ok - my swim sucked. The underwater "forest" was a bit disconserting and I occasionally got caught up in the weeds. When swimming, I usually breathe bilaterally every third stroke -- when racing I sometimes swim every other stroke breathing on my left. Today, with the bouys on the right, I opted for breathing on the right to aid with siting. However, my left arm gets all gimpy when I breathe to the right (poor catch and pull). All the women were in wave #3. Wave #4 (all men over 30, I think) was 3 minutes behind us. Needless to say, I got swum over a bit as they came from behind -- nothing violent though. I did see something that bothered me -- in the a man in the wave before me (and that we had caught up to) turned around in the middle of the swim out and joined the rest of his wave on the return to shore.

In hindsight, I should have either tried to swim bilaterally or breathe on the left once I settled in.

No "official" time for transition -- it was around 3:24 according to my watch. I always have a hard time getting wetsuit off (big calves), but I moved deliberately.

bike time included T1 - Real average speed was 18.8 mph -- which is fast for me. I went all out on the bike, to see how I would do. It was hot and sunny, so I made sure I kept drinking. About 3/4 through the bike, I realized I really needed something more than water. A gu was waiting for me for T2, but I think I should have ingested another one before the bike -- or had something else to drink besides water.

Rethink nutrition plan.

I needed to walk a couple of steps before breaking into a jog after dismount. Ate gu, put on running shoes, and off I went. Est. time 2:12

5 mile run in opposite direction of bike course. That nice downhill on the bike I described early became a 2/3 mile long slog uphill within the first 1.3 miles of the race. Arghh! Settled into a pace that was pushing it a bit, but felt doable for 5 miles. I walked through the 3 water stops. It was hot and sunny, but thankfully a good portion of the course was on shady residential streets.

I

stretched and munched and drank. Watched other finishers, including a tri-team mate I had passed on the bike course, and the Hoyts, who usually do this race every year.


I think I needed more nutrition for the bike leg. I definitely felt it on the run


I like this race because it's only 45 minutes from my house and is small, with 200-250 participants. The course length is a bit funky -- running 5 miles after swimming and biking is very different than running 3. As I review the results, my age group is very competetive. I came in nearly 10 minutes after the woman in 5th place. Had I been racing in the F 35-39 year-olds, I would have been 5 of 12, instead of 6 of 7.