The first buoy came and went quickly. I was swimming well for the first 250 or so yards and was doing a good job of stying close to the pack. I wasn't too far back until the second buoy when my goggles completely fogged up and I couldn't see where I was going. I rolled over on my back and tried to clear them up but was not very successful. They water help kept asking me if I was doing ok and I spent a lot of time explaining to them that I just couldn't see where I was going. I abandoned using the goggles and finished with primarily breast stroke. I managed to swallow 1/3 to 1/2 of all the water in the lake which would haunt me for most of the remainder of the morning. All the breast stroke really took it's toll and I really felt like crap coming out of the water. The last 400 yards was pretty brutal for me. The women started catching up and going by and I really started to wonder what the hell I had gotten myself into.

I really need to find a swim coach to teach me to really swim. I can go through the motions, but if I were a more efficient swimmer I should have been able to knock that swim out in 1/2 the time and been in much better condition for the rest of the race.

The transition was a good 200 yards from the swim area and considering how much like crap I felt coming out of the water it is amazing I made it up the hill. Fortunately running up this hill to T1 was a good foresight into what the bike course held for me in the coming minutes.

Be in better shape coming out of the water. Have 2 towels. One for the ground where I am standing and changing and one for drying/cleaning off so I am not putting my shoes onto feet covered in gravel and grass from the 1/8th mile run from the drink.

The first 6 miles were horrible hills. Plus I really felt the urge to yack up all the fish pee I swallowed while splashing my way through the drink. I made it out of the park in one piece and out on the the rural country highways that surround the resort. I was good until I decided it was feeling better and decided I needed to kick it up a notch. I sped up and went around a few people and that is when the leg cramps decided to show their ugly face. Around mile 9 my left calf went into emergency shutdown mode and became as hard as a rock. I managed to get it unclipped and tried to rub the knot out. Luckily I do one leg drills so I was able to keep moving without crashing. It took a good two minutes before I was able to move my food and get clipped back in. I decided the pace I was at prior to the acceleration was where I was going to stay for a bit. I came up on a couple of other competitors and did my best to just hang on with them for about the next 11 miles. I was really starting to feel much better and we had turned and the crosswind was almost a tail wind, for now, so I decided to try to make a move and pass the folks I was riding with. I had managed to be well out of sight of them when we got to the last major hill. I dropped down into the granny gear and stood to try to grind up the hill. The hammies decided not to cooperate and it was all I could do to not crash before I could put my rear back on the seat. There was no way I was going to make it to the top of this hill so I decided that crashing and dying in the ditch on the side of the road was less appealing than the alternative, I stopped and got off to push. I used the bike for support and pushed until the grade started to level a bit and remounted. I think the little break was good as my legs felt better and I could stand and pedal again. I made it back into the park and back to the transition area. I was in pain, but felt better than I had since I got on the bike. I decided to take my time in T2 and recover.

Spend more time riding outside on hills and go on rides that are longer than my event.

There was nothing fast about this transition. I got unclipped from the pedals with my shoes still on my feet. I walked my bike to my transition area and sat down to change my shoes. I really started feeling what kind of shape my legs were in as I stood up to make my way out of T2. It was not going to be a good run.

Be in better shape off the bike so my time is quicker. Make the change from bike to running shoes without having to sit down. Get some Yanks so I don't have to tie my shoes.

The run would have been much better if I hadn't been in such bad shape after the swim/bike portions. I felt ok leaving T2 but it wasn't too long before I had to walk. I tried to find other CMC members who were walking to take short breaks with, but before long my legs were cramping so badly that it was all I could do to stand up. My hamstrings were in failure mode and my calves were ready to follow suit. I would stop and try to stretch on any good tree or post along the way, but I think I was just asking too much of them. I would run as long as I could(some may call it shuffleing) and then walk/crawl until I could get my legs to cooperate again. Somewhere at the end of the first lap someone pointed out they had the same number inscribed in black marker on the back of their leg as I did as he ran past. I did my best to keep up with him until he turned into the finisher's chute while I made my way back to the turn around by the transition area for lap 2. Had I realized he wasn't gearing up for lap 2 but was instead finishing I would have just let him go. I was nearly in tears from the pain scorching through my legs at this point, but I was not going to quit. I made my way back around the loop continuing the run/walk/crawl combo that got me around the first lap and the thought of a cold beer waiting for me at the finish line keep me moving. My legs started to respond a bit better since I was now drinking water/heed every few minutes and had done a couple of GU shots. I got within earshot of the PA and Mark and Sarah's voices calling out the names of the athletes finishing ahead of me and found new motivation to continue running. Once I made it back onto the blacktop I know I was in the home stretch and was able to pick up the pace a bit. When I got to the finish chute both sides were lined with CMC members cheering me to the finish. It was really cool to have that kind of "team" support rally you the last 100 yards. I crossed the line in 3:32:02(two minutes behind my goal of 3 1/2 hours) and got my finisher's medal and a nice cold bottle of water.

Run. Run longer than what I need to finish my event and do it after being on the bike for 2 hours. I spent most of this "run" walking and it really took it's toll on my time.

I knelt down and just waited for my legs to get back under me. I slammed my water and went over to the finish chute to cheer on those finishing behind me.


Poor training habits.


This race was everything I expected it to be. It was every bit as brutal and humbling as a race could be. There were moments where I was on my way to hanging it up because my body was aching. Hats off to those who did the 1/2 on Saturday on the same monster course. I would love to do a longer race, but know that my training schedule does not warrant the kind of abuse that a longer distance race would provide me. I am just glad I finished. I know that my time directly reflects the amount of training I put in, but again, I managed to finish another race without really putting any prerace efforts in. I wish I could motivate myself to commit to training and work at being faster.