Started at the back of the wave, but near the inside. We were starting on the boat launch between two docks. I let the wave get a 5-10 second head start, then started swimming. Nice rotation, bi-lateral breathing he whole time, felt good the entire time. Swam into the first corner bouy, but did a good job sighting/navigating the first two legs. Almost cut the second bouy (saw the crowd swimming the third leg and headed that direction before I realized the bouy was to my right. Navigation fell apart somewhere in the second/third leg. I swam inside one of the small marker bouys (not a problem) then promptly swam across the course to a kayak on the other side. Spent more time on the third/fourth legs sighting and came up right between the docks. Drafting was typical non-existent for me. Swam until my fingers dragged the ramp. Stood up and took off goggles/cap as I walked up the ramp to T1. The walk was about 200 yards across asphalt and grass. They put mats down across the gravel (THANKS!!). I wasn't wearing my HRM or a watch, so I had no idea of time the whole race.

35 minutes seemed long, but I was going at a steady pace and walked up to T1. No complaints. Probably need a little more time with speed-work in the pool.

I rated it good, because navigation was far better than other swims and I felt great coming out of the water.

No wetsuit to deal with, and I swam in a tri-jersey, so it was dry off my feet, jam on my bike shoes, helmet, sunglasses, stuff a hanky and jels in my pocket and go. (It did seem to take a long time, and I kept thinking "move it along"). Walked my bike through transition and past the mount/dismount line. Nearly fell trying to get my foot over the bike.

Move it along. (Maybe leave the reading materials for after the race???) Nothing went wrong, but elapsed time shows the deliberate pace.

Probably one of the slowest transitions in my life.

Went off-road twice in the first mile. Completely missed the left turn coming out of the park and ended up about 10 feet over in the grass. All I kept thinking right then was "don't do anything sudden..." and I was able to get it back on the asphalt. One of the other riders told me I needed a mountain bike for that kind of sh!t. About 50 yards later, I drifted off the pavement into the gravel and was able to get back on the road without loss of blood. Decided then that I needed to pay a lot more attention to my position and the road, and set up turn lines well in advance.

Ate a gel about 10-15 minutes into the ride and another about 50 minutes into it. Sipped water the rest of the time (finished about 20 oz of my 24 oz bottle).

Most of the ride as pass a few people, get passed by a few people. I saw onother local triathlete blast by (I saw a Tri-Peoria top and a tatoo on the small of her back. Those two, plus the bike pace narrowed the choices considerably.) Passed the aid station without taking anything and tried to keep my cadence up the whole ride. Tried to thank the volunteers and spectators who where out there on a chilly morning.

This was my first race using a tri-jersey. Other times, I've put a (dry) shirt on in T1. Blasting along the bike route at 20 mph (editorial: rounding up) in a wet shirt at 60-70F took a lot of heat out of me. I was a little chilled and my feet were still numb at the end of the ride. I got a little chafing on my nipples (which turned into a lot on the run).

I was really working for a 20 mph bike split and just missed it (19.8), but I felt good heart/legs-wise the whole ride.

Besides stay on the road??

Didn't try to get fancy with riding on my shoes or anything since this is my only race this year. Screeched to a halt at the dismount line while a fellow cyclist fell over. Walked the bike through transition to help regain land-legs.

Racked my bike, took off the helmet. Put on my running hat and race belt, then took off the bike shoes. Pulled my half-rolled footies onto my feet and my running shoes. I don't have YANKZ, but I do have the curly elastic laces, so I just gave them a tug. Grabbed a third gel (just in case) and headed out for my favorite part of the race.

This took a while, but again, I was being deliberate. The socks are important, so get them right in T2 rather than have them become a problem during the run.

Again, one of my slowest T2's. Nothing went wrong, just slow.

I was about 150 yards into the run when I saw WSM9363 come in on the bike. Yikes!! I've only got the T2 time on him...he's gonna run me down...My legs were cooperative, so I just kept running at a steady pace. Turned out of the park, and headed up the road. Passed by the first aid station without getting anything. Made the turn and grabbed a water at the second station. Passed by another Tri-Peoria person wearing a Cat-in-the-Hat outfit (walking). Hit the 2-mile sign and guessed that the first mile was the aid station. Got to the turn-around and started looking for WSM9363. (I'd figured he'd run me down by the 3-mile mark.) Saw him, but didn't know how far behind he was (a couple of minutes, but I couldn't tell whether he was gaining on me). Passed another Tri-P guy and then the 3-mile mark. Grabbed a gatorade at the fourth drink opportunity (where we rejoined the main road). A Tri-P lady passed me leading up to the last turn-around, we both got water. She stopped to stretch, then passed me again. I told her I was looking out for my brother who was coming towards us at that time. I was counting paces past the 4-mile mark (about 125 paces) til we met, but I wasn't sure how far the mark was from the turn-around (200 yards??) so I still couldn't really tell whether he was gaining on me or not. Grabbed another water at the 5-mile station and started to feel confident that I could outrun him in a sprint to the end (since he would have been working hard to catch me already). Hit the turn to the park and SHADE!! Glorious shade! I kind of wanted to linger in each shadow for a few seconds. The weather was great for me, but I'd now been in the sun for a couple of hours. I don't recall whether I got passed by anyone once I got into the park, but decided to challenge anyone trying to pass in the last 0.2 miles (we were pretty spread-out). BAMBAM66 said I looked good at the end of the run (she says this every race, but I could believe her this time).

Got a lot more chafing during the run. Ouch!!

Ran the entire course (other than walking a few steps while drinking).

I wouldn't want to do anything different. Helps to know someone is chasing me. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have run this fast if WSM9363 hadn't been behind me.

Leaned over to take off my timing chip. Grabbed a water and Powerade. Headed back through transition to the run course to cheer for WSM9363 finishing. Walked around a lot, finally hit the bathroom (had the urge most of the bike ride). Grabbed some food and ate lunch with my niece/nephews. Put my bike and stuff in the car and headed up the run course to find my "walking buddy" who was still on the course. Cheered his son in, and walked up about half-way through the park until I met up with my buddy. We walked to the final turn and he jogged in to the finish. We hung around for a few more finishers and the awards. My buddy's son got 2nd (out of two) in his AG, and was surprised when his name was called. Both had huge smiles at the finish line. (They've got custody of my old road bike right now.)


Leisurely transitions. Not nearly as much bike training as last year. Probably went easier on the bike which left me in great shape for the run.

Weather for this race was just about P-E-R-F-E-C-T for me, unlike other races where I've wilted in the mid-day heat.

I ran the entire 10K, which was good for me.


This was the second year for this race. The RD runs a sprint in June that sells out in 1 day with a lot of out-of-town interest. I know why now!