Still have that initial panicky/bad breathing habit. I thought I had gotten over this. I was able to calm myself down and swim relatively well after a few hundred yards.

Dang that beach run plus uphill trot to the transition area.

I need to continue working on relaxation, calming thoughts, and breathing at the start. I was real happy with the swim. My watch didn't start either so my swim time according to TIMEX was 00:00:00 - woohoo!

I was winded from the swim/climb into transition. I almost always am. I did alright considering the wetsuit and all.

Not much - stay calm and smooth and positive.

This was my first race using my heart rate monitor. I had a couple of lapses where I zoned out mentally and let my HR drop into the 130s. My HR does not get very high so averaging in the upper 140s would have been ideal.

I kept being disappointed by my pace, but I think the wind and hills were taking more work than I realized.

Concentrate and keep pushing on every mile.

I nearly fell over at the dismount line. My left clip was stuck, and I was a bit disoriented. Luckily, the race volunteers were in reach. Thanks to whoever prevented me from being hugely embarrassed at the dismount line by catching my fall.

T2 was fine; took my time; drank some accelerade; trotted on out; saw some friends who had finished the Sprint; smiled and waved for the cameras.

Nothing except dismount more gracefully.

Run was tough. I wanted 8:00 minute averages which I almost got. I had stomach cramps at mile 5, but they went away thankfully. As usual, the first mile sucked. But, it soon turned into a normal run.

At the first turn around, I saw a friend of mine about a mile behind me. I knew that his swim wave was 2:00 minutes before mine which meant that I had 2:00 minutes plus a one mile lead on him. BUT, I also knew that he was a very fast runner. I noticed at each turn around that he was gaining, but I managed to hold him off for the V-I-C-T-O-R-Y! That kept me going.

I just mentally focused on the next mile marker OR aid station. I walked almost all aid stations which is not ideal, but I needed it. The run was tough. The run was mental. The run was like heaven when it was over!

Try to maintain my pace goal. Looking at my HR data, I think I did what I could under the conditions.

Heaving; wandering aimlessly...

Then, my friends brought me water/gatorade, and I cooled down in the shade. It only took a couple of minutes for me to regain a NON-MISERABLE state.


Not much - wind if anything. Of course, it was a factor for all - not just me.


That was fun now that it is done!