the right, passed the idiot riding in the middle of the road holding up the truck on the left and informed him there was a car behind him and then managed to pass about three more people while holdin off the truck until the next turn. I was in the perfect set of gears to handle the small rolling hills (I really don't remember all those rollers from last year) and at the same time my legs stayed really fresh for the run. Think I might re-evaluate my strategy for the Diamondman next week. Went from 290/336 on bike last year to 77/370 this year. I am so stoked!!!!

Nothing. Maybe fix my bike computer before next week

First person back to my rack. Easy to rack my bike and get out fast. Results said I was 46/370 on T2. The one advantage of biking in running shoes.

Avoid the celebratory spiking of the helmet for beating the dude with the high tech bike and full wetsuit.

Hard to believe the day has arrived where my bike and swim outperformed my run. Felt my calves twinging at the start so I held back until that passed and then slowly started picking up the pace. Only had one guy pass me the second half of the race. Felt really strong at the end. Passed three or four in the last 1/2 mile (and I let one last guy finish strong in front of his cheering section). A very good run and I was shocked to see that my bike and swim legs were even better.

Nothing

Had some refreshments at the post race and walked back to my car got changed and loaded up my stuff. Beat the crowds out of the neighborhood (I imagine traffic was a bear) and headed home to strain my deck.


The only limitation was the fact that this is a warm-up race for my HIM next week. Very, very happy with this race. Only the 2nd time I've been in the top half of my age group and my first top 100 finish. Woo-hoo!!


This race isn't perfect but I really enjoy coming out year each year. Its got a very nice small town feel to it. The race directors and the volunteers do a great job, the course is pretty nice, and it is the right time of year so the weather cooperates. Seems like everyone enjoys themselves. I really like the point to point swim. This race has sold out the last two years. I'll be back.