this was wild, 122 men started in this wave. i don't know how people can ever know how they do in the water because i cannot tell at all when i am in it. best i know from my friends that were watching said i was in the front group for the first 120, they were like, "you were in it, you were close to the front". thats where i pretty much positioned myself prior to the start.

the water was really nasty. before getting in you could just see a soup of nasty shit floating on the top. i was already a bit skeptical about it because one of my friends who lives on the lake said that its known as duck-shit-pond. it was just the perfect depth to be a little too deep to stand comfortably but i was able to easily find 2 plastic bottles on the bottom by moving my feet around and i had a perfect perch. one guy i saw found a 8-10 inch feather that he promptly inserted inside his goggle strap. it was so funny, i saw him during the swim and the feather was still there.

we started and it was way worse than my only other open water swim but this time i was ready for it, or about as ready as you can be. i got the shit beat out of me. it was crazy. but i kept swimming. i was just trying to go but every stroke was hit, i don't think i ever took three consecutive strokes without some part of my body getting hit. difference this time, i just kept swimming. i think i forgot to breathe for the first 40 yards or so. maybe that was a good thing. the ass kicking combined with adrenalin tuckered me out but i was able to keep it together. i slowed a bit and calmed myself down, i was determined not to panic like i did in the first one and it worked pretty good, all of a sudden i was at the first turn which was almost half the length of the race. i was tired by now and going slow but my body was cooperating and that made me confident i was gonna finish, not strong but i was gonna get out of it alive and as it turned out, ahead of 46 of the 122. on the home stretch one guy even used my head as a stepping stone, his hand grabbed the top of my head and he actually did a stroke like my hand was the hardest water he had ever grabbed. i wasn't even mad. i was like, "this MF really just dunked my black ass completely to the bottom".

not a damned thing. i'm gonna get better and stronger over the winter and next year swim fitness isn't gonna be an issue. i was plenty strong enough to handle the other people and the jostling, i need more endurance. this was actually fun compared to my first open-water swim. i heard some guys after the race saying how its not really smart to have such a short OW and i can see the logic, the whole damned thing was an all out race.

i actually thought i had a bad transition but ended up 19/50. every part of it could have been better but i was a bit tuckered out so i took my time to catch my breath and it worked out. i had my shoes clipped in already and that worked good too.

i'll be better in the swim so i will be able to move faster.

i had FUN on this bike ride, definately my best ever. i like going fast and this course allowed it. i was behind alot of people from the swim and i caught a shit load of them but honestly i think i might have gone out a little too hard. my long time in T2 lets me know i should have saved a bit more. i always felt like i had more in the tank, i will need to learn to keep a little more in the tank.

more experience will give me a better feel on how hard i should go. this didn't feel too hard but judging the way i feel right now and how tired i was in T2 lets me know i burned up some energy today. not as bad as my very first race when i couldn't function until the next day but i am tired now.

you had to round a curve and the dismount was RIGHT THERE! had unstrapped one shoe based on my odometer and seeing more people standing around but this caught me off-guard. i had to quickly change plans and unclip.....i almost forgot and fell but i managed to save it.

take shoes off with a mile to go instead of staying in them until the last second.

no comment on the run. i know its my limiter, i could have done so so much better but i suck. but i can't bitch, just look at my longs. what, did i run 7 miles in september?

I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE. I WILL WORK ON RUN ENDURANCE.

i love those cold towels.


my running.


this is a very well run race.