W35+ started at 7am. went in the designated swim warmup area at 6:45 to test goggles and let water into suit. Water was warmer then air and felt just right. Came out and cleaned sunscreen off goggles on a kind volunteer shirt. Then lined up to head under arch. The time went by really quick and before I knew it we were starting. Lined up mid-line about 3-4 people deep. Don't normally like this position on line, but both right and left ends were packed. Had pretty clean water for first 3 buoys until we started to swim into the waves in front of us. Also was able to draft pretty good for first 5 buoys then it became tougher and tougher as everyone was swimming around, and thru the previous waves. After the 7-8 buoy I ended up staying right on the buoy line and touching each buoy as I made my way to the turn. This position was relatively clean other then swimming around people. For some reason actual vomited / regurged at one point on this section. not sure why. At the first right turn it got a bit congested but I stayed right. Ended up getting clean until next turn. Then I took a really good hit to the head. Had to come up and take an extra breath before swimming away. Stayed on the right inside the buoy line for the entire swim back to the beach. It was completely clean water other then a couple of people I swam thru. Knew I was giving up the draft advantage, but had a clean lane to swim so stayed there. Started to hear the crowds and announcer with about 4 buoys to go. Made it to knee deep and looked at watch with a 1:11:xx and was ok with that.

sun glare on the short across and the back in made it a bit tougher for sighting the buoys from a distance. bilateral breathing is a must for this venue to not have sun in eyes. also I had tinted goggles which helped some.

Also new suit felt good but after about 3/4 of swim shoulders felt tight in it.

more swim training that focuses on increasing speed. For the last year + my stroke has felt off. But just 2 weeks ago felt like it was started to come back around. Need to continue to build on that during the off season. Also want to work on swimming in packs and feeling comfortable with the contact. Still really shy about being in the mix. Finally, used a new wetsuit and haven't swam in a full except at Utah. I would like to get this back around a 1:05 or less.

Out of water and right over to the wetsuit strippers, with no issues. This is a long transition run from swim exit to the transition tent. But it was red carpet lined the entire way. Took goggles and cap off while running. Had to run around a couple people walking but no real issues. Only thing that I think they can improve upon for this race is the transition bag setup. The bags for the women were on the side of the tent where the men changing area was and vice versa, which meant we had to cross each other to get to our respective area of the tent. Once in changing area a volunteer helped by dumping my bag and I went to drying feet and getting shoes on. Didn't feel like I took too much time but obviously there is room for improvement here. Ran out putting helmet and sunglasses on. Stopped for sunblock just outside of tent then ran to bike. No issues un-racking and running to mount line. Mount line was a bit crowded, so I ran past about 10ft and then mounted.

Practice is all I can say. I would like to get this down below a 6:45 for this course

This is a great course that offers some fast rollers, some false flats and then some decent climbs. I LOVE this course! I think I have room for improvement on this course.

First loop was fast and saw everyone except Amy. There was no real wind the first time out/back on 117 which was really nice. Passed by K on the way back from turnaround on 117 and chatted for a minute (nice to talk with a friend). Road conditions were great other then the section in Saint Jovite (man hole covers in the middle of the lanes). Kept power right where it needed to be and was very pleased going into the climbs on the last section of the loop. Made a much needed, rest stop just before starting the climbs (1.44 according to files). Caught up to Craig on the way back from the climb but he took off on some of the fast downhills. Re-passed him just before hitting the half way point. Stopped for 20secs at special needs and only took some nutrition. Second loop it started to warm up a bit and ended up pushing arm warmers down on Montee Ryan and then taking them off once I got to 117. Got a bit light headed around the 120K mile marker. I was on top of nutrition so not sure why this happened. So I did a gu at this point to make sure it was not a nutrition issue. Could have been or could have been the heat, not really sure. After gu and hitting the turn around on 117 started to feel better. But the wind had really crept up on this out and back so my speed dropped considerably. Need to work on pushing thru it in the wind and staying aero. I tend to come out of aero in cross winds, which I did quite a bit on this section. Powertap stopped working between 4:10 to after 5:15 of the ride. So I just went by feel. Started working again on last set of climbs, but not reliably as it was still occasionally reading 0s when I was climbing and other times reading more realistic of 180. Finally saw Amy as I was finishing up 117 for the second time and she was starting. Pretty uneventful through the rest of this loop. Came into the last set of climbs feeling great. definitely an indication that I could have pushed it a bit more. Happy to hand off bike at transition and start run into tent. Forgot to stop Garmin edge so had to wait until I uploaded files to look at moving times and data.

