Never quite felt like I found a groove, but was able to hang with many of those in my swim wave and even PR'd the swim! Also, never got into a bilateral breathing rhythm, continued to gasp for air when breathing to the left, so stuck with what felt comfortable and would sight once then remained head down on the second breath. Overall, there were moments, especially around the buoys, where I found myself in the mix trying to fight my way out of the group, but swam well!

Train with more OWS's!

This is by far my worst area of racing, as my comfort level on the bike is greatly maximized by 1) bike gloves & 2) socks. I also had an issue with my race number ripping from the safety pin, so fixed that prior to heading out on the bike.

Buy a racebelt, get accustomed to riding w/out socks and gloves.

I felt that the course was a bit longer than the official mark of 29.2, but will stick with it as that's the length posted. Felt good for first few miles, stayed aero, then held back a bit due to a percieved front tire leakage. I slowed a bit to check things out, but all seemed well, not sure why it felt low? It could have been a combination of nerves, weight distribution on my front tire, etc. But I put the evil thoughts of a flat behind me and pushed on.

I honestly felt that I had ridden a stronger ride than the results posted. Could be the distance posted, vs. actual length.

T2 I can fly through, purchased new lock tie lacing system for this race and felt that it really helped move me through. Other than the comfort of using a hydration belt, couldn't think of how I could have moved through quicker. Even with the addt'l seconds added from the latching of the fuel belt, I was still within the top times for my age-group.

N/A; maybe run faster?

Now this is where I tend to lose any ground made up for on the bike. I use a modified run/walk. I head out with my watch set to a 4min jog, 30 sec rest, but end up scrapping rest periods if I'm feeling a rhythm that is working. Most importantly for me, the rest help in keeping properly hydrated, as I cannot get comfortably drink and run at the same time, often ends up down the wrong tube. The course was great, well marked, but I found myself using most of the rest periods to hydrate, as the sun was in full force and it was starting to get really hot. Other than the heat, my legs felt strong throughout most of the run. Prior to the last 1/2 mile, I scrapped a few rest periods, and really began to feel it, but continued to give it my all and finish up relatively strong.

Train with more bike/run bricks, to get the legs moving a bit quicker in the beginning when I'm still feeling strong. Pace myself and streamline my run engine (lose some more weight) ;-)

Walked through the finish shoot, grabbed some grub (snickers protein bar, EAS shake, Pepsi Water) and my free massage, as there was not yet a line.


Few bike/run bricks and OWS training.