Very rough start. I need to remember to start seeding myself off to the side, closer to the front, something in order to avoid so much contact. Also, I'd worn clear goggles since it was so overcast leading up to the start, and of course as soon as I jumped in the water the sun came out. Still, once things settled down I felt really comfortable on the swim. When the sun was in my eyes I just followed feet the best I could. The second lap felt even better than the first, so I was feeling a lot better about the day heading into T1.

Wear my shaded goggles.

Nothing dramatic here, just struggled a bit getting the wetsuit off.

I haven't been doing enough wetsuit swims, so I've been pretty rusty on t1 times.

So here was my first race with the new compact crank. I had done the course previously with a standard 53/39, and was able to get up Raven Rock, but in 1st gear and turning pretty slow. I took it easy heading out, and five minutes in had my Gu chomps. I love those things. Some minor hills heading out, and then the turn to head down the mountain. I took it a little easy, since there were still wet areas on the shoulder, the Garmin shows I maxed at a little under 36MPH. The valley portion was as I remembered from a practice ride I did last year, lots of false flats but overall a fun portion of the ride. Then, the real test, back up 491. Remembering how hard it had been last year, I went to 2nd or 3rd gear right off the bat, and was shocked at how easy it was to spin. I actually upshifted, and was very happy with my exertion and speed up the hill. Passed a bunch of folks here, so I'm glad I made the switch to a compact.

Felt really good coming into T2, felt just as good heading out.

Nothing.

Ugh. Felt great until I hit the first small hill, and then the humidity just started killing me. Not a lot of elevation, but it sure felt like it. I might have passed a couple of folks, but was passed a TON on the run. A little discouraging, since I've really improved my running, but maybe not enough outside training this summer, since I've been wimping out and doing treadmill runs. I'd been thinking starting out that I had a shot at breaking 2:50, but heading into the second lap I knew that wasn't going to happen. Would have been close, but my Garmin also showed the course being a little over 6.4 miles. I was really glad to finish!

Walked around a bit with the iced towel (nice!), and ran into someone from my running club out supporting his wife. Had to pack up pretty quick thought to head back home to the kids.


The stress of single-parenting for the week leading up to the race (hooray for my wife returning from her trip!) Lack of outdoor training in the humidity.


Fun event, challenging bike course.