Multiple waves and a complicated current made 1st leg of swim difficult. Dolphining worked at first then the waves started knocking some of us back. Timing very important. Strong current to south made rounding 1st bouy real challenging. After 1st turn my sighting and swimming got much better. L shape course kind of a pain in ass as we started running into some of the olympic swimmers who had a different turn. The current and waves made heading toward shore go fast but early breakers made for a long trudge out of water. Dolphining and high stepping important for time but very fatiguing for me.

Know the current and start wide to make rounding buoy easier. Not be so timid around other swimmers. better to swim wide rather than allow them to slow me down. Learn how to dolphin before race!

Transition went okay. I had to pack the wetsuit into a bag so it could be delivered to finish so that cost everyone time. T1 good but not confident jumping onto bike while I'm still wobbly from swim.

Know exactly where bike is in relation from timing chute so I don't run past it again. don't rinse feet twice. No talking, focus.

Course was fun, well marked and challenging in that it was uphill mostly. I probably moved around too much on bike. I was happy in that I was able to maintain my goal pace and I caught a lot of people on course. At one point I ran into a bunch of olym[ic riders as our courses merged. I paced some of them so I could stop thinking about the lactic acid party in my legs. I forgot to take sportlegs before ride but I remebered no to push too hard in first few miles of ride even though I was feeling good at first.

put some sport legs on bike incase I forget to take them again. Work on steadier pace.

850' long (Picture running the length of a cruise ship with your bike)T2 area with my assigned spot in back. T2 size handicapped racers in later waves because it added 3-4 minutes just running down the area, but oh well. shoe change quick while standing. I tried to take advantage of the long run to chute to loosen up legs.

run barefoot with foreknowledge of rack being so far. I could've looked at T2 map and planned for it. The seconds geeting my shoes off wouldv'e been more than made up by a quicker pace over that distance.

I felt like I was running wayyyy slower than I was. cool! Run was harsh. I never felt better towards end. The uphill hurt everybody I see by the times. Exit from t2 is 20% grade for about 200yards I had sense to walk it because I saw other runners working too hard to go up it but not going much faster than a walk. At crest of hill when i tried to run again my legs went from lead to jello. I was concerned but they got back to lead fast enough. Downhill at end I remembered to lift legs quickly like on hot coals and managed to go fast with pooping out. I misjudged distance to end and started "sprint" too early and had to back off before finsh, rats. Good learning expereince, though.

Have a plan on when to start sprint. There where no distance markers or volunteers.

beer garden, fruit, massage. Haven't I done enough today?


Lactic acid on bike. Too slow getting up to good run pace.


Very organized, transportation provided for all back to hotel or beach. Massages were awesome, Nice goodies, too. Not enough drink stations, no bagles, not enough staff that could answer questions. It seems by looking at my times what kept me in top 10 was good transition times. My goal was top 10 yay!