My swim felt much better than the last race. Right from the beginning, my total effort level seemed much lower and I had figured my split might not have been as fast, but turns out it was quicker. I was able to catch some decent drafts off the other swimmers, but in rounding the first bouy, I got pinched out by another swimmer. He came in from a high path and cut right in front of me as I was hugging the bouy. So, I had to stop for a second, let him pass and then round the bouy myself. I didn't mind too much, since I hugged his hips for a little while and let him do all the work. Until I realized he couldn't keep a line, then I let him trail off completely wide and I stayed in a straight line for the next bouy. In all, an excellent swim leg.

Not let someone pinch me out against the bouy and just swim over top of him, since it was my line anyway.

Great transition. I didn't fight with a singlet or anything this time and just went topless. It definitely shaved time off my split. I actually passed 2 people in the transition area (the only time I had the feeling of passing someone all day :) When mounting my bike, I had a good running start and got clipped in without problems.

Nothing

My bike leg felt great until the 9.5 mile mark. I developed a nagging side stitch which forced me to slow my pace down considerably, as I'd rather work out the stitch while on the bike than trying to fight it on the run. In slowing down, 3 people passed me (not to say they wouldn't have passed me anyway). But overall, I felt much stronger on the bike and don't feel I expended as much energy as in my last race.

Drink more early on in the bike. I started to catch up on my hydration towards the end of the bike leg and didn't balance it out enough.

I had a small problem getting my right foot out of my shoe as I approached the line and just barely got it off in time. This caused me to nearly fall down as I was dismounting just to make sure I was off the bike in time. As I steadied my feet on the ground, I nearly ran into the spectators watching on the side, but I gained balance rather quickly and did a good job racking my bike and switching out of my shoes.

Get out of my shoes a little sooner and be steadier on the dismount

The big hill in the first mile killed me. I ended up walking part of it, praying that I could just make it to the top and be okay. Once I hit the first turnaround point at about a mile, I started getting in a rhythm and the run felt a little better. I decided to start turning up the speed a little sooner than in the last race and I guess that's where the 20 second improvement came from.

Train more

Oranges, water, and walking


Poor training leading up to the race