This swim was brutal. The conditions were perfect...flat water...but the people definitely made it a challenge. Typically things are a bit rough early in the swim but open up before long and everyone can find some space. Today I didn't have more than 60-90 seconds without either swimming up on someone or having someone swim up on me. I had to break my rythm at least 20 times. There were just people in all directions and no place with open water. As soon as I'd settle into a rythm I'd end up catching people in front. Then I'd have to adjust and the guys behind would catch me. I finally had some space over the final 200m and managed to build a strong pace coming into the beach. Despite all the bumping and traffic I still managed a 2min+ PR. No doubt it would have been even better had I been able to settle into a steady rythm for the majority of the swim.

Not sure there is anything I could have done differently. Every time I looked around there were people in all directions...no clear water anywhere.

This was my first race with wetsuit peelers, pre-packed transition bags and a changing tent. Things went fairly smooth. My gear happened top be hanging on the end of a rack so I didn't need to search for it coming into transition. I grabbed my bag and ran on to the tent. Things were pretty busy so I just found an open space on the floor, dumped my bag, threw on my socks and shoes, grabbed my shades and made for the bike racks. No problem finding my bike and strapping on the helmet. Just a short run to the mounting line and I was off.

I suppose learning to leave the shoes clipped in and do the running mount might save 10 seconds.

What a ride! Over the first ~5 miles I just wanted to get my HR under control and start to find a steady pace. Everything seemed normal when a group of guys start passing me in pace-line formation. I was a bit irritated but figured they were just a few wangs that decided to ignore the rules. It wasn't long before I realized that these guys were just the front end of a pack that must have been 100+. I got sucked in and basically trapped...everyone was riding 3 and 4 wide taking up the entire lane. I was very concerned about drafting so I worked my way to the front and tried to get out and ride solo but you just can't outrun a peleton...I was quickly sucked back in. The pack was moving along at a steady 26-28mph and there were times when my HR was way down in the upper 140's...that's barely Z2 and about 10-15bpm below typical race pace even though I was cruising well over race pace speed. It didn't take long before I came to terms with the fact that this was going to be a different kind of bike leg. It didn't seem like there was any reasonable way to avoid these large packs short of pulling off and watching the race pass you by. The draft marshals would motor up along side of us and just sit there...I didn't see a single penalty given out all day although I saw a few people pulled over at one of the penalty tents. Not sure what they could have done...try to pull over 100+ riders at a time? I estimate that I rode about 30 miles in some sort of drafting situation and the rest clean. It was crazy to hit the 30 mile point in 1:09. The aid stations and bridges did tend to string poeple out a bit but that was only temporary. I ended up with a monster bike PR. Hard to figure out how much of that was due to training, the fast course, and the draft but I'd say that I could have gone 2:25-2:30 without any of the drafting so I still had a very nice PR.

They had bike catchers at T2 so I didn't even have to rack my bike. Headed straight for the gear bags and changing tent. Just like T1, I dumped everything out, slapped on the running shoes, grabbed my hat and gel flask, and made a break for the door.

I went out at what felt like a very easy pace. I wanted to run ~7min for the first mile then drop down to 6:45 pace and hold steady there. I ended up logging 6:15 for the first mile (including climbing the bridge) but I'm not sure I believe it was a legit mile...maybe from the changing tent but not from the timing mat leaving T2. Mile #2 was 6:38 and mile #3 was 6:34. I held in the 6:40-6:50 range but it felt very comfortable. Mile #7 included climbing the bridge again and I dropped a 7:20 there. It was slow but I figured I had enough in the bank from the early miles to absorb it, plus going easy on the uphills is how I approach long races. I either missed a mile marker or took a split at one of the markers from lap 1 on lap 2 because my splits are all screwed up for the rest of the race. I finally started to feel the challenge with about 3 miles left. My goal was to run under 1:30 and I thought I had that under control but I had to maintain 6:55-7min pace. I was having such a great day that I didn't care about pushing as hard as I possibly could...I just wanted to finish strong ..although I didn't have much left over the final 1.5 miles (including the final climb over the bridge). I ran 6:53 and 7:00 for the last 2 miles. I didn't even know until later that night that I missed going under 1:30. What really bummed me out is that I only needed 33 seconds and I know I could have made if it I knew..that's what I get for not giving it 101%.

If I knew how close I was to going under 1:30 I definitely would have pushed a bit harder over the last couple miles.

I took almost 20min after finishing and still felt a bit short of breath and felt a bit dizzy so I thought it would be a good idea to lay down so I made a little visit to the medical tent. After spending 15min resting and cooling down some more I was fine and made my way to the food...pizza, Oreos, brownies, Coke, Fig Newtons...FOOD! A little later I jogged back to transition from my hotel to pick up my bike...maybe 3/4 mile.


I had the race of my life. Everything went my way and worked as planned with few very minor exceptions. I'm totally satisfied with my race.


Let's put the bike issues aside for now. Overall I think they did a great job with this event. This was much more than a race. It all started Thursday with the expo, packet pick-up, sponsored swim (Gatorade), and the welcome banquet with plenty of really good food and a big production set up on the beach. Friday was mellow with another swim, the athlete meeting, and bike & gear check-in. Saturday was the race and the awards banquet back on the beach...another great meal and a very nice way to end the weekend. This whole event took a huge amount of planning and coordination...so much beyond setting up a race course and aid stations. They had tons of volunteers everywhere and everything went very smooth as far as I could tell. Folks who have been to Kona siad this was basically an exact copy of how that is run.

Now the ride...Tour de Clearwater. I'm not saying this was entirely the fault of the RD but I sure hope they learned some lessons and plan to make some adjustments for next year. The massive packs on the bike are a result of having a championship field with a flat non-technical course and large wave starts. They can't do much about the course but they can at least break everyone up more at the start by using smaller waves and more time between waves. I'll be interested to see what changes they actually make for next year and how they impact the race. I won't be there since I'm racing IMFL a week earlier.