Swim was the worst part today. I felt good, and actually probably beat last years time by about a minute, but they had the timing array set up at the transition exit point. From there they made us WALK across the street to the rec center, through the lobby, through the locker room and then into the pool. Based on conversations with others, I'm estimating it took me 2 to 2.5 minutes from the "start" of my swim time, until I was actually in the water. I suspect my "true" swim time was about 8:15 -- which if true is a 45 second improvement over last year!

Should have concentrated more on my breathing and head position, if I had, I would have done much better. Passed more that got passed, so I felt good about that.

Funny thing was at the wall there was one guy I passed, mainly because he was busy pulling his swimsuit back on! It had worked itself loose apparently.. and well... we saw what he was wearing underneath. Kinda laughed inside myself when I saw that! Glad I wore something a little more "snug" so I didn't have that issue!!

I'm pleased generally with the swim, particularly when considering that I swam at the end of a race where I pushed REALLY quite hard on the bike and run, which were done BEFORE the swim

Focus on my breathing and head position more. Stretch out my stroke and pull harder. Based on my breathing when I got out of the pool, I probably could have given it a bit more!

This was transition from Run to Bike. Went well. Got through it pretty fast actually, considering that I had to change shoes etc.

Not much

This ride was really good. Didn't have a good way to measure my speed during the ride, because like an idiot I didn't put my front wheel on right. That's the wheel that has my sensor for my speedometer. I put the wheel on so that the sensor was on the opposite side as the stationary sensor. DUH! However, I do know I had some great speed based on the "minutes per mile" on my Garmin. At a couple points I was riding above 30 miles per hour- which was VERY fun. HILL that had to be climbed twice was KILLER, but I knew it would be going in.

Paced quite well I thought. Last year on this race I rode the course in 36:29 -- Today -33:03 -- An improvement of 3:26 seconds! WHOO HOO!

Had a similar problem this year that I did last, in that as I approached mile 10, I got a nasty cramp in my left calf. That hurt and slowed me quite a bit on the last mile! I was able to work it out though once I got off the bike and headed into the pool.

Not a lot. I'm basically pleased with the result, although I would have liked to push it harder in the flats and downhills, to make up time that is lost on the VERY challenging climb this course presents twice.

Make sure speed sensor is on the right side so it will work! DOH!

Given I improved last years pace by nearly 3.5 minutes, I am pleased!

This transition was the transition from Bike to Swim. The timing sensor was at the exit of the transition area, so the time reflected shorter than it really was. I estimate at least 3-3.5 minutes total in this transition in reality since I had crossed the sensor and still had to WALK (they enforced this) accross the street, through a parking lot, through the lobby and finally through the locker room to get to the pool. The total walking distance I would estimate at roughly 250 -300 yards.

Not much.

I was VERY nervous about this run today, given the issues I've been having with my leg lately. It has been giving me so much grief. So I was really up tight about it. During warm up I was still concerned.

Started the race out, and AMAZED myself -- I was staying fairly close to the front of the pack, looked at my garmin and there were several times in mile 1 that I was WELL below a 7:00 pace -- my goal for the run was to be sub 24:00. Beat that by 30 seconds so I'm very pleased with that.

Anyway, got running and there was virtually no pain. I felt really good! I haven't felt this good early in a run for a long time. Mile 1 passes by and I'm AMAZED to see I'm at 7:01! That was huge. I'd pay for it later though, because I'm sure I went out a little too fast, because I had to walk a little in mile 2 becuase of 1) the HILL, and 2) the amount of energy I had drained during mile one. Kept passing people though, and that felt good. I remember 1 time during the part I walked (on the hill, in mile 2) a young lady of about 24 or 25 passed me, saw me walking and said "you're looking good, hang in there!". I started running again, and found that I passed her and stayed in front of her pretty well from that point on. Given that I walked 50-100 yards in Mile 2, I'm very pleased with my 8:14 on that mile. But during Mile 3 I didn't recover very well, and was only able to hold 8:11 (Listen to me complain about a 8:11 pace! Last year, I would have been in 7th Heaven for a time like that!)

Anyway, felt really good overall, and am VERY pleased with the run. Last year this run took me 26:29 --- today 23:30-- just 1 second shy of 3:00 better! What a HUGE improvement!

Pace self better! DON'T WALK ON HILLS! I could have probably gone about 1 minute faster had I forced myself to keep running on the hill, even if it was at a 10:00 minute pace rather than walking at a 16-18 minute pace!

Walked it off, fought off puking, and soaked in the hot tub for a few minutes. Got showered, dressed and headed to work!


Lack of strength/ endurance in the run. Cramping in the calf during the last portion of the bike. Poor breathing in the swim.


I really enjoy this little race! It's pretty well organized, and is a fun course. What I'm most excited about though is that my goal was to beat last years time by TEN minutes. And I missed that by only 2 seconds! Last year was 1:19:27, this year 1:09:29! I am REALLY pleased with that. This race today was intended to be my "barometer" on my progress and improvement in my training over the last year. This race last year was my first ever; today, 1 year later I've improved enough that I was able shave 10 whole minutes off my time from last year! That's a MAJOR accomplishment, and VERY exciting for me.

I'll do this race again, without question. Great way to end the season!