Yep...You see the right time! 55 freakin' minutes. I started in the back of my group because I know I'm a slow swimmer and when the "gun" went off I allowed at least 50 feet of space between me and the rest of my group. I got going took it really easy, even for me, and after about 100 yds I caught up with some of my wave. Ok, so maybe I'm not as bad as I think. I go around one guy to the right, see another come toward me, so I move slightly to my left and then there's someone there. I stop, wade for a second, and survey the situation. It looks good ahead of me so I begin anew. I take a couple of strokes and the person on my right is back again and I move to my right. I then feel some turbulence and I know that I've gotten in behind someone and I figure I can draft a bit and try to relax.

At this point, my HR must be through the roof! I'm absolutely terrified of open water, but I'm great at blocking it out and concentrating on my stroke...until I get knocked out of rythym and have to wade. Then I see the vastness of the water I'm, I feel really small, and begin to panic. The good news is, I've managed to keep it together and not let it get the better of me.

Anyhow, back to the guy I was drafting behind. I'm going along just fine then all of a sudden, he stops and I run into him. So, I go around to his left and assume everything's fine. Then, he decides he's going to go his left (maybe he wanted to get out of the way) but when he did his heel cracks me right in the jaw that had me seeing stars. Well, that was it! I panicked like I did when I was 7. No longer was this about a race, but I had the fear of drowning coming over me. Now, in the calm, serene space that I call my office as I type this, it is absolutely ridiculous that I was going to drown, but that's what kind of panic I was fighting. I scrambled to the wall to the side and sat there knowing I was going to quit...but I didn't care. All I knew was that I was not going to back in the water!

So, I sat there, watching everyone swim by me...must've been 10 minutes. I was muttering to myself about how this was such a disappointment. But ultimately, I just summoned the courage to at least get to the turn around which was about 100 yds away. I figured if I just did that, I was close to the wall and there were no risks involved. So, I got that far, realized I wasn't going to die and kept going.

I got out of the water completely dejected. I didn't look up and make eye contact with anyone. I ran off the beach and into the transition area with just about no self respect. It was going to be a tough ride I figured.

I have to swim in open water at least once a month...maybe twice. I used to surf from the age of 14 up to 25 when I moved out of CA. I just got over it! So, I figure if I swim in the water, no matter how much I hate it, I'll just get over it.

After I ran INTO the transition area, I walked to my bike. I didn't feel too gung-ho after my fiasco of a swim. I got to my bike took a gel, and 2 e-caps and off I went. It was easy since my bike was the only one left.

Right out of transition was the only real climb of the race, so that sucked, but not a lot. I just spun up it the first lap while I considered how the rest of my was going to go. I decided I wouldn't let the swim bother me, or my time, and just to the ride. I was in the same place mentally that you find yourself in when training; not too concerned with the people around you, or what your place is, but worrying about my tempo, effort and hydration.

It worked out pretty well for me. My time was just a tad lower than expected but nothing drastic. It was actually a really nice ride. I didn't think about the swim anymore or really even the race. It was a good mind-clearing effort.

I saw Elaine (Pirate Girl) on that first hill. It was her last lap and my 3rd. Ugh, that depressed me a little when I realized I was 20 mins down on anyone on the rode at that time...oh well. We chated for a minute, then I got going again.

The last lap was great. Hardly anyone on the road, I had it all to myself, so that was fun.

Hydration was not a problem for me. There was a water bottle exchange. So between the bottle of Cytomax I had on my bike, I took 2 bottles of water from the exchange. I also had a gel after 2 laps. Those e-caps are great! No cramping at all.

I could've gone harder up the hill, but I didn't want to blow out.

So, I'm juiced again after my revilizing ride and a bit more determined in this transition. I got another get down and another 2 e-caps.

Not a lot. I could be a hair quicker, but what the hell.

This was my 10k PR! Go figure. I wanted to be sub 1 hr and I got that by quite a bit. The first four miles I was on an 8:40 pace, but I did slow a bit to get to 9:00, but I'll take it.

Coming out of the transition the course under an overpass where I heard my wife Courtney screaming for me. I looked at her and the shame of my day came swarming back. She yelled good job and I put my head down. It was a struggle for me when she did that. But I decided to just run the run and worry about cadence, hydration and the rest.

I was happy with the amount of water stations there...although just being stocked with water was annoying. I hadn't brought the other 2 e-caps with me because I figured there would be Gatorade so electolytes wouldn't be a problem. It turned out to be a little problem when my right quad cramped slightly after mile 5.

At every station I took at least 2 cups of water and had them splash at least cup on the back of my neck or head. I needed it and besides, the kids love doing it, so why not let them have their fun.

I saw Elaine (Pirate Girl) again, but I didn't want to talk that point because I knew my pace was slowing and I didn't want to lose too much momentum.

I wasn't passed by ONE person the entire run, except for the guy who sprinted to the line...good for him!

Coming down the shute to the finish line, people were cheering again, but I couldn't look up at them. I saw a flash go off from a camera; I figure it's from the race photograher. I should have a great shot of the top of my head.

When I finshed my wife, Courtney, was there to greet me. She gave me a kiss, said I did great, and I had to walk away from her to keep from crying. When I saw her I realized all of the time I took to train, she took care of things for us with the kids and the house, and never once said anything discouraging. I felt so guilty that this was the result of all of her love for me...that she would allow me to spend the time, and money, and boring her with triathlon talk all of the time. I couldn't face her.

After a few moments I came back to her, she had some water for me, and we stood there for a while watching the rest of the finishers. I saw Elaine do her sprint to the finish line! Good for her!

Not a lot. This was a great run for me.

Ate some orange wedges, like I did in Little League, and had some Gatorade. Wasn't much in the mood to hang out, so we went and got my stuff and headed home.