I was in wave one and recognized several fast people. I think there were about 20 in my wave. It was a wade start. At the horn, I took off and sprinted. I kept my head down and didn't sight...just swam straight. After the initial burst I looked up and saw the pack had spread out. I saw some ahead of me and just swam. I grabbed feet when I could to get a lift.

As I turned to the final stretch, I sighted more to and could see people exiting the water. I recognized a few jerseys exit about 30-40 seconds before I did.

Nothing.

The race was not chip timed, so I don't know my T1 time, but I know it was pretty quick. I saw 3-4 jerseys that exited the water ahead of me still in T1 when I left.

Nothing

As I started on the bike, I was passed by 2 people who I know exited the water before me, but I passed in transition. One of them was a fluro kit and I followed him.

I settled in and road on Fluro kit guy for the first lap. I have seen him at other races and know that he's pretty decently fast (has been on the podium for AG). I also knew that at that point I was in the top 10 so I figured I had a good wheel to ride for a bit. After most of the lap, I decided I wanted to quicken the pace, but the course was not ideal for passing. Especially given my (probably) below average handling skills, I wanted to make sure I had a good opportunity. I'm just not super risky on the bike. As we neared the end of the lap, we approached the climb and I decided to wait to pass, since I figure his climbing skills are better than mine. After the hill, there is a descent into a curve, and then transition. After descending, we encounter traffic from later waves entering the bike course. After a mile or so, I made my move and passed (also go to yell some encouragement to my lovely wife, who was entering the bike course for her first lap). From this point, I powered ahead and tried to chase people down. I dropped one guy and just before the climb caught another guy (in a cycling kit). I made my pass and he got me back on the hill. As we entered transition, the guy I had chased down just stood there. That's when I realized that he was part of a team, and that he had no running to do. I was a little concerned that I may have hammered a bit too hard on the bike, but considering the short distance, I wanted to see what I could do.

I should have rode harder on the first lap, and also should have spun my legs out before entering T2.

Dismount went well and transition was pretty quick.

nothing

When I got off the bike, my legs felt a little dead. I knew that I had cooked them pretty good and also without any sort of taper, I wasn't feeling my freshest. A few faster runners passed me by and I just tried to control my breathing and run as well as I could.

As I approached the turnaround, I started seeing the leaders go by. A couple of the fastest guys in the city showed up and they were, predictably, in the lead. I started to count them to get a feel for my overall standing. I also watched to see if there was anyone I could run down....ha ha. Realistically, I wasn't running ANYONE down. My run game is far below what these guys are doing, so I just hoped to hold on. As I turned to the 2nd half of the run, I saw a lady behind me that was running pretty quick. I figured she would catch me and she did with about a half mile left. Overall, I think I entered the run 9th overall, and finished 13th. I'm actually fairly pleased with my run, as it was just near the capability that I run. I am making improvements in this, but it just takes time.

Not much.

After the race, I cooled off a bit and then walked back to the run course to watch for Jamie.


Not too much. It was a much faster field this year, and I had a pretty good race.


I love this little race. It's low key, has a cheap entry and is a very "neighborhood" event. It's not chip timed, which is a bit of a bummer, but it's a well kept secret tucked away in a beautiful setting.

Not USAT, transition is basically open in a patch of grass, but still a lot of fun.