The start went well; I started close to the start buoy and took a straight line to the first marker. I got right behind one guy who was about my pace, when I realized he was taking the same line I was on and was going straight I decided to try and draft off him and kept sighting to a minimum. Once we separated I was mostly able to keep to my navigation plan and tried to keep sighting to a minimum. I was struggling a bit on the way out with breathing and shoulder tightness but by concentrating on breathing only everything feel into place. As we got close to the first turn buoy the bumping picked up, to make the turn I rolled on my back to the left and right over. The move worked great in keeping my momentum and I repeated it at the second turn buoy.
The leg back went fast, and maybe it was in my head but just seemed a lot easier. There was still a lot of bumping and grabbing, not really sure why. By the time we got to the swim exit there was a backup. Only one ladder and no other way out, one fool just froze on the ladder with everyone yelling at him. I probably lost close to a minute just trying to get up the ladder.


Just need to work on getting faster and not letting things get into my head, like this is taking too long or the current is not letting me move.

it was a bit of a run from the ladder to T1, having to climb stairs and all. Once I got to the rack, it went quickly.

not much, over all a good T1.

Rode way too hard on the bike, I was keeping a good pace at the start but got passed by a few guys and something made me decide that they could not stay in front of me. I re-passed them and made an even worse decision to put some distance between us. Then one of them caught up to me again about 5 miles later and we played tag the rest of the ride. He was a machine and trying to pass him and stay ahead of him was taking a toll and my pace was starting to slow. By the last hill, I could feel my quads burning and knew I screwed up.
I caught up to him about a mile out from T2 and we actually rode side by side talking. The guy was a beast and would be the winner of our age group.
Hydrated on the bike with EFS drink, normal plan in that temperature is to drink every 15 minutes. I did not stick to that late in the ride, especially after the climbs and took in too much fluid. At the fifteen minute mark in I took a hit of the EFS Liquid shot, about an oz. and half which is more than normal but figured it would be the last time I would use it. Then I decided at the 20 mile mark to take a small hit of it to be safe, not sure if this also played into the cramps I would get on the run.


To not let stupid ideas get in my head and keep to my race/hydration plan. Also need to remember course details better especially where the rollers and hills are so I do not burn myself out by the time I get to the last few. Also, need to remember that there is still the run once I get off the bike and races are not won by being first or second off the bike.

Good T2, took a few seconds extra seconds to get my Garmin off the bike but that could of been more because I was shaking a bit.

maybe work on putting on my watch on the run as I do with my race belt.

Almost right into the run I started to get a cramp under my right ribs, more like a stitch than a cramp indicating I hydrated WAY too much on the bike. My target pace was around a 7:30 min/mile and I was doing well with that until we hit the first set of stairs, I took them pretty slow. By the second more steep set of stairs I took them even slower, jogged across the little bridge and took it easy down the stairs. At the second water station I tried to drink some water but it brought the cramp right back. When we hit the hill, I thought I was going to puke. I was really hurting by the top and used the decent to try and get my breathing back under control. By the time I got to the stairs to the bridge I was feeling a little better and hit the water station right after it, sipped the water and dumped the rest over my head, this time the cramps did not return. Once I passed the sign for mile 4 my left leg started to cramp just above the knee, I decided I was not going to let it stop me and tried to talk myself out of the pain. This actually seemed to work but then shortly after the same area started to hurt on the right leg, again I tried to talk myself out of this pain.
By mile 5 I was in a lot of pain and just felt like dropping but realizing there is just over a mile left. Just about a quarter mile out I saw my coach, and was inspired to try to pick up the pace and finish strong, which I think I did. After I crossed the line, I almost collapsed, I am still not sure how I didn’t or how my legs kept moving to walk around.


Hard to say since I burned my legs out and used up so much energy on the bike, I tried to fight through the run the best I could.

After walking around and attempting to sitting, I took in some power aide & water which helped my head to start to clear. Once I was feeling a little better I did a 10 minute light run to cool down but did not have the energy to stretch after.


Some bad decisions on the bike.
I let doubt enter my head during the swim when it started to feel tough going against the current and my shoulder started to feel tight and also during the run when the side stitch started. I kept thinking about my swim workouts and is twice a week enough and am I really as strong as I felt I am. Also that here I am having made the same mistakes as I had in earlier races and why am I not learning from them. As well as I could not stop thinking that I had more rest leading up to this race than any other and I am not feeling as strong as I had been. Then afterwards, I have been questioning a lot of things as I have never felted this drained after any race.
Overall on the plus side, I was over 12 minutes faster in the race than the year before and this swim was longer.
To see my average run pace still under an 8 minute/mile and according to a pace calculator it was around 7:31 min/mile which was right at my goal, especially with all the issues I had during the run made me very happy. Also, I came off the bike in 3rd in the AG and to hold onto 5th is another plus.
I have learned a lot from this race and really need to keep my head in the game and not worry about what number is on the calf of the person passing me.



On the race itself, I am a bit disappointed in comparing it to last year. Having only one ladder to exit the swim which was the same as last year, the floating dock was not as high and you could pull yourself out. The run course is hell and climbing those stairs sucks but this is not a sport for the wimpy, LOL! The after-party had a lot to be desired especially compared to last year, one egg burrito and one beer was a bit lame but it was nice to have chairs and to be inside for the award ceremony.