i started far to the left in the deep water, which allowed me to clear 95% of the field and not get stuck in the washing machine. I took the 1st navigation buoy to the right where everyone else was taking it to the left side. hit the 1st orange turn buoy and was in a good rhythm. the next leg was the long leg of the swim and was into the wind which delivered plenty of chop and led to drinking some water unnecessarily, again i took the inside line and the green navigation buoy to the right (spent most of this leg right side breathing because the sun was shining bright from the left), made the final turn into the leg but started losing momentum. this leg was directly into the sun and my goggles had fogged up, so navigation relied heavily on the few swimmers in front of me and the sound of jeremy davis' s voice. pull the wetsuit off, dunked the feet into the kiddy pools and shot into transition.

nothing best swim ever!

transition was a bit long because i put a ace bandage wrist brace on my right hand which I had sprained riding just 1 week before. everything else was fine with transition

skip the wrist brace

Coming out of the water 1st in all the male age groupers allowed me to race with the lead pack of age groupers and a few open racers. i have heard the talk of the lead pack at ironman in kona but had never really experienced it. the intensity was unbelievable in the pack, everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses in the group which led to constant yo-yoing. I was good at descending and ok on flats and bad of uphills but this suited the group and i would frequently lead the group. At about mile 2 the wrist wrap was catching too much wind so i discarded it. on the bike i had a roctane at mile 1, a 2nd surge at mile 11 and a antifatgue, and at mile 21 i had a last roctane. drink bottles were carried on aerobar and behind seat with mix of carbpro and rehydrate but this was too sugary and pace was too fast and i ended up spitting (puking) a few times on the bike and several more times on the run.

nothing, fastest bike of my life

had trouble tying shoes as my legs were trashed but this was more about B2B half ironman practice and these were the shoes I am wearing for that race

maybe quick laces on the shoes

the heat was unreal for this time in the season and the dam felt hot. my mouth felt like sugar overload from the drink mix so i wanted water every aid station. there is one half way across the bridge (miles 1 and 3) and one at the turn point mile 2. I pushed as hard as my legs could go but I was pretty broke from the bike. overall i was 1:30 slower on the run than 2012 but it was 10 degrees colder and my bike was 3 minutes faster so oevrall good tradeoff.

wear racing flats

i got across the finish line and layed down on a picnic table for about 10 minutes until my heartrate got back under control. found the family went for a dip in the lake which was amazing way to cool off and refresh.


nothing this was the best triathlon i have ever raced


this is the final event of the year for SCTS and a should not miss event. the distance is great and being centered on the dam is excellent. this is a fast course.