I really wasn't sure what to expect with this swim. My chest injury still wasn't 100% and when I tried it out in the pool 3 days ago things did not go well. I popped an Aleve with breakfast and hoped for the best.

Things went surprising well once the start gun went off. I definitely had some pain and discomfort, but it wasn't debilitating. After a few hundred yards of fighting off contact and finding some space, I checked my sighting landmarks and stayed on course. I tried to find some feet to draft but after the first turn I was pretty much on my own. The murky water made finding drafting opportunities tough. I was able to settle into a nice rhythm with my stroke and mostly stayed on course. I never really pushed a very hard pace as my focus was mainly on maintaining form and keeping my injury manageable.

Given the circumstances, nothing

Good T1, didn't have much trouble with the wetsuit for a change (thank you silicone spray!). Got my cycling gear on and got out pretty quickly.

Not much

This bike course was probably the worst I've ever seen in a race. Kingston is not exactly a cycling haven, but these roads were horrible. All that aside, I was pretty happy with my ride here. Tried to keep my power from spiking on the hills and kept a solid pace on the flats. Here my chest injury was sort of an advantage as the most comfortable position for me was actually staying in aero.

Avoided a flat and set up myself up for a chance at sub 2:30:00 so I can't ask for much more.

Very unhappy about this transition. We weren't allowed to set up our own area. We just handed off bags and they set it up for us. We couldn't even see WHERE our spot was before the race. When I came in no one was helping me find my spot and all of my stuff was still in the bag so I couldn't even look for my bright colored shoes. Very disappointing. Once I found my stuff I got out of there quickly.

Force them to let me see the location of my spot pre-race? I don't know, this was a mess. Ultimately it probably only cost me 15-20 seconds so more frustrating than anything.

After getting my HR monitor on and settling in, I checked my watch and figured out I needed to go under 45:00 to break 2:30:00. It would be tough but I thought I was capable of it. Used my HR to keep myself from blowing up early as I felt really good but found myself running too fast to start. Kept the pressure on as my legs started fatiguing and the sun was beating down. Each mile I let my HR climb a couple of beats while keeping a close eye on not getting too high. Very happy with this run.

I'm not 40 minute 10K fast at the moment, but even with a properly measured course I was on pace to break 2:30:00.

I always struggle to reign myself in early but did an okay job of it here.

Walked around in the shade and chatted a bit while waiting for Steve and Leigh to come in. Stretched a little during the awards.


Maybe I could've swam faster without nursing a chest injury, and more training always helps!


They clearly were lacking volunteers, as T2 was a mess and there were confusing parts of the bike course that were unmanned. Not what I've come to expect from HITS and hopefully they fix these issues along with the condition of the bike course for next year.

As for my part, I am EXTREMELY happy and honestly a little surprised with how well I performed here. My training has not been ideal and I've been really down on myself and my expectations for racing. After this race I really have no grounds to complain about my abilities anymore. Its also given me some much needed motivation to get serious about training for Lake George and see what I can do at the HIM distance later this summer.