A little disappointed in my swim, I think I was too cautious. Didn't want to go too hard, so I ended up just splashing along nice and easy like a happy little duck. I really do love OWS, so sometimes I get a little too relaxed, and this was one of those times. Got out of the water breathing barely harder than resting. C'mon man! It's a race!

The good part is I navigated very well, which I sometimes have trouble with. Also, I've been using a sleeveless wetsuit this year, and I've decided I like it better than sleeves. Maybe it's slower, but I like the feeling of cool water on my arms. I always felt too hot in full sleeves.

Swim harder, like it's a race.

Long run from the water to T1, plus we had to put our swim stuff in a bag so they could transport it to the finish line.

Since it was upper 40's maybe 50 degrees out, lots of people were putting on gloves, jackets or arm warmers and stuff. I decided to not put on anything extra which worked out just fine. I did dry myself off more than usual, which also added some time to this transition.

Nothing

Since we had to drop our bikes off the day before, I got to pre drive the course and i mentally divided it into 3 sections:

1. The first 4 or 5 miles, mostly downhill, and very fast. One especially long steep descent that made me nervous, since I'm a big chicken. A guy on Rev3's Facebook said when he pre-rode the course he hit over 50 without trying. I don't like going 50. 35 or 40 is OK if I'm familiar with the road. Well I got down the hill OK riding the brakes most of the way, and with lots of people just whizzing by me. Certainly lost a few minutes there.

2. About 40 miles of rollers on an out and back with nice pavement. Mostly big ring, but a few small ring climbs. I liked this part. You could just cruise along nicely. Tried to have a good effort without going too hard. Did well, and passed more people than passed me. Felt the back brake rubbing about mile 15, so stopped to fix it. Took probably less than a minute.

3. The last 10 miles was technical. Lots of steep, but short climbs and descents, curves, and some bad pavement. Plus a bear. I didn't see the bear, but some other people did. I liked this section a lot. I don't mind steep descents when they're short, and you can see where they end. Some of the climbs were steep enough that I was glad I had my 34/28 granny gear. The shade was nice and cool as well.

All in all, a great ride. My fastest HIM split ever, but I didn't go so hard that I would pay for it on the run. The cool weather helped a lot.

Not be a chicken? My bike is smooth as silk and handles great. I should trust it and myself more on those fast hills.

Pretty good. Thought my feet might be a little cold, but they were fine.

Was concerned about the run since I was under trained. Since a March HM, my longest run was 8 miles. Thought I would struggle after about 3 miles, but held together pretty good until about mile 8. Some walking but not too much.

About mile 9 or 10, a guy with a 59 on his calf passed me. I caught him back when he took a walk break. Told him we were in the same AG, so we would have to race. He laughed and said he knew. We had a nice, friendly chat. Turns out he had one knee replacement, and ACL surgery in the other knee. Dang! Old dude rocks! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep up with him, and he beat me by about 5 minutes.

Really enjoyed this run. The hilly, quiet country roads were just like my training routes, and the trail run part near the river was really nice as well. Plus, it was cool, shady and breeze. There were times when the breeze would blow, and I would actually feel cool. Nice!

Train more.

Got some water, and chatted with some of the new friends I had made on the course. A local micro brewery was giving one free draft, so I had a nice Porter. Outstanding!

Packed up and left pretty quickly, to get home as soon as possible.

Rev3 gives a little receipt slip with your results on it. Too bad I didn't look at it (no reading glasses) because it turns out I was 3rd of only 5 in my AG. Would have stayed for the awards had I known. Never in a million years would I have thought that I placed!


Lack of training, chicken on fast descents.


This was mu first Rev3 event and they really do put on a great race. Hopefully they'll be even better getting together with Challenge. I will certainly do one of their races whenever I get a chance.