I am in wave K, so I hung out by the swim exit to see the first pro/elites come out of the water. I ate a Gu, then headed down at 8:20 for my 8:36 start. I was feeling so calm, very much at peace, and ready for a good race. They had a 10x10 floating dock for entry into the water. It worked out pretty well. We had 2 or 3 minutes in the water before the horn sounded and off we went. I just took it easy at the beginning. I had not down much swim training (again). I knew I could do the distance with no problem. I was not real pleased about how much upstream there would be, but hey, everyone else had to swim it too, so you just go, go, go. I felt comfortable in the water, I had a few minor calf cramping issues, but they seemed to resolve themselves. I never looked at my watch in the water, but I thought The upstream portion went pretty well. Once I hit the buoy though I had serious sighting problems, as in like I couldn't see! We were headed right back into the sun, the glare made it very difficult for me. I had brought tinted TYR goggles but my trusted the seal on my clear Aquapsheres more. I ended up swimming pretty blind. I caught myself off course a few times, but in the end I made it so, I had the bike and run to catch back up to the others. I am not complaining. I swam in the POTOMAC!!

more swim training (duh) and check the sun. I definitely should have used my tinted goggles. I know I could have been faster, if I could see.

I ran the whole 300m from the river to T1. I had just a little bit of trouble with my wetsuit but not too bad. I hit on some gatorade, grabbed my bike, and ran to the bike exit. I thought I did ok, but my transitiosn are still really slow. Also, I forgot to bring Gu for on the bike. I was not happy about this, but would just have to go it with no calorie replacement for a while.

tape Gu on bike, practice my T

I knew I had a lot of time to make up, so I hammered it just about the whole time. I really gave this ride my utmost mental effort. I wanted to catch all the guys who swam faster than me. The areas where I pushed the hardest were on the way down to Haines Point and the tunnel sections, where you could get a good run on the very short downhill. On the way back in from Haines Point the wind was pretty fierce and by far the toughest part of the course. I stayed as low on aero bars as I could possibly get and just mashed the pedals all the way around. I felt like I gave it all I had. The question later would be "did I hammer the bike too hard?" I saw everyone from my crew on top of a bridge near the end of the first bike loop, they yelled encouragement at me, and as I came off my aero bars with my right hand to wave, I nearly wrecked. DOH! But I didn't wreck, so now its funny. I gave a volunteer a bit of a scare too, sorry dude. I knew I had a good bike going. I was passing people all over the place. When I got to T2, I looked at my watch and knew I was somewhere around 67 minutes!! But I also knew my bike computer said 23 miles. Still, I was very, very happy with this bike. I saw Mike D in T2.

not forget bike nutrition and perhaps remember that I do have to run after I get off the bike!

I could not believe how fast the bike split was. I ate a Gu, said hey to Mike D, shoes on, hat on, hit the gatorade, off I went.

more practice here

I had no legs from the get go. I had some abdominal issues again, but nothing, NOTHING like Columbia. At least this time I could run a decent pace. I was not going nearly as fast as I wanted to, but my calves felt good, I was making decent progress, and I knew that I had probably done a bit too much on the bike. I tried to speed up a couple of times but just didn't have much left. Overall, I think I did OK. I just kept trying to be smooth, keep a decent pace and hang on for dear life. I was very happy to see the finish line, the 2:33 clock time, and my crew! Thanks again everyone!

not too much, yes, I overdid the bike, but I think I had to.

I still had a lot of air and gas to get rid of. I felt ok, except for the gas pains. It took a while for the pain to stop. I was doing a lot of grunting and groaning. I was pleased about the race, but really not in much of a festive mood. We needed to get everyone back home, so we grabbed the shuttle and off we went. What a cool event!


swim more, bike more, run more, but I really think I did ok for what I can get in.


Congrats to Chuck Brodsky, the Mayor, and all the volunteers! Everyone did a fantastic job! Thank you all for a great opportunity~