Yams and I debated if the chop here was worse than Lake Geneva last year. You start out next to a dock then veer right parallel to the shore, then veer dead balls into the chop. No whitecaps or anything, but big waves and about 65 at the shore and 63 at the farthest buoy, so they said. There was actually a pocket on the way in that seemed even colder than that. Kinda weird. Anywho, started right in the mix to get some practice of swimming with legs and arms and feet and all and took a kick to the beak and some other shots, but nothing major. Just tried to stay focused into the chop and was then able to ride it back in nicely. Was a bit conservative into the chop cuz last thing I wanted was to blow up but overall pleased with this though didnt hit my goal. Act of god methinks.

Get to be a better swimmer. Lessons in the off season. Tons of progress but in order to be in AG contention, every minute is gonna make a difference.

First time with wetsuit strippers but they kinda got hooked up on my ankles. Next time will undo the ankle zippers before getting to em. Was a nice slot on the end of the rack. Tried to be quick but for having strippers could have done a bit better here and considering I missed first in AG by five seconds, every one of em counts.

Work on transitions more.

A bit of a headwind but plan was to push hard on the bike and see what the consequences were. Not much to say really, just pushed hard. I did see I lost three of the eight screws in the wheel cover so might need to invest in some locktite or something. Heading into the bike dismount, a big azz van that was on the road of primarily closed traffic came to the area before the dismount where there was a narrow point through and tons of spectators. In the confusion or whatever this dink was kind of slowly creeping around and volunteers are screaming at em to get the fock out of the way, as was I. Felt like a knob a bit, but cmon dude, there are signs all over for the race thing. Had to ease back a bit and cut the corner sharp.

Nada. Just keep putting on miles and watch the paces keep climbing hopefully. Fastest bike time at any distance.

I was worried my legs would be toast after the bike and my history of conservative racing needs to get behind me (ok, new distances are an exception MOO). But the plan here was to keep it easier on the front leg, chip away at the bluff and then hammer it the last two. More or less did exactly that. Carried scaps with me and one gel for last two miles. It was kinda cool cuz there was a dude about a mile in that passed me and I made him my rabbit, probably early to mid 20's. He was running a rich pace and I gave him some slack thinking the hill would slow him down a bit or he would be in trouble. At the base of the hill Lara and all the little ones were in a field and sitting down. They saw me and jumped up and were absolutely hilarious. They were EEEAAAWWWWing and got some high fives, etc. From there it was on to the hill. The rabbit was still ahead of me and some other dude came up from behind fast. As we hit the steep part of the hill, mixed in some walking and very short stride jogging to just chop away at it without blowing up the heart. Hit the top and turn back to the finish with my rabbit still in place. The second dude who passed was a very strong runner and I decided it was too early for me to try and catch him, so he went bye bye. Back to the rabbit, about four miles in I decided it was time to make a move. He was starting to fade but I still felt very strong and it was time to bring it home. As I passed him he said something about solid pace and I told him he and I were going to bring this focker home. He stayed along for a bit but with about a mile and a half to go I entered very sharp focus and pushed pace, hard but still a little left in the tank. About a half mile left to go, as I am starting to push a little harder, Lara and the girls passed me by on the way to the park. She slows down the van and I look over and am like 'hurry up, I want to see you guys at the finish'. Last quarter is downhill and I just let gravity do what it does but pressed a bit too. Finished strong into the chute too which was kinda fun with all the supporters.
splits:
6:38
6:34
7:19 (Bluff Pass Road)
6:27
6:10
5:57
.2 @ 4:49 pace (um, remember there is a sharp downhill)

I might learn to push earlier but this was a well executed run according to plan. I will keep learning to push hard and manage the upper zone discomfort management or whatever you want to call it. Just keep chipping away on the miles and hopefully times will keep dropping.

Got a bottle of water, bagel, some bananas and chilled out with the Yamses and eventually Lara and the girls made it. Just chilled out for a while at the park after until awards ceremony.


I can blame the current all I want, but there are folks who swam faster. My bike and run will hopefully keep getting better with more miles and hard work, but the swim is going to prohibit me from AG placements in the future until it is more in line with what top folks are throwing down. Shoulder rehab is going to be a part of this as well as I feel weakness in the arm that I think prohibits a solid pull. Swim sucka!


Highly recommend the race as it was very well put on with transition security, nice post race event, lots of volunteers and the community supports it. Yams said he thought he heard they were doing a HIM distance next year. Sign me up if they do!

Second in AG and missed first by five stinkin seconds. Not too shabby for the first time doing the distance!