When the gun sounded I seeded myself towards the rear left of the pack. Near the buoy line. The people in the back are usually afraid to get into the mele (as am I) but usually want to stay outside to avoid too much of the washing machine. I got up to the left cuz I figured there'd be less resistance. I was right. I swam up next to the buoys for the first third of the swim. I made the turn in 8 minutes, so I thought I was doing pretty well. Little did I know that the swim would turn out to be long. I drafted really well off of the same guy for almost the entire cross-shore trip. My rhythm was good, I felt strong and fast. When I got to the second turn buoy, I looked at my watch...20 minutes. CRAP! I thought I was doing so well! I'm sure this is where the course was long. The current was against me on the final leg. I was working much harder and it seemed that the stairway just never got closer. I kept plodding along and I felt like I was keeping a good pace but I started to feel like I was out there a while. When I came up onto the stairs (finally!!) I looked at my watch...30:47. Poop. But of course, I didn't know I was swimming 1.1 miles at that point.

Functionally, nothing. I think I did pretty well considering the course was long. If I can have the same kind of swim at Disney for 1.2 miles, I'll be happy.

I took quite a while here. I really had no problem getting out of my wetsuit. I just used the techniques I learned while wetsuit stripping at Ironman Arizona and my suit came right off. I managed to lose my goggles here though. And they were brand new.

I got my feet dried off, socks on, shoes on, swigged some Gatorade, threw my aero helmet on, and put on sunglasses. Grabbed bike (it was weird having to take it from the other side of the rack and bring it towards me), and headed out. It was a long way from my rack to the bike out, so it wound up being a long T1.

Be a little more mentally organized.

This was by far a GREAT bike experience. Last year I had gotten used to being in the bottom third in bike rank. This year it's better...I'll definitely take 88 of 235 compared to last year's overall bike rankings in my races.

I left transition, hopped on the bike and just powered out down the street. I immediately started passing everyone I came upon. Within three miles I had passed a bunch of people and had no problems hammering along at 23 to 24mph. We seemed to have a bit of a tailwind going out. I stayed at this pace til around 10 miles. I slowed just a bit but was still consistently making 22mph. I started getting passed here, by the really fast 35-39 age groupers. I did notice, however, that the only people passing me were on full carbon five thousand dollar bikes with rear carbon discs and 808's or better in the front. So I was OK with this. Besides, I was still passing guys in MY age group. I was worried though, that I was going too fast. Could I keep up 21, 22, 23? I decided I would try as hard as I could.

Around the halfway point, I hit the aid station so I took the gel I had in my Bento Box and grabbed a bottle of water from the aid station as I went by. Perfect grab. Chased my gel with the water, dumped on some me, threw it to the side. Back to business.

The last half of the bike was a little more challenging, but I got thru it just fine. I was working HARD. My lower back started to complain a bit. But I powered thru it and felt strong. I sipped on the Gatorade in my aero bottle as I needed it but never even finished it.

Soon I was in the last mile, still being passed by the uberspeed guys, but still passing lots of others. I looked at my bike computer and it said my average was 21.4. I was pretty thrilled with that. I came down the street to the dismount point, jumped off, no problem. Then ran into the TA and got ready for the run.

Nothing. PERFECT experience here.

Good T2. Still a bit slow but that's because it takes forever to get from the rack to the T exit.

I just ripped off the shoes, helmet, etc. Racked bike, slipped on Newtons, and took a sip of Gatorade. Ran out, ready to attack the 10K.

Just a bit faster maybe? Rack closer to exit?

If I could have a bike rank as good as my run rank, I'd BE something.

As I left transition, there were about four guys ahead of me. I blasted by all of them. One guy came running by at a ridiculous pace. I figured I'd see him in a few minutes. I continued to just run by everyone in my path for the first mile. Everyone seemed to be tired and worn out. I felt fresh. My Newtons felt good under my feet and my body was loose. At Mile 1, I ran up to the aid station, took a gel, grabbed two waters, one for my belly, one for my outside. I felt like a pro as I just whizzed by everyone at the aid station, not even slowing down. My first mile was completed in 6:45.

Miles 2 and 3 were pretty uneventful. I blasted over that little bridge where everyone seemed to kinda slow down to a crawl. I just kept running by everyone I saw. I was passed by no one. I passed the guy who blasted by me at the beginning like he was standing still. He'd shot his wad and was barely running at all. I hit the turnaround and started heading back. I was splitting about 7:05's now, trying hard to get under 7 minutes but it seemed my body just didn't have that extra little push. No matter...low 7's are definitely fine with me.

Got to Mile 4, saw Jeff Parr, saw Shaun, and it gave me such a boost to see my friends out there kicking a$$!! What a great feeling! Kept going and feeling good, still passing runner after runner. A couple really lean, fast guys passed me here. Both in the 25-29 age group. They looked awesome. At the next aid station I took my second gel and chased it with water. I was focused. I felt good, strong, but a bit tired. Ready to be done.

Next aid station I took Gatorade and water. I came over the little bridge again, and just as I was gonna make a left, I saw Corey (LwoodTri) and we slapped hands. Yay...another BTer out there givin' it all he's got. He looked good...we smiled as we passed and I headed down the road, next to the water, feeling like a million bux. I had only 5 minutes to go. I figured that I could come in just under 2:30.

At around 2:28:30 I saw the Mile 6 marker and figured, I'VE GOT IT!! I saw Lisa (GatorGirl22) cheering and taking a picture. I waved and whooped and ran by! But coming around the turn I saw that the finish line was a little further away than I figured. A guy ran by me and I was gonna give chase, but his leg said "37" so I didn't. I just ran by, heard Betsy, Gina, Terri, and Bridget cheering...whooped at them as well. Headed to the finish line and saw it change to 2:45 (2:30 for me) so I figured "well at least I've got 2:30"...and I was super thrilled!! I crossed the line, got my medal, some water, and that beautiful cold towel. AHHH!!

Nothing. I got passed by ZERO people in my age group. I might have tried to go a little faster, but still...this 10K was a PR even in a standalone situation. I can't imagine doing anything differently.

Hung out with everyone. Took pictures. Waited for more BT finishers. Cheered. Whooped. Clapped. DRANK LOTS OF WATER!!!


My inability to swim more efficiently. Other than that, nothing. I was thrilled with my bike time, and thrilled with my run time. Best Olympic Distance experience, hands down.


I love St. A's!!! I will definitely do it again next year even though I will have just run a 100 mile ultra and the Boston Marathon. This was an incredible experience.