Started off at the front of the pack. First 200 or so was fast, flat out as hard as I could swim, had some people pass me, but then I settled into a good steady pace. Sighting was good, I was straight on the bouys and able to see them very well. When I came out of the water and looked at my watch I was surprised to see a 39 as I felt like I swam the distance faster than that.

Apparently I need to swim faster! No other issues in the water other than speed.

Wanted to concentrate on getting in and out of both transitions faster than I have in the past. No issues today. felt like I got in and out about as quick as I could have.

nothing

It all started to go downhill as soon as I got on the bike. I never could get comfortable and as soon as I started peddling I felt little muscle aches in my glutes, hamstrings and groin. Mainly it was the left side more than the right but the right hurt a little as well. It seemed that being in aero made it worse, so I spent the first 2 laps swapping between aero and sitting up depending on whether I was going into a little headwind or not.

About the time I started the 3rd lap, it started to subside enough that I could stay in aero but I could still feel it the entire ride and knew that was going to be an issue once I hit the run course.

Other than that, I thought I had a pretty decent bike ride. The course was flat and winds were lite so I expected a faster than normal bike split. This is the first time I ever averaged over 21mph at this distance. I could blame my leg issues on pushing harder on the bike, but they started immediately and not 40-50 miles into the ride. So, I dont think that was the issue

got to figure out this muscle tightness issue

No issues with a sub 1min T2 ...

nothing

And it all comes tumbling down! Knowing that I was feeling those muscle issues on the bike, I expected this but was hoping for a better outcome. There was a guy in my AG that was racked next to me and he came into T2 about the same time I did. We went out together and my legs felt pretty good for the first 3 miles or so, then it all fell apart. That tightness in my low glute - high hamstring area started to rear its ugly head and by mile 5 I was reduced to a shuffle. For the remainder of the run I was reduced to a trade off of walking and running as much as I could.

I have also decided that the K-Swiss shoes I have been trying out are a failure and I ned to go back to Mizunos. It seems that everytime I have tried to run in the K Swiss for any distance over about 5 miles, my ankle starts to bother me. This doesnt happen in the Mizunos so the only thing I can pin this on is the shoes. I just need more support than the K-Swiss provide for me.

Thats a good question..... I have been dealing with the issue in my upper left leg for several months now. Just when I think I have it beat, it comes back on race day! All my runs leading up to this race were pain free, so I dont know why it showed up today.

hobbled around for a few minutes. Ate a slice of pizza, got the bike and left


thats pretty obvious