Given my horrible experiences last year in the swim, I decided to take some lessons. I contacted Russ Eidman at the YMCA in North Las Vegas and took six lessons from him. I learned so much about proper technique and what I was doing wrong, as well as how to train. This was in February of this year and I have been swimming diligently since then and it surely made a difference.

I started about two deep in the middle, something I would have never tried last year. The countdown was quick and then we were off. Instead of feeling like my chest was going to explode I just started swimming with everyone else. Of course my HR was high and breathing was faster then I would want given the start, I was right there swimming along with everyone else and even passing some people. A far cry from my experiences last year where I was getting passed at the start and looking for a kayak!

Made my way out to the first buoy and then used a great technique I learned from Jackie Arcana about swinging your arms around in the direction of the buoy which made the corner much easier. On the way the second buoy I was in the mix with a few others, got popped a few times and certainly popped a few others as I battled for position. That made me smile....

Rounded the second buoy for the long stretch back to where we started and I was starting to feel great. I was in a great rhythm and I was actually passing people for once instead of getting passed. Then I noticed a few string swimmers start to catch up to me and begin to pass. I realized that these were the swimmmers from the relay teams who started 5 minutes after me. I said no way was I going to let these guys pass me and I hitched a ride on their hips to the next green buoy. That was a new experience as well, never had I been strong enough to swim with these stronger swimmers. We made our way to the last buoy, I rounded it and made a string dash to the exit out. I exited the water and saw lots, and lots of bike still in T1, another new experience. Usually its my bike and few others! I smiled and thought to myself I'll have to send Russ thank you text. He would be proud of me!!!

Wow, for once there isn't too much to work on other then getting stronger as swimmer which just means more practice. I was very happy with the way I rounded the buoys and also happy with the short amount of drafting that I did.

Had a little struggle finding the zipper cord on the back of my suit, but I found it before I hit T1. Found my spot and started to get the suit off. The left leg stuck when I tried to step out, mainly due to the timing chip. Got my suit off, dried my feet and got my socks on. Got on my race belt, sunglasses and helmet, then unracked my bike. Off to the small climb out of transition and to the bike mount area. Once I jumped on I really struggled getting my feet into the bike shoes which made me start off a little slower then I wanted.

Need to work on getting my feet into my shoes while riding. I was too slow in the first 1 minute of the bike due to this.

Despite my slight struggles with my shoes I finally got it together and headed out for the bike leg. I was huffing and puffing from the swim so my HR was flying high. I knew that I needed to get that under control or I would burn out quickly, but I also knew that this was a short bike leg so I had to keep pushing. I pushed myself hard but was getting passed by some people who obviuosly had better bike endurance then I. Made my way up the long climb to lake mead then finally got my bike legs and started to hit it hard. It was fun battling back and forth with some of the same people for most of the race. I felt strong on the bike and really went pretty hard for my abilities. Near the end some guy with a disc wheel went flying by so I decided to try and keep pace with him. I was able to for a little while until the uphill where he took off.

Finally made the second turn around and started up the hill toward lake las vegas, then got the downhill back to T2. I enjoyed that looonnngggg downhill and allowed my legs to rest for a few. Finally got back to the dismount area, got my feet out the shoes and actaully made a rolling dismount for the first time ever. I felt like a pro after that!!!

Need to get stronger and need to better climb hills.

I have to say, I friggin nailed T2! 42 seconds, are you kidding me??? Basically I ran down the small hill into T2, racked my bike, took my helmet off, pulled my shoes on(with quick laces) and grabbed my trisports.com visor. OFF!!!

If I could go any faster here I would surprise myself! I was happy with this part of the race. I was 7th in my age group so I do have room to improve, especially in a sprint race.

Well, this was the first race where my run was my worst part of the day! But I kind of knew that might be the case given my knees were still hurting and I haven't really ran much in the past month. I wore my knee braces which helped but I felt like I wasn't at 100% for the run. I was also very winded given the lack of running that I had which made it a bad run. I did run just about the entire time with only a few very short stops for water. Hopefully these damn knees heal up soon so I can get back to running reguarly again.

Need better conditioning, especialy speed work. I have to go all out in these short races. A 9:06 pace is not fast enough if I want to be a Big Dog on the podium one day!

Jumped back into the lake which felt amazing! Had some sports drink and a few grapes, then a sausage/egg sandwich on the way home.


Lack of run training, minor knee pain, need to get stronger on the bike and also my swimming.


Great race experience, I will be back next for sure!