Swim was right on where I wanted to be. I started to the outside closet to the shore since after watching multiple waves go off, they all seemed to cram the inside. The outside offered clean water in front with less congestion and did not make the swim any longer since it was a straight shot to the buoy. I led the swim almost all the way to the first buoy when another swimmer came up beside me. I stayed on his hip and drafted for a while to get some extra recovery. Once around the second turn and on our way back to the finish a second swimmer came up beside and I hopped on his feet and followed him pretty much the rest of the way to the finish. I didn't have as much trouble navigating through other waves as I thought I would and I was feeling good when I exited the water.

Nothing, I executed exactly the way I wanted to.

I was clean and fast out of my wetsuit and into my helmet. The bike out is at the top of the hill so I took it easy going up since it was wet and a little slippy. It took me a little longer to get into my shoes once on the bike, but wasn't a huge deal.

Little more practice getting into shoes. New Mavic Helium tri's velcro the opposite way than my old Specialized Trivents.

Biking is another strong discipline of mine so I wanted to get out of sight and out of mind. I went to work early and although I had a good idea I was top 3 coming out of the water I wasn't 100% sure. My original goal was to hammer the uphills and stay consistent on the downhills and try to be around 22.5 for an avg. I knew a lot of the uphills I would be able to carry a lot of momentum from the downhill before them so during the race I pushed the pace a little harder on the descents than I originally thought I would. I am glad I did this because it made the bike a breeze and I was passing people left and right. I knew my pace was high but I didn't feel like I was out of my comfort zone so I stayed consistent and kept pressing on. With the wet conditions I took the round abouts slower than normal as well as the sharp turns. To me I wasn't going to gain any valuable time by risking the turns, so I played it safe. I only left the big ring once after making the left hand turn the went right into a climb about half way through the course. I kept my cadence high and push hard over top and right back to work in the big ring. I was confident I was in the lead for my age group and had not been passed by anyone on the bike. About 5 miles from T2 I had yet to look at my avg pace and deciding to see where I was. I was feeling very strong and when I looked down I was averaging 23.3 mph which was way above where I thought I would be. Last 3 miles back to T2 I backed off a little in order to loosen up my legs for the run.

I think I could have the pushed the pace even more. Although I had a strong bike leg, I know it could have been faster if I needed to.

Pretty straight forward. i was in and out with little problems.

Oh the dreaded run! This is typically my weakness, although it has improved significantly this year and I only hope to get faster. I know it will never be my strength. I had planned to survive the uphills and attack the downhills and finish under 40 minutes. Well I set out and the goal stood still up the first climb. I didn't want to go out to fast and risk blowing up, so I tried to hold back. Once I reached the second climb up Gatorade Hill my strategy was pretty much thrown out the window and I just started running! Every time I would hit a flat section I would try to up my pace a little and pick up some time. I drank a lot before the race and when I reached the run I was feeling like I may throw up. I had a gel with me with the intention of taking it at mile 2 or 3. Mile 3 came and I knew if I took the gel it would come right back up, so I decided to throw it out at the next aid station. I was feeling pretty good until I hit Gatorade Hill on the way back. THAT WAS BRUTAL! Much longer going up the other side and also steeper. It took a lot out of me and I needed a little recovery before I could really push the pace on the last mile to the finish. Push a little faster each minute until I crossed the line.

Work on a little more hill training to build more power. But very happy with time.

I laid down and caught my breath immediately after crossing the line and then heading to the food tent for some much needed bagels and peanut butter. Also took part in the complimentary massage!


Happy with the race and qualified for Hy-Vee Championship. Very well organized and will be back for years to come!