Little panicky at the start, but not my usual all out panic attack. I stayed to the right. My strategy was to swim a straight line to the first yellow buoy. Once I made the first time, I focused on the next yellow buoy. On the final turn, I focused on the blue/white balloon banners over the course exit. I did not try to stay close to the orange buoys - only shooting straight for my next turn or exit. I also tried to stay focused in order to keep my pace high, but not exhaustingly high.

I had a couple of "zone outs" - I want to keep 100% focused. For the last 200M, I started going through my mental checklist for transition.

Tried to stay calm and methodical. Definite improvement.

I still sit on the ground to get my wetsuit off and shoes on. I need to practice wetsuit removal more often.

This was my PR on the bike. I stayed focused and pushed it hard. I knew that I had not done a lot of fast running preparations since ING marathon so I wanted to crank the bike portion. It was a crowded course, and I got slowed down entering a couple of the turns due to other competitors. There was a head wind for the last 4 or 5 miles coming back to the bike finish.

Spend $2K for race wheels! :) One guy passed me, and he was in my age group. I don't want to let that happen again.

Could be better. I knew I was going to beat my overall goal of 2:30 by a good margin so I took a couple of seconds to down some water.

I still sat down on the ground. I really should practice transitions. I prefer longer distance races, so I neglect transitions which I shouldn't do.

I was really hurting aerobically heading out on the run. I felt like I was running soooo slow. I was shocked when I got to mile 1 with a split of 7:29. I readjusted my overall goal to be under 2:20. I felt good for the next 3 miles, then I really hit the wall. I held it together, but it was very painful. I really wanted the overall time to be under 2:20 which is the only thing that kept me going so hard. Even the last 0.2 miles was a mental battle. The upside is that I feel like I left nothing on the course. While the other 2 legs were PRs for me, the run was not; however, that was all I could do.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:29
Mile 2 - 7:39
Mile 3 - 7:33
Mile 4 - 7:31
Mile 5 - 7:53
Mile 6 - 7:43
Mile 6.2 - 1:36



I carried a gel in my pocket for 6.2 miles. I should have carried it in my belly, but I felt like I could not choke down a gel in the heat. It probably would have given me an energy boost.

Hands on knees - heaving and gulping water. God bless whoever threw two cold wet rags over my shoulders.


Race wheels!


Had a great time - loved the race.