The adrenaline that I normally have was missed as soon as the wave started...I started out towards the front of the pack, for the first time ever, and I think that hurt me in the long run...Those boys were not out there to play!! I was actually drafting quiet nicely until some faster swimmers caught up and completely threw off my rhythm...First, I was swam over; not a big deal...I was used to it and remained calm. Then, I was stuck between two swimmers like a sardine being packed in a can. Okay, not the greatest feeling, but part of the deal when you're in the middle of the pack. Next up was a full on, "grab my head and push me under" and use me to catapult yourself forward...It was at this point that I decided that I would draft off of this group instead of try to stay in front of them. My rhythm was off, my breathing got weird and I just figured I was better off benefiting from them instead of wrestling with them. Well, I must have picked the wrong dude to draft off of because after about 50 meters of following my new friends I got what I'd only read about in the past...A furious heel right into my face. It wasn't necessarily painful, but I started seeing stars and I started to feel dizzy. For a VERY brief split second I considered either rolling over on my back or calling for a kayak. As far I could tell, I was clocked too hard and was on my way out...Instead, I just stopped swimming, said "what the f*ck?", and let this pack separate itself from me a little bit while the stars and dizziness went away. After I started up again, I found my rhythm again and the swim went well...thank God it was my eye and not my nose. It certainly would have been a different story if that dude would have broken my nose...Not saying that I can't swim with blooding gushing from my nose, but I don't want to find out. My goal was under 15 minutes and I did it in 15:06...not bad considering.

I definitely should have warmed-up for the 6 minutes they let us in the water and I'm not sure that starting up front is something I'm quiet ready for yet. I think I would have been better off staying behind the big pack and used them for sighting and drafting rather than show them that I can hang at the front...because obviously I can't. I believe my time would have been better had I played a little more conservatively...

For the first time ever I experienced the best aid station of any race...WETSUIT STRIPPERS!! I'd only heard of this before, maybe have seen a few clips on the Ironman videos, but man I am hooked...I stripped my arms right out of the water and as soon as I got to the station I was told to lay down on my back and two dudes yanked my suit off immediately, helped me up, and sent me on my way...I was like, "did that really just happen?". Even better since just a few days earlier I caused a monster cramp in my calf trying to get out of my suit. I also saw Kim and a surprise guest, Mark, cheering me on in transition...It was an unexpected boost and I was happy to see them.

Nothing really...I'm going to start working on keeping my shoes clipped in and getting into them on the bike, but this is not a huge priority. Overall, I wasn't super fast, but I was very organized and things went well...

Nice ride..short and sweet. Very competitive bikers out there for this event. I've become accustomed to passing often and getting passed rarely at some of the smaller venues that I race in. This was different. I passed a few guys, but got passed by a few more...It was nice, though. A few of the guys who passed me reminded me that this was a race and I needed to act like it. As soon as that kicked in, a few of the guys who passed me got the favor returned. My goal was under 40:00 and I knocked it out in 36:37...

Push harder from start to finish...This was a sprint and I started riding like it was an OLY only kicking into 2nd gear on the way back. Also, I didn't take in any water...mouth was really dry, but I just ignored it. Overall, I don't think that affected me, though...Oh yeah, I want a nicer bike...enough of this entry level, aluminum BS. If I wanna hang with the big boys, I wanna play with the the same toys :)

Nothing...still have not focused on becoming better in transition. Under 2:00 is fine by me.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this run...I have had very limited running since hurting my ankle and have only been doing easy runs on the treadmill for the last month. This was only the 2nd time I had run on concrete since the injury and my first "brick". I was a little frustrated by how tired my legs were until I reminded myself that I just got done biking my ass off...Ankle was a little tender during the run, but nothing that slowed me down at all. It wasn't a great run, but it wasn't a terrible run either. My goal was 24:00 and I did 23:37...

I think that if my run training had not been affected I would have done much better...I've already told myself that I will not beat myself up over not posting great run times in the races I have coming up, including Boise 70.3

Hung out at the expo, congratulated the few friends that I saw, thanked Mark for showing up and went home...But not before checking out my next bike at the Valdora tent!!


Lack of adrenaline/nerves. In fact lack of any sort of urgency regarding this race...


I've decided that I probably will not do any sprints for a while. It was hard for me to get into "race mode" for a race that lasts less than a couple of hours. My goal was 1:20 and I completed it in 1:18. But I still didn't get that post-race high that I love so much. Even though I PR'ed, had a great race and finished well, I expected to...There was no break through and I expected to do well as my training has been really good. I'm not upset by my performance, but not super excited either. Can't wait for BOISE!!!