Was worried about a shoulder injury going in, but had laid off swimming a lot in the month and a half leading up to the race, only swimming some 2/3 distance open water. Ended up things healed by race day and I had very little issue w/ the shoulder.

Also chose to go w/ a wetsuit. Water temp was only1 degree over limit, so no issues w/ overheating. Helped that it was overcast and early AM (no sun).

Overall had a great swim throughout. No nerve issues and swam hard the full race. Even took some time to enjoy the scenery on the way.

Was passing a lot of people on the way and even though I started near the end of the wetsuit wave I was passing a good number of non-wetsuit swimmers by the last 3/4 mi or so. Great swim overall w/ effort, sighting, etc. No complaints.

Not much. Swam hard and swam (for me) fast. Did a lot of open water swimming this year and it paid off. Was wetsuit assisted, but still way up in field from a couple of years ago when I'd be back 30%.

First time in a transition tent and really just took my time. Didn't lollygag at all, but didn't really hurry either. Time was slow, but I put on my own sunscreen and had everything I needed when I got to the bike

Go a bit faster next time..

Didn't look at anything but power. Was a little worried for the first 40 mi that I was going too fast because I was constantly passing people, but the power was on so I kept it up. Nutrition was 4-5 Luna bars, at least 11 bottles of Skratch/Perform, and a good bit of an EFS concentrate bottle. Made sure I kept the fluids coming in and kept to the nutrition plan. The couple of times I felt my stomach a bit I did a stop w/ either water or nothing and things settled down.

Felt really good throughout and held back on the power to keep just to plan. Only a few accelerations to clear some groups.

Overall the bike felt good and I think I hit it pretty much right on.

Not a whole lot. Made no stops throughout the race (skipped special needs and rode through 2 potty stops).

Same thing.. was just figuring out how the tent transition worked. Was slow, but was a little worried about the legs once I started to run w/ the bike and figured a bit of a break wasn't going to hurt. Did use the sunscreen folks on the way out. By the time I started running my legs felt good and not all that heavy at all. Started w/ a decent pace. Carried a 3/4 bottle of Skratch w/ me on the run start.

Go a bit faster next time

Only looked at pace throughout. Started at what felt like a good sustainable pace and was able to keep that up for the first 13 mi. Then started worrying that I wasn't taking in enough calories and did extra perform and took some gels.. Bad idea.. My stomach started feeling it on what should have been the fast flat area. I walked a bit to let things settle down, used the porta potty, and then did some slower jogging. Things started to settle down on the highway back after I started w/ coke and remembered my salt pills and stated taking them. Didn't get back to my full pace but was moving again and just walking at aid stations. Did walk a bit of the steeper hills on the last lap but kept a good pace when running. Thought I was close to my 12 hr goal so cut down on the walking and picked it up to finish.

Not worry about calories so much.. I was getting plenty from the perform and later coke. Stomach issues were my lack of experience in long runs. Legs were sore at the end, but I still had plenty left and could have gone faster.

No warm down.. rested for a bit then took in some choc milk and water. Held off on eating anything solid until a few hours later.

Thought I was at 12 hrs from looking at my garmin wrong coming off the bike (why I shouldn't even look at it). Was more than a little surprised when coach Shelly told me I came in under 11..


Experience.. I think my bike was about to my training level, but I could have gone closer to 4 hrs on the run. Lots of time to take in the transitions too.

I think other than the run issue the nutrition was pretty much on and seemed to be plenty hydrated vs. my Raleigh experience

Mentally I think I did fine. Swim was strong. Kept concentration on the bike (helped by starting so far back and always having someone ahead to pass). Run toughness was good, although could have been better w/ less walking. Kept having visions of the total stomach meltdown so was worried about that. Leg wise I hurt but was fine. Recovery was a lot quicker than I thought. Legs felt pretty good by mid-Monday and were fine (although a bit tired) by the next day.

I think I could go a good bit faster next time around.


I wasn't sure about the bike course after riding it alone in August, but it was a lot better w/ the other racers and lots of spectators. While the run was tough I actually liked the hills just to break things up and make it a bit tougher. Definitely can't complain about a swim as fast as that.. good bit of current to help out.