water was perfect. except for an occasional gas smell, it tasted fine and chop was fine. the start was not hectic at all and i wish i mixed it up a little more so that i could find someone to draft off of. i started a little wide to avoid the rush and before i knew it i felt all alone out there. i had to sight for myself, so i wish there were more buouys. once i got closer to one i sighted and rounded them very well, but when i was far i had a hard time aiming for the next one. time/pace was right on plan.

unless i've just been lucky, i think the swim horror stories are overrated. i should get a little more involved so i can draft more effectively.

nothing really exciting. t1 went well.

course was pancake flat, but wind was unrelenting. headwind for more than half the time (if that is even possible). i rode my new bike and felt pretty fast, but position isn't totally comfortable yet. the brochure for the bike states that it is "invisible to the wind", but amazingly enough that claim is null and void as soon as someone sits on the bike. new bike or not, i am not a fan of headwinds.
as soon as i started, i realized my bike computer was not working. i thought about stopping to work on it, but decided not to take the time. so... my entire bike leg was one long math problem trying to figure out my average speed. just when i was starting to lose spirits a little from the headwind, i caught cpjohnson. we chatted for a minute and i was ready to take on the second half.


i like the bike leg and consider myself an ok biker, but i was well below the average pace of my age group. i am happy with my bike time (which was slightly faster than my goal), but those other guys can fly. i guess i shouldn't really care, but it is pretty amazing.
also, if i am going to ride that bike long distances, i need to work more on bike fit.

i considered taking my shoes off while riding since i have been practicing and can do it pretty well now. in the end i decided the :04 seconds wasn't worth the gamble. i doubt i would fall, but sometimes my shoe pops off and i have to go back and grab which costs me longer than stopping anyway.

ok. this was not planned. i felt good off the bike and when i looked at the time starting the run, i realized my goal of 6:30 was almost certain and if i could manage my goal of 10 min/miles, i would have a shot at 6:00. feeling good i decided to just get comfortable and see what happened.
the first mile took 10:30! what the f?!?! no problem, keep going. went to the bathroom and had a gu and mile 2 was still a little faster. missed mile marker 3 and when i hit mile 4, i realized mile marker 1 must have been off because i was now sub 9:00 miles. from there on i just leapfrogged with some woman and the two of us flew through the field. the only pain i felt was a little in my knees and the heat and neither of them would be any better if i slowed down, so i pushed it all the way to the finish. i jogged through the aid stations taking a mouthful of water and pouring the rest over my head and then sprinted the rest. the course itself was pretty boring, but i had a ton to keep me interested. saw most of the pro women coming in and many friends (natedogg, cpjohnson, kristin, and guy from my local tri shop). also, part of the run joined the bike course so i got to watch bikes go by as well (i can watch nice bikes all day).
in my wildest dreams i didn't plan on that run, but it happened. i know i'm nit much of a swimmer, but i guess i need to come to the realization that i am a better runner than biker.

nothing.

waited :25 for a hose shower and then stretched on the sidelines waiting for friends to come in. we had 6 people sign up and 6 people finish. that to me was a greater feeling than any time i could put put. out of those 6, we had a guy who hasn't swam 1.2 miles in TOTAL training, a woman who couldn't swim a lap when she started training, and my wife who couldn't run a mile and we ALL finished. seeing my wife round the final turn with time to spare will be a feeling i'll never forget. it was an amazing day. we have 3 signed up for IM MOO and i hope it is more of the same.


heat and lack of funding from a major sponsor causing me to work for a living and limiting my training.


if you can handle the heat and winds of the course, it is an awesome race. expo was the best i have seen (not that i have seen many) and very well organized.