I was better warmed up this time than last time and felt much better at the start. I stayed on the outside and didn't have to worry about too much bumping around. Really for the most part I was consistent and steady, but unfortunately that means I was consistently slow. I veered off a couple times, but I did a better job of sighting and was able to correctly fairly quickly. I drafted off a couple people, but it wasn't too long before they left me behind...

Swim faster?

It's not a blistering transition, but they clocked us out of the water as soon as we left, so this includes a long run to the transition area. I had large flying insect stuck in my shoe, which took an extra 15-20 seconds to take off, empty and put back on. I ran very quickly even with my shoes on. My biggest problem was forgetting to take my power gel as was the plan.

I think it's time to practice leaving the shoes on the bike. Also, I need to tape my gels to my bike so I can eat then while I ride.

I've spent a lot of time working on getting the right fit on my bike, and it definitely paid off today. Still not a great time, but my goal was to average over 20mph and I accomplished that.

I really enjoyed the hills(bridges) and was able to pass quite a few people on them. Got up to 34 mph on the downhills. For the most part I kept a steady effort level and kept pushing. I forgot to reset my computer so I had no idea how far I had gone and was a little surprised to reach the finish. I probably could have gone a little harder at the end.

My left calf started to cramp about 3/4 the way through, it didn't hurt me at the time, but it was definitely a harbinger of things to come...

-reset computer
-try to avoid potholes
-don't lose focus or let up

In and out pretty quickly. No problems.

Once again, need to start practicing taking my feet out of the shoes while in the bike.

On any other day, a 22 min 5k would leave me furious. I don't know if it was long, but the times were long across the board. When the elites are running 19 min you know it's a slow course.

I never really hit a rythm or stride. The first mile my calves cramped up while running on the sand and I think that really hampered my performance the rest of the way. Somehow I came in #1 for the age group, but I know I could have done more.

Proper fueling would have prevented the cramps.

Just walked around for a while. The area was packed. I skipped the massage tables, went over to the food tent and grabbed some recovery food. I then went over to the transition area and stretched for about 5 min.


Proper fueling.


I really was impressed. This was a large group of people and they did a very well job of keeping things organized and running smoothly. The towel and water at the end was nice.