This has been a weak spot for me so going into this race my goal was to push the swim and try to improve my overall rank in the swim. I went out harder than usual and kept the stroke cadence up. I also did not forward site very much and tried to use the shorline as my guide. Since is was a down river swim, I figured I couldn't get too lost. But since I tend to drift right, this strategy really took me too close to the shore and out of the main current.

One major mistake in navigation was I was just swimming along and I looked up to find myself trapped in a marina's dock slips. I couldn't get out. I had to ask a guy working on his boat who was laughing at me to help pull me out so I could run over the dock a jump back in.

Overall, I finished just about MOP so it was a very good swim for me.

Maybe not get trapped like a beached whale. I need to continue to practice my swiming and really focus on balance and swmming straight.

T1 time was include in the bike time, so it is an estimate. No real issues here. Things went as usual.

If I asked you to show me a harder course than this one, I'd think you would be hard pressed to do so. There aren't any huge hills but the hills are constant. I think the elevation gain is about 1500ft. There is no flat area on the course so gear selection is huge.

As usual, I went about as hard as I could. My legs were not at 100% so I really had to dig deep on this ride. After about 6 or 7 miles I was pretty much all by myself. It is a nice feeling to be back of the front of the pack. At about the 10 mile turnaround I started to see MikeJ and picked it up a little to try to real him in. I also saw the leader and counted about 20 riders ahead of me before I got to the turnaround.

About 2 miles later I caught the next rider who I thought would be Mike but it wasn't. Another mile or so I caught 2 more riders on the same team, on each others wheel no less (I love passing draft cheaters). And Mike was no where to be found. He either turned into Norman Stadler or made a wrong turn. I later found out he missed a turn.

The rest of the ride was uneventful as I had no one behind me or in front of me as far as I could see. So it was a very lonely time trial. I did catch a few more riders in the last couple of miles but by that time I was spinning and getting ready for the run.

I didn't taper for the event so the tired legs were expected and unavoidable. I didn't eat well leading up to the race and my body did not have the proper energy for the race. This is something I certainly can control and I'm not happy with my laziness with my diet.

Estimated time. Great T2 for me. This was my first attempt at taking my shoes off before the dismount and it worked great. My only mistake was putting my wetsuit on top of my running socks so they were hard to get on because they were wet.

My legs were toast. I passed someone early but that was it. I think I was passed by 4 or 5 runners before the finish. Oh, I also had to stop for a train and lost 30 seconds or so. Other than the few that passed me, I was pretty much alone on the run so I really had no one to pace off of. The hills hurt, the downhills hurt, there weren't any flats but I'm sure those would hurt also. Overall, I'm pleased I didn't walk at all and I'm happy I pushed it enough to keep my position.

Do the aquabike.

I had cold sweats during the last half of the runs and walked around until those go away. Chatted with Rob and Mike. Rob had some bike problems and had to DNF. Thanks Rob for sticking around to jockstrap, your words of encouragement really helped me get through that run!

Got a massage, cheered it a couple of later finishers and went home.




Not tapering. Prerace nutrition.