I was freeeeeezing by the time the race started. Shivering, teethc chattering, etc.

As soon as the gun went off, I was struck by how fast the pace was. Almost before I realized it, more than 1/2 the field was well out ahead of me. I was sticking to my pace, but in retrospect, I wish I'd at least tried to go out a little faster. No problems on the hill--passed a few people there. Hardly got passed at all, again, because I'd let most of the faster runners go out ahead of me.

Not be borderline hypothermic at the start?

Start faster and see if I could hold the pace. My pace was ok--about 8:00, which isn't bad at all for me, but I was annoued that I let so many people go. Last race of the season, and I felt like I could have pushed a little harder.

Transitions weren't timed. I'll try to figure it out once I get my Garmin uploaded. I'd guess it was somewhere around 2:30.

I wasn't really rushing.

The cold and the wind wasn't bothering my hands or feet as much as I expected it to, but it was really hurting my eyes, even with sunglasses on. I definitely passed a lot more people than passed me, even lapped one or two people. I'm very comfortable on the hills, and even managed to stay aero and pedalling hard down the long descent, something I'm usually too chicken to do, since the park is usually very crowded when I'm training there.
Nutirtion plan was to drink 24 oz of powerade endurance in the aerobottle, and eat one gel with about 5 miles to go. A did all of my eating and drinking on the flats.

I'm sure I could have found some more speed on the flats. Overall speed isn't so great, but the minutes spent griding up the hill four times at 11-13mph definitely hurt the overall pace.

Again, no t2 time from the chip. I didn't have a great t-2, but again, I wasn't really rushing. Had some more Powerade, got back into my shoes, and ran out of transition. Actually, I took a few step before I realized I still had my helmet on, so that took an extra ten seconds or two.

Take my helmet off.

Legs felt heavy, but better than I expected. My eyes, though, were killing me. Really dry and sore. THe only thing that made them feel better was keeping them closed, which I could only do for short stretches. I saw the overall winner heading for the chute just as I was heading out. I was passed immediately by two guys and I let them go. The rest of the time, I just held my pace. I think I was passed by maybe one other person, and I passed three or four people. The racers were pretty spread out at this point. I passed one guy with about 1/4 mile to go. I started to get a little warm around mile 2, so I took off my hat and neck-warmer and carried them with me. I had debated just going with the l/s underarmor top for the run, but, in T2 I didn't feel like stripping off my l/s zip-top or my vest, so I left them on for the run, but it was cold enough that it didn't matter.
My quad felt a little balky when I tried to push up a hill or cut around a corner, so I didn't do my usual strong kick to the finish, just kinda hustled through and got my medal.

I probably could have pushed a little harder, but I think I'd had my fill of suffering at that point.

Had a crepe with Nutella (which was nearly frozen), and a cup of coffee, which was only lukewarm. Finished my powerade. I was debating whether to hang out until the presntation of trophies, but, when the RD said, "It's be about another 1/2 hour.." I decided to leave. Chatted breifly with one person from the tri club, and it looked like he was going to leave also.


It was a fast field, I think, esp in my AG. I was 39th overall, but only 11th in my AG. If I'd been racing in the 40-44 AG, I would have finished second in my AG with the same time instead of 11th. I noticed that the womens' 35-39 AG had only 5 0r 6 people, while the mens 35-39 was 20 people. That didn't limit me, obviously, but it probably affected my ranking. In general, I'm fine with how I did, although I kind of wish I had gone out with the lead pack in the run instead of just letting them go. I'm not unhappy with 11/20, but I'd have been happier in the top 10.
The cold was a factor, but not a gigantic one.


The RD for this race is the same as for Bassman, which is a much larger local race series, so they know what they're doing.
It's a good end-of-season race. Given the conditions, I think it would have been nice if there had been some kind of heater or indoor area available to people. Plenty of volunteers, and although there was only one drink station on the run, it was so cold that it didn't really matter.
One thing--I dont' really understand why they can't get chip timing. They use a system where the chip is in your bib, which means it doesn't track transtions and also that you have to wear your race belt on the bike. It's not a huge deal, but I'd prefer chip timing, which is pretty much the standard everywhere else.