I'm recording my actual time (per the Garmin) instead of the official time of 41+ minutes. Two material errors here, like nothing I've done before since I began this obsession. First, I went off in the wrong group. Apparently, in a fit of optimism, I assumed I'd no longer be a Clydesdale by the time the race began so I registered as an age-grouper. This morning, still on the north side of 200 by 3-4 pounds and with no recollection of how I'd registered, I ran with the other Clydes. With chip timing I wouldn't think it would matter but, apparently, it did. When I saw my official time of 2:17ish I said, wait, that doesn't make any sense. But that six minute difference is the time between when my registered wave went off and when I actually started.

Second, in another career first, I actually went off course, following I'm sure what were intended as helpful instructions from another competitor. He told me and the guy I was pacing with that we were running the wrong way, needed to go back, turn into the woods, and go around. Well, not wanting to be seen as cheating or cutting corners, I assumed the guy knew whereof he spoke. He did not. I turned around, went where he told me, and ran downhill to the lake until I ran out of macadam; nobody down there either, volunteers or otherwise. So now, trying to catch up, it's a sprint uphill to get back to the course proper. When I made it back to that spot, everybody that was behind me was now headed back - "Hey, you took a wrong turn!", "You detoured!" - and I was, literally, the last runner on the course. I caught up to and passed three other people before coming into transition, having run a first leg of 3.62 miles instead of the prescribed 3.1.


The most obvious is to run the appropriate course. I actually covered 3.62 miles in 35:13, or a pace of 9:43, which isn't too shabby for me, I'm actually pretty pleased with that. But when I think I could've gotten to transition five+ minutes sooner...it's irksome.

After running a good half mile longer than anyone else, I kind of walked into transition...sauntered in, trying to recover a little bit. Because of my extra time on the run course, there were only 5-10 people in transition still getting on their bikes. Not that that isn't an unfamiliar sight for me...

Total time wasn't that bad. I moved halfway decently considering I sort of walked in.

Seemed like there was wind everywhere on the course, no matter which way I was riding; at one point after the last turnaround and headed back, a dust devil nearly unseated me and filled my teeth with grit. Long uphill sections followed by short flat sections and then long descents...repeat several times, that was the course. I don't remember it being this hilly from the tri I did here last year; it was not an easy course, not for me. I haven't been working hills and I haven't been working speed, so trying to push at a high pace was difficult, and my legs were feeling it from early on.

Power meter apparently read a totally different course (average power was 108w, which makes no sense), so that threw me off, as did trying to make up five minutes of lost time from my unintentional detour on the first run.

Pace myself a little better, although that might've resulted in a slower ride overall.

Never thought to get out of my shoes before hitting transition, so that slowed me up a little. But overall not bad for me.

Get out of shoes earlier.

Well, I ran the right course. But, I was so blown after the bike that I ended up walking a good bit. Never anything more than 40-45 seconds, but still...I'm shocked I actually ended up with the time I did.

Covered this faster than I thought. But I probably could've been faster if I'd not experienced the cumulative effect of everything that had gone before.

Drank one of the Body Armour drinks they were giving out. Not a bad flavor but the second ingredient was cane sugar. Maybe not so bad if you're trying to reload. Electrolytes were on the label too, along with maltodextrin; i need to investigate the drink to get a better feel for it, because it tasted pretty good. I stretched a little bit and then walked around to get the HR back to normal.


Do I really need to repeat this? Run the RIGHT course, dumbass!


All of my training to date has been built around longer and slower runs and rides as I prepare for the long duathlon in June. That's what made the course too hard. I think it would've been fine if I'd been training more for a short course, with some speed stuff thrown in. Another thing I noticed is there were some real serious competitors there. Todd Wiley as director probably brought those out, but the studs and studettes were very much in evidence.