It was a 400m swim in a Olympic size pool. You snaked 8 lengths and then got out, ran down the steps to the transition area. They used a time trail start where 1 swimmer went into the water every 10 seconds so it would be awhile before I hit the pool. Along the walls they had estimated swim finish times in 1 minute increments starting at under 6 minutes the ending at 16+ minutes. I seeded myself at the 11-12 minute estimated time. After watching the swim start I started to see that some people severely over estimated there swim times. They were people doggie paddling and breast stroking on the 1st length and they were seeded in around the 7-8 min finish time and I thought to myself WTF!?! So I started to move my way up in the line which turned out to be a good move because no one passed me in the pool. Before I got into the pool a wheel chaired athlete most likely in her 60s got in before me and the crowd went nuts! I was speaking to her on the line and she was telling me she will stay to the right so I can pass her and I was like ummmmm I don’t think that’s going to happen. I decided to take advantage of the fact that it was a pool swim and attack in intervals. I swam the 1st 100m and passed the para-athlete during the 1st 50m and then I stopped at the wall and rested for 20-25 seconds. She then caught me and passed me and I would start the next length and pass her, rest at the wall she would pass me and then I would pass her and rest at the wall. We repeated this back and forth motion the entire swim and finished roughly the same time. When I was climbing out she yelled at me to keep it up and I felt so motivated by seeing her do the swim. But the low light of the swim was on the last length while resting at the wall I saw this lady cut under the lane dividers about 10ft before the wall and started the last length! I had moment lapse in judgment but I yelled at her “You cheating B***H!!” and pushed of the wall and sprinted to make sure I passed her and give her the death stare when getting out the pool. I just didn’t like the fact that people are busting their butts in the pool and she is cheating. But I guess she is only cheating herself

My time was horrible as there was no wetsuit and I swam in my kit so it should have been way faster but I literally walked the whole thing from the edge of the pool, down the steps and into the transition area to my bike.

Next time grab that free time provided by not having a wetsuit. I feel I could have saved a minute in total transition time

The bike was a two loop course and I started going out a little two hard but then backed of and decided that I would pick people off on the second loop but I actually started picking people off earlier so it felt real good. All in all the bike wasn’t eventful and just allowed me to move up in the standings

Still slow, transitions will be a major part of my training for next season as it really is the 4th discipline

So know as you know this is my favorite part of the race as this is my best event and where I make up the most ground. But with this heat wave going on it was close to 90 degrees by the time I started the run and I know that may not seem to hot but if you don’t train in the heat it takes a major toll on you. During the run I felt like I couldn’t go any faster no matter how many people I saw in front of me or how hard I tried. I know from prior races how fast I can complete this section so when I wasn’t on that pace I was getting disappointed. They heat was devastating to me because at the halfway mark my goal just became not to walk. I still was able to pass people but no were near what I usually do and I just felt like crap the whole run. Usually I don’t stop at the aid stations for 5ks but I stopped at both aid stations for water and Gatorade. After the finish I was a little disoriented and just stood in front of this huge cold water hose, it was the best feeling in the world. After getting home from the race I have never felt as drained as I did that day. I took the best nap ever as soon as I hit the bed

Integrate some mid day heat training next season