This was a seriously intimidating swim. I had seen the weather forecast for the wind so I knew it wasn't going to be good, but I'm not sure I was prepared for what we got. There were some seriously nervous people on the peir prior to the start. One older guy was pacing back and forth saying "oh my god, oh my god, look at those waves, oh my god, oh my god." Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and told him he need to be more positive. He walked away and I never saw him again so I guess he went to bug someone else. There was also a girl behind me who was starting to tear up and was visibly worried about the swim...I was nervous too, but I felt really bad for her. Thankfully, there was a guy next to me who had just raced the St. Croix half that said he had swam conditions like this before and it wasn't too bad. He said to just go bouy to bouy and keep moving forward. Good advice.

Well, they called my wave up and we jumped in. I can tell you that you can't appreciate what 1-2' waves are like until you're actually in the water. Man, it was rough. They started us almost immediately so I was on my way. I had a really hard time in the first 200 yards. I breast stroked a lot and just tried to stay positive. There were a lot of people hanging on to kayaks at this point. Finally, I got myself to just put my face in the water and swim and kind of hit a groove 1/3 of the way through. I had to roll almost all the way to my back to breath and every 10th wave or so I would take a mouthfull of water. (Which tasted like gasoline since there is a refinery just up the river). I had a very tough time sighting and could not swim straight for some reason. In my last two swims I could swim 15+ strokes between sighting, but I couldn't stay on course. I got a good 50 yards right of where I wanted to be, but I just stayed that course as best I could and tried to sight for the canal instead of the bouys. I finally entered the calm water of the canal and thoroughly enjoyed the 200 yards of smooth water before reaching the ramp. I was very thankful to be done and proud that I gutted it out.

Not much. Now that I've got experience in those conditions, I know I will be comfortable from the start in rough water. I would never go out for a practice swim in conditions like that so I don't think I would ever be more prepared. I think the main reasons for the slow time was being uncomfortable in the first 200-400 yards, and poor navigation.

Good transition. My right calf was cramping a little as I ran to transition so I stretched it for 20 seconds or so before I grabbed the bike off the rack.

Nothing.

Large bridge about 3 miles from the start which was great going out at 15 mph climbing and 38 mph descending, but it was a bear on the way back into the wind. I was in my lowest gear hammering out 10 mph (and passing people) and could only muster 19 mph descending into the wind (although I was taking a gel). About 13 miles of the course was into a headwind. I kept the effort about moderate and didn't push too hard not knowing what the return leg was going to be like into the wind.

Maybe push harder, but being my first olympic, I was unsure of pacing and kept it on the conservative side.

I paced very well which was my main goal. I kept high Z2 for 2 miles, Z3 for 3 miles and then gave it all I had for the last 2. I had a little hamstring discomfort coming out of T2 that loosened up quickly, but it returned in full force in the last mile. Every step felt like it was on the verge of full blown cramp. I think if the race were 200 yards longer I would have been hobbling in. I was hoping for something under 52 minutes, but I wasn't far off and the wind was tough. Took a gel at the turnaround and water at every aid station.

Stretched and sat down. Sipped gatorade and drank a bottle of Endurox when I got back to the car.


Experience in rough open water and strength on the bike. Overall, I felt like I concentrated very well and stayed in the moment. It was a tough day for my first olympic distance, but I'm happy with my overall performance. There were 385 signed up and only 287 finishers so I'm curious to know how I would have done had everone shown up and finished. I did pretty bad in my AG, but MOP overall which is about normal. Maybe some day I'll be a front-of-the-MOPer!


Good race venue and was well organize despite the difficult logistics they had to overcome. The water quality was concerning. Good post-race food. I would have given anything for a quick massage on the hamstring that was tight, but they didn't have anyone doing them.