I set a PR for this portion of the race. I have never swam 1000 meters. I panicked a little at the start. I moved to the outside to allow the speedsters to go by. I also wanted to avoid getting run over. I saw Jerry at the second bouy and said a quick hello. I swam towards home and got a little off course. I quickly recovered and got going. I was wearing a red cap and saw some silver and pink caps. This was probably not a good thing. The shoulder that has bothered me for the past week and a half felt fine. I did stop to rest occasionally but did not have to visit a Kayak. I'm happy about that. I felt better about this swim than Nathan's

I learned that I have lots of work ahead of me. I think with more practice, I can become a decent swimmer.

I took my time. I brought a bucket to sit and take off my suit. I was not aware that the wetsuit strippers assisted with the total removal of the suit. I had them lower by arms only. I had no trouble with the suit as I had placed body glide on my lower legs to assist. I rolled up my socks prior to the race. This helped put them on just not correctly. I had to take off one of my socks because I put it on backwards. Ugh! very minor issue.

I can do this a lot faster. I wanted to kind of take my time to get my bearings and relax a bit before the bike.

Another PR. I have not biked this far. I felt pretty good. I improved my gear changing greatly since Nathan's. I think I found myself only once in the wrong gear. I also did well on the hill under the Mill Ave bridge. I was able to spin right up. I saw Ken and Jen on the bike course. Jen flew by like I was standing still with not so much as a hello :)..I am pleased with this portion. There were times when I felt really strong and others where I simply took it easy for a minute. I dealt with a runny nose for the bike course. Is this normal after the swim? I am thankful to not have gotten a flat or other mechanical issues. Ken told me about a wreck on Ash by the railroad bridge. Two people locked handlebars. Yikes! I saw plenty of folks walking their bike in off of the course. Oh yeah! I had my wife and daughter out there cheering me on the bike course. I am grateful that they are willing to spend some serious time watching all of the bikes go by looking for me. I saw them every time.

I think I can do better with some more training. I also need to put my new seat on the bike. Let's just say when I was in the aero position that I was not as comfortable as I could be.

You know every race has some learning points. I thought I would unclick my shoes and run in the shoes to transition. I did it too soon and struggled a bit to ride the last 25 yards to dismount. oh well. Next time I'll try to ride on top of the shoes. This was a little trick as the bike finish is in a tight area. I had a little trouble racking the bike. Transition went well. I sat down to change shoes, get a drink and catch a breath. Visor check, sunglasses check.

Just more practice on mount and dismount of bike.

It was HOT! I was hoping that it would heat up a little later in the day. Anyhoo, I took plenty of walk breaks during the run. I was trying to keep my HR down to a reasonable level. I would run and it would climb to 170-185. I would walk a bit unitl it lowered to 155-160. I have to admit I was hot and tired as this point so I sacrificed time to have a little more enjoyable run. I saw Tanya and Josh on their bikes and Jerry on the run course. Thankfully, I was running each time. The map for the run course did not do it justice. I thought I was running to the Pima Indian reservation at one point. I should have known something was up when Jeff mentioned during the athletes meeting about running under the loop 202. I recall thinking "no we don't." Well yes we did. I noticed several people wearing Ipods. I wonder if they were caught. The course strayed onto the loose gravel and rocks at the park just before the finish. I thought this was unnecessary.

I am a better runner than the time shows. I have come to the belief that my Asthma medication kicks up my HR. I am pretty fit now and there is no other explaination that I can think of. I'll ask the Doc next time I see him.

I would like to run in cooler weather next time

Boy was I glad to see the finish line. I saw Jerry and Ken and Dawn (Ken's Wife) I got a few beverages to drink and tried to eat a rock hard banana. Pizza was nowhere to be found when I crossed. Drank some water and walked for a minute. Signed up for a massage followed by a stretch. I waved hi to Chris but did not get a chance to talk to him.


The heat and I believe my lung capacity resulting from my lifelong Asthma. Lack of proper training


I was very pleased with the race. Despite the miscommunication regarding the bike course and swim caps I really enjoyed this race. This is only my third triathlon and first at this distance. It was quite a challenge and feel that I earned my medal big time. I would love to be faster and hopefull some day I will. It was great to see all of my ESCKTC members out there. I missed the award ceremony and buffet. Congratulations to all that competed.