I was really hoping for a good swim in this race. I felt comfortable in my warmup, and all seemed ready to go. I think there were too many people in the wave for the small start area. I was bumping and jostling the whole way. Maybe I just need to get better at that. Anyway, spent too much time trying not to get kicked. The smoothest water I was able to find was right along the noodle line. Didn't last for long, and then I kept swimming up on people. Seemed like a lot of swimmers from the previous wave, or those that went out too fast, were hugging the noodles.

Maybe start more outside, and even further up. I need to get better at going hard right away to get some rythym and find some feet to follow.

I had cut another inch off the bottom of my wetsuit. That really made the non-chip leg come out easy. I run with my shoes on and hop on. That worked pretty well. I noticed a lot of guys trying to jump on and get feet in, and I'm thinking they did worse than me in this transition/bike start. I think if you do that, you have to do it well.

Nothing

I got up to speed quickly, and felt pretty strong in the saddle. There were a lot of riders in close proximity. I had 1 guy pass me, but I got him back around mile 4. Had another pass me, but I took him out on an uphill. I was having fun, and was passing a lot of bikers from the previous wave, and faster swimmers.

Around mile 7-8, I had a very brief section that must've been slightly into the wind, where my intensity and speed dropped slightly. I got passed first by a really fast relay biker, and then a group of 5 or 6 riders caught me. This seemed to wake me up. I played cat and mouse with these riders for the rest of the bike. It was tough to avoid drafting, as we were all going a similar speed and some of the riders would not move over to the right. I checked my speedo, and was pleasantly surprised by my average speed.

Over the last 3 miles, I put away most of that group that had caught me, and my speed rarely dropped below 23mph. I felt like I was actually getting stronger as the bike progressed.

This was my fastest bike split yet, and it was a lot of fun. If I did anything differently, I would try to avoid my dry spell in the middle. I just need to power through.

Very good transition

Nada

This didn't feel like a real good run. My ranking would indicate otherwise, so maybe it was just mental, or the bike. I didn't get passed by anyone, and I usually hope for that. I did see B-one just before the turn around, and then passed him shortly after. I was very surprised to see him where he was.

Keep training. I've got more in me for this.

I didn't do one. I was warm enough :)

My family and in-laws were there watching and cheering for me. It was a lot of fun to have them there. It seems like my kids somewhat enjoy seeing me do that. Later, I thanked my kids for coming, and my one daughter said, "Even if someone offered me a million dollars not to watch you, I would still come watch." She is a real Ham! But, you gotta love it!


Overall, I'm happy with my race.


Lack of food after race was strange. Course was actually better than I expected.