The usual nuts and twigs cereal at 5am, REI mug of coffee for the drive, and a clif bar and water an hour prior to race

Walking back and forth from registration, transition, and parking, avoiding goose poop - got the wrong race number and had to head back to get marked again.

Timing started based on the clock, rather than a mat, so we were all set off at once. Definitely need to improve on swimming in a pack. Kept the lead group in sight to ensure I was staying on course.

Try to stay with the pack.

Second sprint tri this season without socks. Definitely improves my transition times.

Could only be improved with a tri-suit. Still pulling bike shorts over my jammers.

Worked to improve my bike fitness in the limited amount of time between this tri and previous, with noticeable effects. ZOOM provides elevation for the bike and run, which was very helpful in planning this leg. Made an effort to take advantage of downhill portions - absolutely bombed down one decent (38.6 mph is pretty fast for a skinny dude like me). Pushed myself to bridge when passed by someone in my AG - made me work! Had a gel around mile 15.

Still need to improve on the bike. If it's not my weakest leg of the race, the effort I put into it sucks the speed out of my run.

Again, no socks has improved my transitions. Was gapped by another rider in my AG by a fair amount and still left the transition zone before him.

Felt like all I could do was shuffle - at the beginning, and after the initial climb, I just wanted to keep from walking (as I did in my disappointing first tri of the season). Between mile 1 and 2 I felt stronger, but still nothing close to my typical pace. Passed by two guys in my AG on this leg, and briefly passed by a third but stayed on him and overtook on the downhill trail. Like my last Hueston race the downhill portion of the trail saved my overall run but was very risky. Had enough gas to sprint to the chute, meaning once again I was not at the overall pace I could have been.

Suffering through the run as though I might walk at any minute but sprinting to the chute suggests to me that this is a mental hurdle more than anything. But, as usual, I need to run more.

Sucked wind for a few minutes, stretched my hamstrings, and ate a couple slices of excellent sausage pizza.

My fitness!

ZOOM puts on a great race - wish I had done the earlier two in the series and will keep those earlier races in mind for next year.