The water temp was 79 degrees at race start, one degree over wetsuit legal... that is if you want to be considered for any award or national points. I didn't care about either, so I wore my wetsuit. My plan was to stay comfortable on the swim, which I did. I was planning on finishing in 40 minutes and I beat that time by quite a bit. Time in the bank and I didn't feel tired!

Nothing

Here I just wanted to stay calm and make sure I have everything for the 59 mile ride. I rated this transition as average and I think there are some things I can work on to make it faster, but losing a minute here isn't going to factor in that much in the overall time.

Just need to practice a little more to feel more comfortable.

I felt good on the ride. I've ridden this course before and knew what to expect. My goal was to average 17 mph. I felt very comfortable on the ride and had fun. At least until about mile 42. The day had been overcast until then and now it started to heat up. I had also dropped a water bottle early in the race, which I didn't think would be a big deal since I had two more bottles of water and one bottle of Hammer Perpetuem (which was my fuel source) with me. Plus, there were two handups along the way. I had to relieve myself early in the ride and I think I lost another bottle at that point... don't know how though. I realized this when I finished my first bottle of water and went to switch them out. So, I had no water except for what was mixed up in my fuel. And I realized this after the first handup. Good thing I was close to the second handup! The chip seal road and the heat were starting to take a toll. Then as we were heading up a hill, a rider in front of me got off his bike and started walking. As I passed by he asked if I had a spare tube. I stopped and gave him one of my tubes and a CO2 cartridge. Now I don't know if this is legal or not, but I couldn't leave the guy stranded. After that point I felt energized. I think just getting off the bike made a world of difference. I finished the ride faster than expected and feeling better than expected.... More time in the bank.

Need to do more riding. :0)

This was a decent transition. Couldn't decide if I wanted to take a bottle of Hammer Perpetuem with me. I went ahead and strapped on the bottle and took off. After the first mile, I wished I would've left the bottle at the transition.

Practice.

This is where it got nasty. First off, I should've left the bottle pack at the transition. I brought along a full bottle, a flask of hammer gel, and some e-caps. The waist pack started to put pressure on my stomach, which wasn't good. I took the bottle out and carried it in my hand and stuffed the gel flask in one pocket of my shorts and the e-caps in the other pocket. This took the pressure off my stomach. I tried to drink some of the Perpetuem that was mixed in the bottle, but it just didn't taste good at that point. I ended up dumping the contents and stuck to using hammer gel and e-caps along with water. This combination ended up working very well. After the first 3 miles or so of the run, I started feeling pretty decent. It had been more walking than running until that point, but then I started to get some energy back. Mechanically and mentally I felt great. No pain, no blisters, good attitude.... I was just out of gas. Lack of long run training. The hammer gel and e-caps were giving me some energy, but that will only get you so far. I was walking the uphills and running the flats and downhills as much as I could. Even though it was a slow run time, I'm happy with it. I didn't think it was going to go as well as it did.

More long runs.

Sat down!


Lack of training. I think I was okay with the nutrition and fueling and I was happy with my swim and bike. I just didn't train enough to get me through the run faster.


This is a good race and I recommend it for anyone. The run course could stand to be improved, but this is difficult at any venue when you have a race of this distance.