It was very odd to be completely surrounded while trying to swim. i never panicked, not even when someone splashed right when i was trying to take a breath, causing me to get a mouthful of water instead of air. i spent most of my time stuck behind a guy that i could not pass no matter how hard i tried. i didn't have my face in the water as much as i had hoped, but it was around half the time, and feel i made good time considering the fact that i was drafting a slow guy.

i had forgot to put the bike computer on the bike while setting up my transition: it fell out of my biking glove while i was putting them on (and as it turned out didn't work for some reason anyway). i had a little trouble pulling on my second shoe, scoffed at the girl sitting down in the grass one row in front of me (her father was telling her to take her time), but grabbed my bike and jogged out of transition.

i had meant to wear wetsuit socks, but decided against them because of the warm water. i wish i would have worn them to protect my feet from the gravel getting out and kept them clean. My feet weren't too bad, just a little grassy and wet the entire race because i didn't take the time to dry them off, but i do have one pinprick sized injury on my feet. Not bad, all told. i was really fast compared to many, partially because i had no wetsuit to take off (which i am glad for, i would have been too hot).

i HATE this course. The road is smooth but not in the best condition. The three hills are killer both ways. There is never a chance to gain any real momentum, as soon as you're down one hill you've got another slight incline.

i had meant to have my first gel before the swim, but forgot to until it was too late. i had it shortly after starting the bike portion. About 2/3 through i started seeing spots and had my second gel. About 3/4 through my left hip and knee started bothering me, but i pushed through it.

Buy a new bike. Train with more hills.

i rode in my running shoes, so there wasn't much to this transition: rack, helmet off, hat on, camelbak off, waterbottle in hand.

Not stop to talk to my family over the fence. i was doing everything while i was talking but slowed as a result. Of course, this was my first chance to see them as they had missed my swim entirely.

Getting off the bike, my knee was still bothering me, so i had to ease into it. There was some concrete at the start that i walked on, not wanting to make my knees worse or bother my shins. The first ten minutes were the hardest, and i didn't run the entire time. i had meant to run 10 minutes, walk 1 minute intervals, but that proved to not be enough of a rest. During my first rest i had my third gel and drank about half of my water. After that i ran 7.5 mins and walked 2.5 minute intervals. i didn't really get into the groove of things until halfway through (the second mile seemed incredibly long), but i did push myself to run more than i wanted to at that point in the race. i walked the last big incline, then sprinted to the finish.

Bring both bottles of water instead of just one. Considering the amount of energy and pain i had at this point i feel that i did incredibly well.

i walked to talk to my family, then back into transition (which they were already taking down even though i wasn't last). i had my last gel and some more water and gatorade. i also took some Advil because my knees were pretty sore. After taking my stuff to the car and going to the bathroom and getting my lunch i stretched out a bit. After the awards ceremony i went to the swimming area and stood in it waist deep for a while to "ice" my knees (it was colder then than at the start of the race, probably because boats were on the lake churning up the water).


The number one thing, i believe, was the bicycle i used. i must have been passed about fifty times on the bike, and i noticed that i had the same cadence as everyone else. The next factor was the fact that i didn't get to rest the day before the race, i had to go to work and stand on my feet most of the day, then go home to load up the car, then get up early the next morning to drive an hour to get to the race. Lastly, my weight is still upwards of 200 pounds, which isn't a deal breaker, but doesn't help.


The lunch was horrible, bland and not enough, no vegetarian option (which doesn't bother me, but several that were near me in line), and NOTHING was provided to drink (luckily i had some water and Gatorade left over). No water was provided on the bike leg, but i expected that, and brought my Camelbak. There was only water at the drink stations (at my last 5k there was orange slices and larger cups, not that i used them then), in teeny tiny cups, and by the second station i was out of water but splashed half the water on my head on purpose because i wasn't doing too bad on moisture but was really hot: the temp at the end of the race was 76, but it felt hotter.