This water looked pretty funky at the start.. there was a layer of green slime along the surface and plenty of trees in the filled pond right in the path of the swim. They claimed the water temp was 76-78.. no f'n way. I swam in a quarry that was 73 two days before and it was at least as cold as that. I guess that the swim was set up differently than last year as I thought with my time I was further back from the pack than I was. I did see a big pack hit the first turn buoy but after that everything spread out and I couldn't tell where I was in relation to everyone.

Get up a bit further at the start, a lot of people started cheating up before the start, and I wonder if I would have been able to get in on a draft had I been up there with them. As it was, no drafting, but a nice steady pace.

While I didn't use the traditional method of putting my shoes on the bike, I did try to put my gloves on while riding and it was bumpy enough to considerably slow me down as I started the bike. I was very happy with the no socks, no camelback speed of this T1.

Put gloves on in T1, I think any time gained from not putting them on in transition, I easily lost by not being able to hammer out the first relatively flat section.

This is where I struggled in this race. During the pre-ride, I cleaned most of the early section of single track with hardly any dabs, although I did get the HR racing for a bit. I started out good enough, riding smooth and passing a few people and then I'm not sure where the wheels fell off for me. I might have redlined it a bit too much on one of the climbs and put myself in a bit of a haze.. but it was clear that I am not at the level to be able to ride a relatively unfamiliar bike on a course I've only ridden once at a high level.

Backed down a bit earlier on in the single track, geared it easier on a few of the climbs and not rush it. Because the swim was longer than last year I thought I was further behind, not first in my age group out of T1. I did the exposed rock sections pretty well, it was those areas where the rocks aren't quite visible that got the best of me. If I had taken it a bit easier there I might have been able to keep the rubber side down more.

With the rocky surface in transition, I didn't leave my shoes on the bike, I just unstrapped them before jumping off the bike. I did get my gloves off before I got to the dismount line.

nada

This was a pretty strong run, not very technical, but it did have a tough climb in there towards the middle which also included the most single track. That mile was about 8:00. I had started closing in on the next closest guy in my age group, he was in my sight most of the race, but I was never able to close the gap after the jeep road climb.

Not let any other age group pass me, turns out one guy who had a 29 on his leg was in my AG. I did try to pass him with a strong kick at the end, but it would have been smarter to start that surge earlier.

Drank plenty of water and walked around a bit


Knowing the course/terrain and comfort on the bike. This terrain had me off the bike far more than I have been in the past year, including the last time I rode at the 'shed. If I had even done a modest 1 hour on the bike I would have been top 10 overall and podium for my AG.. I gave up 15 minutes to the fastest guys on the bike, and that was just too much to overcome.