I really wanted to start off slow, so tried to keep my HR in zone 4 the whole way. And everyone ran away from me. It's not as if my pace was super slow, so that says something about the caliber of people running this event.

I would maybe not take the fuel belt, but that didn't really seem to make that much of a difference. The drink stations didn't prove to be as big of an obstacle as I had anticipated. But overall, I felt that I ran this section the way I wanted to. I'm not sure if I'd run it faster that I would have been as effective on the bike.

Thank god for using my MTB shoes! After last night the transition area was a quagmire by the time I got there. But I picked up a couple of places in the transition area simply by being able to run it. I also mounted smoothly at the bottom of the rise and was cranking almost immediately; many people wheeled their bikes up to the top of the rise in order to mount, and I passed several people in the space of a few metres.

One thing I did not do this time was fold over the straps on my bike shoes, which meant losing a little time in first transition.

My goal was to control the ride a lot more than I usually do, because I knew I was going to need a lot more for the run. So I consciously took it easy, coasted some of the faster downhills, gently spun others, and didn't hammer. My even heart rate would tend to suggest I was pretty successful in keeping it controlled throughout. However I'm actually pretty stoked about the bike performance. I never thought I could ride that fast for that long and still feel that good. My handling skills, particularly cornering, were much better than in my last race, and I was judging well when to get up on my pedals for just a few well-time bursts of power. The P2K is a great climbing bike, and I tend to be pretty good at sustained climbs, and it's no exaggeration to say that I passed a lot of people on the climbs as if they were standing still. For some reason a lot of people really seem to stall out on hills, and I really don't understand why that is my strength, apart from good gear selection and consistent, quick cadence. With only one or two exceptions I made good passing decisions, had interesting pass and re-pass duels with a couple of guys before finally putting them away. . .I felt really strong on this ride and loved every minute of it. There's also a real joy in passing anyone who has a more expensive bike than you. . .and passing anyone with a carbon wheel is always fun.

I needed to drink more, not for the bike leg, but to set up for the run leg. I didn't consume all the fuel I was carrying, and I should have. I could maybe have pushed a little harder in retrospect, had I known how well the course would suit me, but at the time I think it was the right decision to do what I did.

The bike dismount was tricky, since it was at the bottom of a small hill. I made sure I was unclipped before I hit the hill, and had my leg swung over as I headed down. The lugs on my MTB shoes were invaluable, as I braced against the cleat on the pedal to stop from sliding off. Dismounted right at the line. The transition area was bad when I left, and it was a mudpit when I returned. I got held up in the entry chute by some women walking it ahead of me. Got around them, ran to my rack, but had a bit of trouble racking the bike (had to do it one brake lever). Shoe change went well, on with the fuel belt and out. But they had changed the configuraion of the chute to make it the run exit only which initially confused me so that I stopped, just to make sure I had come out the right way. Only lost a couple of seconds.

I have to figure out a better way of racking the bike when I come in. That aero bottle really gets in the way. Not sure if swinging it round would use more or less time.

On the one hand, the transition to the run went very well. Uncomfortable at first, but nowhere near as painful as Virginia Beach. And after about a quarter of the mile I was running normally, and my first two run splits were on par with my splits in R1. But then I began to die away. I was able to pick it up for the last segment, especially coming into the stadium.

Fuel more on the bike, and use the water stops to cool myself more. I didn't feel overheated, but it certainly would have helped my comfort level. My stomach began to feel tight, almost as if I was on the verge of cramping, and was beginning to resist taking in Accelerade. Probably should have forced more down early in the run.

Not much, really. I was so tired I could hardly stand up. Talked to a few people afterwards, took a little Coke since there didn't seem to be any water around at the finish, and then Endurox. Packed up and drove off to a nearby cafe for food, did some stretching there. Didn't feel like eating much.


Fueling for the second run. I would definitely take electrolytes either at the start of the second run or toward the end of the bike ride. I would also fuel much more during the bike ride. I might even think about some solid food at that point, or maybe a higher calorie drink for these kinds of events.


Fantastic event. Very competitive field, and a great course, just testing enough (both run and bike) to be fun without being extreme. The event really caters for people of all categories and abilities with both the novice rankings and the new mini-Man option. The pre-race briefing had the best explanation by USAT officials of the drafting rules using actual bikes (gasp!) to give you a visual reference. Definitely plan to be back next year.