Walked down to the dock and hesitated about 3 times before I finally jumped in the water. I knew it was going to be cold and wasn't disappointed when I finally took the plunge. I figured we had about 10 minutes to warm up a bit since that's what previous waves had. Swam towards the start and just as I got to the crowd the gun went off. Wasn't ready, but here we go. Started great! Breathing was good on every right stroke. Breathed towards shore since there was less chop/current and then I could see a bit of scenery. The good lasted about 100m when I sighted and discovered I was about 20m off courses. This freaked me out and so I switched to backstroke. It seemed to take forever to get to the first bouy. I swear the current got stronger as we got closer, but I finally made it. And then rounded the second bouy to begin the swim back with the current. Backstroke all the way except for when I flipped over to sight. The bridges actually helped because I could set myself perpendicular to them and know I was swimming straight. Actually passed 3 people from my wave on the way back and then got to the exit where a man pulled me from the water. 34 minutes sounds like a good time, but with all the rain in the area the river was flowing and the downstream portion was awesome. I think at one bridge I took 4 strokes to pass under a 4 or 6 lane bridge. At the end I survived and that was my game plan.

I definitely need more OWS training. I have the stamina, but the confidence just isn't there. The cold water didn't help and the current would push me around at times which was a bit unnerving. Saying the swim was average compared to my usual OWS experiences.

It's a long .2 mile run from the pier at the boathouse to G10 parking garage where the transition was held. There was an opportunity to put shoes on since the run was on blacktop, but I chose to skip this and run barefoot. Everything went well. I just took my sweet a$$ time. Decided no socks while cycling to save my only pair for the run and also decided to wear my jacket since it was raining hard. Ate a mini banana and then off I went.

Under the conditions nothing. I just took my time to adjust from the swim so I could be comfortable on the bike.

The bike started well. I did the stop, kick my leg over the bike and hop on method. Actually passed 5 people trying flying mounts since they didnt get up to speed before trying to put their feet in the shoes. Then it was just about staying smart the first half before the big hill. I didn't want to push too hard and then kill myself on the big climb. There was water all over the roads so I took it easy on the downhills. One guy kept flying down the hills past a bunch of riders and then we would all pass him back on the flats/climbs. This guy decided to pass a guy on the right as a passed on the left. The guy getting passed freaked out and swerved toward me getting pretty close to taking me out. As I passed the idiot right-hand passer I told him not to pass people on the right because it is dangerous and he almost caused an accident just before. He laughed at me so I hammered for a bit to get clear of him. Then I just tried to take it easy up to the big hill. At the bottom of the big hill I decided not to hammer and I just spun up. Passed a couple people and then stayed conservative on the decent (lots of blind turns) then began hammering a bit on the ride back to transition. The water on the road definitely was a drag, but i would say the road condutions for the most part were good. I took the conservative route all around. I didn't want to push the bike too hard and suffer on the the run, but now I know I can push harder and still run fine.

I would push a bit harder. Had I been more comfortable with the water on the road at the beginning and if i knew the course a little better I would have pushed more downhills but I chose to race another day since in all reality I wasn't really racing for anything. I would drink more. All the rain made everything difficult - from seeing to thinking about hydration. I just wasn't thinking about drinking and only drank half my bottle - about 10 oz.

I was flying on the way back on the bike and the lady was yelling at me to stop before the yellow line. I did...barely I did a little fish tail and stopped 2 feet from the line. The lady told me good ride, I thanked her and then ran to my rack.

Nothing given the circumstances. Took my time putting my socks and shoes on. I ate a mini banana and took one last drink before I took off for the run.

Started the run and about 300m into it I got a mean hamstring cramp. I could barely even walk and was scared I might not finish. I found a utility pole and used it to stretch out. Then I started walking and then slowly got back to running as the hammy loosened up. Lost probably 3 minutes total and then I just found that happy place - not an easy pace but the one the body just knows and can maintain.

I probably should have drank more on the bike. I think the banana probably helped a little because as I got farther into the run I kept feeling better and I kept pushing the pace a little more.

Just met my wife and aunt at the finish. Went to the timing tent quick. Then we were tired of being wet so we headed back to the hotel to clean up and then get ready for brunch. :)


Swim - experience/confidence

Bike - the rain and inexperience. I think I probably could have pushed the hills a lot more and then been my more daring self on the downhills without the water on the roads.

Run - bad nutrition and insufficient fluid intake. Cramping at beginning and the. I wanted to finish so I just stayed in my comfort zone for the rest of the run.


I wish the weather would have cooperated. The venue would be awesome. I love Knoxville and every part of the race is scenic and challenging. Before the race the MC (Steve). Was having electronic troubles so he moved underneath the roof by the bathrooms. He was great and kept everyone positive. Other Rev3 "bigwigs" walked around and Steve would point them out. They too would stop and talk with athletes which I thought was awesome. Steve played music and danced and joked around which helped me wait in the cold. I think everything would have been awesome, but I think we got about 3 inches of rain Saturday and Sunday which was a total buzzkill for extracurricular activities. Giving it a 3 but to be fair I had a blast and I could see all the friendly atmosphere that Rev3 puts out. Without the rain I bet everything would have been an easy 5