Managed to swim a little faster than last year, for some reason. Had a guy whack me pretty hard, and enjoyed a kick to the face, but otherwise pretty much went without incident. Just took the swim easy, conserving energy for the rest of the day.

I need a swim lesson or something in order to get much faster at this.

I've simplified transitions greatly, reducing the amount of crap I'm carrying on the bike. Just blasted in there, put on the shoes and helmet, and headed out. Pretty fast, really. Felt great.

24th in age group.
281 overall (includes relays).

I don't think much more time's coming off this transition, really.

That was a great little ride. Just wanted to average over 20mph, and squeaked over 21. Followed the Ricci plan to great success (easy on the climbs... fast on the downhills and flats). Cateye says top speed was 45.9, which is pretty cool.

I think I should have just stopped and quit the race at the aid station that was populated with a half-dozen stunning college coeds in bikinis. I mean, how can 1000 idiots just fly by that thing at 20mph as if this silly race is a higher priority? What the hell was I thinking?

This was another fast transition. I thought about blowing off the socks on the run, but I was very glad to have stopped to put them on. I think I was much more comfortable. This was another great transition.

Again, there's not much here I can do to improve other than try not to rip my race number (again) when I turn it around on the race belt. It just doesn't provide adequate pecker coverage (in the D3 silly shark suit) when it's torn.

7th in age group.
252 overall (includes relays).

Really felt great on this run, and pleased to make it in 8:33's. Coming out of transition from the bike I was just on fire. No problems at all, and kept my race pace throughout. Followed the Ricci 5/5/5 plan here and it worked amazingly well. Basically, it's just an acceleration project that allowed me to catch a bunch of guys in my age group between miles 8 and the finish. Brilliant!

Well, at one point I wanted to take some electrolytes but I didn't have any water because I was just past an aid station. So, I sucked some moisture out of the sponge they handed me and... HOLY MACKEREL! I think they soak the sponges in a urinal before they hand them out. Ick!

Also, at mile 10 I felt like I had to pee. I had a great race going and I've heard of this technique, so I just pissed all over myself while running. I didn't know that I could do that (unless maybe I was being chased by the cops). It was just ridiculous and nasty. I'd probably do it again if I had to, but it really wasn't very pleasant.

Pretty whipped across the line, and sort of staggered down to the res, where I ran into all sorts of very nice D3 and BT racers. Julia and Ryan really just have to be about the nicest people in Colorado. Others were equally kind. These really are fantastic individuals.


I think that if I had aero bars it might help get the bike speed up. A swim lesson might be smart. Otherwise, that's about as fast as this old jalopy's going to go.


Managed to beat last year's time by 30 minutes! That's amazing, and it's all because of Mike Ricci and D3 coaching. There's no way I'm improving like that without their support and guidance.

Really a well-run, wonderful, race. Barry's just the king, and this has to be one of the best Half-Ironman events in the country.

Two weeks to go before Ironman Kentucky!