I took splits for each 28 mile section and the following are the times:
1. 1:25.54 moving time (no stops)
2. 1:34.19 moving time (stop was additional 1.44 for 1:36.03 total lap)
3. 1:36.39 moving time (stop was additional .20 for 1:37.01 total lap)
4. 1:40.12 moving time (not stops)

Shows me that I slowed throughout the ride. But when comparing the same sections per loop I slowed considerably between section 1 of loop 1 and loop 2. (10.45 moving time). Vs slow down of section 2 of loop 1 and loop 2 (5.53 moving time). Some things for me to work on and think about.

Nutrition plan was a 1,000 cal bottle of Gu Roctane divided up for entire ride, 3 packages of chomps (540 calls) and 2 gus (100 cals) -
total for ride was 1740 = 278 per hour. + 2 salt tabs every hour.

Started with 1 gu at 15mins into ride, then a chomp every 15mins. extra gu done at 120k point. mixed concentrate of roctane as I went with a bottle of water from each water stop. A couple of sips of water added in at each water stop before disguarding bottle.

Going to look at nutrition more over the next year to see if that was too much or too concentrated. Came off on run with some stomach cramping that went away in first 4 miles when I cut back on the carbs, only had water or ice and 1 gu.

more focused training. work more on increasing power. more race specific long rides. look at nutrition options. more balanced ride from loop to loop.

Don't get me wrong, I was pleased with this ride, but really feel like there is a lot of room for improvement here. I would like to get this down below 6 and closer to 5:45

Handed off bike and ran to tent, taking off helmet and gloves. Got into tent, grabbed bag and made it into women's section. Changed shorts, sock and put on running shoes. Volunteer was great, putting on my second sock while I put on one and then putting on my race belt while I was putting shoes. Grabbed nutrition and visor and ran out of women's section of tent. Quick stop for sunblock on the back, arms and face then out onto course.

practice this to get a bit faster. would like to get this down to a 2:30.

This course is pretty awesome also. I must say that it felt like time flew by on this course. Maybe it was because I wasn't concentrating on mile markers (everything in kilometers) or maybe it was how the course was divided up, but before I knew it I was finishing.

I started the run with some abdominal cramping so kept to just water and ice at aid stations until my first gu at mile 3.5. Then continued with limited water, more ice until finishing the first loop. I ran the entire first loop with no walking and kept it between 9-9:30 pace. On the trail out and back, It felt like my left big toe was broken as it had sharp pains in it. So I took some tylenol and continued on running. Toe started to feel a little better, but not great, as I was finishing loop. then I started feeling rough right before the special needs. Low energy rough around the edges. I did not want to stop but I started walking the hills.

Crowds were great on the initial hill out of town as they got me running again before the top of the hill. I want to note my Betty Design Kit that I wore for the race. It got more comments about the Betty Designs then any other kit I have ever worn. I love the way it looks and the limited chaffing I get with it.

The next big hill I did the run half way up and then walk the rest. Resumed running at the top. Then once I was on the flats I started a 8min run / 2 min walk route. After the first one I felt great and went past the 8mins thinking I could run longer. But as I got to 10mins I decided that I would do a 10min run / 2 min walk. This worked out great and I kept this up on the flats. I felt good doing this and I was able to pick the pace up when I was running and not loose too much time. switched to coke and bananas the second loop as I lost the desire to take in anymore gu products.

Ended up seeing everyone on the run and was in awe at how well everyone was doing. I actually did not see Sloan, Nate, Sarah and Bennett all day until the last 1/2 mile before the finish. But so happy to slap high-five and then make my way thru the village down the finish shoot. This finish is now my absolute favorite!

Nutrition: 3 Gus (miles 3.5, 8 and 12). Then I switched to coke (probably 4-5 small cups) and bananas (2 halfs). 2 Salt tabs every hour. 2 tylenol.

run the entire run. train more specific race pace and longer runs off bike. Nail down nutrition for bike and run, although not horrible, not quite right for this race.

Grabbed a chocolate milk and watermelon and sat down at a table for about 10mins. then walked around and found family. I grabbed my stuff and then walked bike back to the house, uphill, to shower and change. Ran/walked back down to finish to watch friends and family finish. Went back into athletes area when Amy and Craig finished to grab some food.


Need to train more at or above race pace. Long bike rides need to be more race pace specific. My run needs to be more focused on running off the bike and race pace specific. Also need to nail down a nutrition plan. These were all things I knew going into the race as this year was a build year and a year to enjoy training. I had a loose plan I followed and missed some work outs but was not stressed about it.




This venue and race are top notch. a bit confusing when you first get there, but once you are there and understand how the village is setup it is fabulous. Volunteers were super friendly and helpful. I will definitely be back... next year!