Swim went very well...I avoided any drama by hanging out to the right of the pack, but actually had a nice straight line to the first buoy. I made very little contact and was able to draft nicely off of some other swimmers. One thing I'll note is that the water was very muddy. I thought I'd be used to murky water being that a majority of my racing is done in a man made lake in the middle of the city, but this was a different type of murky. I literally could not see 4 inches in front of me. Another interesting obstacle was swimming at altitude...I wasn't pushing this swim knowing that at 7200ft the air would be thinner, but I had to keep reminding myself that even though it felt like I couldn't breath, I could and would be fine. Also, for probably the first time ever, I swam (for the most part) in a straight line! I sited every 4 strokes (full cycle)...when I realized that I could wait longer, I did it every 8. It was nice not being all over the lake in an OWS.

Nothing...Had I given myself a few more days to acclimate to the elevation I may have pushed it harder. But, as always, my goal was to have a comfortable swim. I would have liked to get in under 30 minutes, but I'll take it...

(T1 time included in Bike Time)
Nothing to note...I did learn from my last race and used a water bottle to wash all the sand from my feet. They didn't have recorded T1 times, but it had to be under 1:30.

Nothing...

(Time includes T1 time)
I felt great on this ride and it was by far my best performance on the bike of any distance. While my bike may not be the best out there, she is a reliable steed and I showered her with love and affection as I blazed past all of her fully carbon, decked out peers. There was thread here once that talked about not being able to avoid drafting...I have to think that this was one of those races. The course was very congested and there would be times where 4 people were all trying to pass one person at the same time. I was making it a point to back off guys who were passing me, but at the same time, I wasn't going to take turns passing other people. We all just kind of were going at it and this continued for most of the race. Although there were probably some times where we were pushing the rules, it was probably the most fun I've had in a bike portion yet. The course was magnificent. Rolling hills (and some that weren't so "rolling") that went along the lakes surrounded by summer flowers and evergreens. The only problem that I had was at the peak of the longest climb where I was literally grasping for air that I couldn't get...That altitude was a mother f**ker!!

Nothing...Drank the perfect amount of water, took in calories via Cytomax throughout and gu'ed up again 4 miles from the bike finish. Being able to become more acclimated would be the only change that I would make. Not only did I beat my goal of 1:10:00, I placed within the top 20% of all of the athletes.

Again, nothing to note...My feet were still pretty wet when I was done on the bike and I wear socks on the run, so was a little difficult putting them on. But very smooth besides that.

Nothing...

If there was ever a lesson to be learned on this day it is to LEARN THE COURSE! I assumed that the run course would go along the rolling hills of Lake Mary RD. which seemed very doable and not so challenging. What I didn't expect was turning off of the main road to go up a switchback that gained 400 ft. in 1.5 miles. It was challenging to say the least, especially with the thin air, but it was an amazing run otherwise. Living in the desert it is not often that we're surrounded by pine trees. As the road went into the mountain, it turned into dirt and I could see the campers all checking us out. Coming back down you could see all the runners on the main road and you couldn't help but be amazed that you'd climbed so high...

Nothing...I've been nursing a tendon issue in my left foot for what seems like forever. (It's been off an on for probably 6 months.) My plan was to take it easy so that I didn't further aggravate it. In fact, had I known they were going to put a mountain in the middle of the course I may not have signed up. All of my training runs have been down to about a 9:30/mile average while trying to heal. I was pretty happy with sub 9's considering. My goal was an hour and I beat it. Best part is, my foot feels fine as I'm typing this today.

Chatted it up with a few friends, ate some pastries and some watermelon and waited around for the awards ceremony. I was 3 minutes from taking 3rd in my AG and the guy who won my AG was 4th overall. I thought there was a slight chance that he'd take an overall award which would bump me into 3rd. I wanted that plaque so bad and now I spend my hours figuring out ways that I could have shaved 3 minutes from my time.


Definitely the altitude and lack of high intensity running. Besides that, I liked how I did and I'm seeing improvements.


This race is slated as, "The Toughest Race You'll Ever Love." and I'll concur. Very challenging, but very fun...beautiful atmosphere and a perfect excuse to get out of the heat every summer for a good race. I will be back...