Each person started 10 seconds after the previous person. Everyone started on the pool deck, crossed the timing mat at the edge of the pool and jumped in. I have zero experience jumping into a pool w/ my goggles on, so I'm sure I looked like a 6 year old holding onto my goggles w/ one hand and flailing w/ my other one as I dropped into the water, bbut it was kind of fun.

Right away I felt very strong and settled into a good pace and focused on long strokes. On the third lap though, things could have gone bad. I felt my timing chip coming loose on my ankle. As I took a breath, I looked back and saw it beginning to sink in the water. I snatched it out of the water and swam for a length and a half w/ it in my hand. I had heard my Dad cheering for me near the start, so I looked for him on that end of he pool and tossed it towards him on the deck while I said "transistion." I immediately got back into my rhythm and ended up passing 4 or 5 guys before getting out of the pool.

Since the weather was so cold and windy, I took the option of setting up T1 on the pool deck inside. The negative here was that I didn't actually cross the T1 timing mat until I already had my shoes, helmet and stuff, so I really don't know what my exact time was.

Nothing. Obviously I don't know what my swim time was, but I'd be willing to bet it was right around 7 minutes even, so I'm very happy w/ that.

My transition here felt really sloppy although looking back, I'm not sure where I could have done anything differently, so I guess I should feel good about it.

More mental rehearsal since this was a change from the norm.

Coming out of the transition, I knew I had a guy in a Team Javelin suit on some Zipp wheels behind me in my AG. I expected him to blow my doors off, but he didn't catch me until about 5 minutes in and when he did, I let him go on the downhill. I figured I'd waste too much effort trying to hang w/ those Zipps, but he didn't get far away and I caught him on the slight incline. We pretty well stayed together when another guy caught us on the flat and then the three of us seemed to hold the same pace for a while. Zipp guy and I stayed togther, but the other guy finally decided to drop us like a bad habit an did so rather quickly. I held a strong cadence but didn't kow how fast I was going since I didn't have a bike computer on my rental.

THEN WE HIT THE WIND... as the road curved to the right we went up a slight incline and directly into a 25-30 mph wind. I didn't like it the first time and didn't like it on the 2nd loop either. Once we turned right again we had a slight downhill and some trees that buffetted the cross winds. This is where I dropped the Zipp guy. There was a mild up hill, so instead of downshifting, I just got out of the saddle and cranked up the hill. I didn't see him the rest of the race, but I had also just been passed by a "Tri Spokes" guy. (Did I also mention that I got passed by a dude wearing nothing by a bright blue Speedo riding a Trek w/ friction shifters and running shoes? That guy was long gone by this point) Anyway, Tri Spokes stayed about 200 m in front of me and I didn't bother w/ him until after the second loop. As we passed the turn for the loop, I picked up my cadence and began passing quite a few people again. Tri Spokes was in my AG, so I thought I better at least close the gap and beat him on the run. As we wound through town, I felt like I was flying. As I turned the final corner about 1/4 mile before T2, Tri Spokes was about 30 feet ahead of me. I just stayed w/ him and tried to loosen my legs for the run.

I later found out my time on th bike was 45:32 an was dumbfounded. How could I have been so slow? I really had worked hard on the bike and looking at other times, I was very disappointed.

I dunno... I got an "Inspire-me" from 'norakramener' who said "The only way to define your limits is by going beyond them." So, here's my thought: Next race I'll hammer the bike to my limit and see what I can do on the run. I've always been a decent runner, so maybe I'll just let the cards fall where they may after a hard ride. Looks like I'll be doing the Pelican Fest Tri as an experiment before the 5430 Sprint.

Pretty quick transition. I had a little trouble getting my jacket off, but no biggie.

Nothing.

As soon as I started the run, I realized I had drank a bit too much on the bike and was rewarded w/ a very nice stitch on my right side. I pushed on and did some belly breathing and it was gone after about 5 minutes. Mr. Tri Spokes was just in front of me still, but I passed him while I was trying to get rid of my stitch. The run was on a nicely packed trail through trees and stuff, but had lots of corners. Letting my breathing guide my effort, I pushed and tried to stay there without popping. I continued picking of alot of other people, but none in my AG. As I came out of the trails I saw my Dad again and he told me to pick it up. I realized that I had let up a bit, so I went back to work and let my breathing determine my pace as we ran a wide loop through the open park. Knowing I only had about a mile to go, I disregarded my breathing and just pushed. Approaching the finsh line, my legs were turning over great, but my stomach disagreed. I thought I might puke before the finish line, but kept going anyway. I finished w/out puking and put in a decent time although I know my mental break cost me.

Focus the whole time. I got too comfortable about midway through the run when I easily could have held a faster pace.

Grabbed a banana & a water and cheered for Rachelle and my step mom.


Mental focus on the run.

Not real sure about my problem on the bike. It was rather windy and I did have some knee pain that I don't normally have. Possibly a poor bike fit, but I don't think that should have affected my performance all that dramatically.


Despite my performance and the crappy weather, I really enjoyed this race. Really, that's all we do this for anyway - just have fun.