I was finally doing some mental preparation. Thinking about pacing, visualizing my race...ok, I just wasn't paying attention. Next thing I knew, my watch was at 6:09 and my wave started at 6:10. By the time I got to my lane, everyone had already begun. Some of them had already completed a full lap. I jumped in and got busy while cussing myself out for being so F&*()^% unprepared.

Surprisingly, I felt pretty good in the water. I focused on my pull and body position in the water. I caught two people immediately. Passed the girl at the end of the pool, then caught a guy on the way other end of the pool, but he refused to let me pass at the end of the pool. I kept slapping his feet on the next length and he still didn't let me pass. On the 3rd length about half way down the pool, I managed to grab his ankle and give a tug. He let me pass.

Get to my lane on time!

Seemed to be a fairly long run from the pool, so not a bad time for t1

Nada.

I really didn't feel very strong on the bike at all. There just didn't seem to be much strength in my legs. Overall, however my time was actually ok.

Train more consistently

I was the first person in my rack to finish the bike, so I actually had plenty of space, but the transition area still felt cramped. Racked the bike, took off my helmet, pulled on my socks and shoes, grabbed my hat and number belt and was finally on my way. I could have shaved a fair amount of time by not wearing socks for the run, but just can't bring myself to run without socks.

Learn to run without socks.

Out on the run, I slowly began gaining on a woman in red and black quite a ways in front of me. I realized that I was breathing way too hard about a quarter mile in and tried to settle myself down. Just like on the bike, my legs just didn't feel strong. Saw Matt within the first mile on his way back in and gave him a "five." Not too long afterwards, I saw Ray and gave him "five."

Grabbed a bit of water at the turn around and passed my rabbit on the downhill. Dan yelled at me as he was going the other direction and he looked good too. I almost didn't recognize him. He's looking pretty fit these days. A few minutes later, I saw Ocky and gave him "five." All of the BTers looked like they were feeling good. Seeing so many of my friends on the course made the run go by very quickly and it really helped me enjoy the race despite not feeling quite up to par.

Mental preparation, focus and training. I know I've got a much better run than this in me. I should have been closer to a 6:30 pace.

Walked around a bit and visited with all the BT folks. Had 3 beers when Rock Bottom Brewery showed up.


ME. I've obviously got some areas to work on and I think the biggest area is my mental approach. This goes for my training and in this case, especially my race.

Even though I feel like I had a sub-par performance, I still had a decent overall finish time so I know I still have an opportunity to have some success this year. It's just time for me to get my ass in gear :)