This swim was great! The water was cool but not cold; got over the initial shock of it within a minute or two of jumping in and had another couple minutes to get comfortable before the start of the wave. There was so much room to swim on this course, that I only had contact with a few other swimmers the whole time. I breathed mostly with a 3 pattern and almost never had to sight because the course was so straight and wide. I really tried to focus on staying smooth and in control. I hit my stride very quickly and maintained it throughout, hitting my target time right on the dot.

Absolutely nothing! I didn't mind not drafting. It was great swimming my own race.

I was quite wobbly getting out of the water and into transition. Land just feels horrible after being the water for so long. But the cap and goggles came off right away, and I got the wetsuit down to the waist as I loped past Anna who was smiling and cheering, gave her a thumb's up, and headed into and through the transition area. The wetsuit came off easily, I rinsed and dried my feet, put on socks, helmet, glasses, and loped the rest of the way to the bike start.

Um ... be in better shape so I could run instead of lope. :)

The bike was a little less fun than the swim. My goal on the bike was 16 mph and comfortable effort. I think I executed fairly well even without anticipating the size of the hills. I didn't have a chance to hydrate as much as I wanted before the swim so was sucking down my Cytomax like mad during the first lap. The hills were ... hilly. I was able to spin up fairly well, just trying to keep my effort and breathing in check and not worrying about the speed (or lack, thereof). The downhills were excellent--especially the ones that ended on flats where I could then cruise at 18-19 mph with little effort. Heard Anna screaming at the end of the first lap, which was great.

Most of the way through the first lap, I was lucky enough to grab a gel from a guy at one of the run stations. It was a raspberry Hammergel, I think, and I wolfed it down without water even though I'd never had one before. I didn't care! I was starting to feel fatigued and needed something. I grabbed a bottle at the bottle exchange and took in some more water a few miles later and made it through the last lap fairly well.

Nothing much, I don't think. It was a hot day, so I just tried to stay comfortable.

Jumped off the bike and loped into transition. I had a spot at the end by the plastic fencing, and Anna was there waiting for me. I got a smile and a kiss, wiped my face off with a towel, slipped on my shoes, race belt, and hat, and was off.

Nothing. Seeing Anna and spending those extra few seconds were totally worth it.

It was hot. Super hot. I watched my heart rate and monitored my breathing, mostly forgetting about my time. I just wanted to keep running and only walk the water breaks. Took a gel right before mile 1 and washed it down with a cup of water there. Got some more water at the same stop after the turn around and dumped some on my head. This was the pattern for the rest of the race. Each stop, I slowed to a walk and grabbed two cups: one to drink, the other to dump. It kept me cook for about 5 seconds until the sun got to me again. There were times in the run I felt absolutely horrible, but I kept chugging along, knowing my pace was slower than my practice bricks but determined to keep running. The second turn around took a very long time to get there, and I wasn't feeling too great by this point. I wasn't taking in enough water, and I was feeling a bit chilled despite knowing I was overheating. Miles 5 and 6 were extremely difficult, but I kept moving. At the sight of the finish line, I experienced an unbelievable surge of energy and was able to kick it in for the last few hundred yards.

This year has been a base building year, so I hope to be able to do better next year. I'm ranking it average instead of below average because I achieved my goal of only walking water stops.

Some angel from heaven handed me an ice cold bottle of water. It was the best thing I have ever tasted or felt enter my body. Anna was there right after the finish line, and I drank and got all misty eyed and tried to stay upright, wondering a little bit if I should visit the medical tent. After most of the water, I found a chair and sat down. My heart rate had dropped back down a good 50-60 bpm, but I was still breathing hard. It took a good 15-20 minutes for me to be able to get up again and walk around. I grabbed a cookie but felt a little nauseated at the rest of the food. Another 15 minutes later, I was cool enough to eat a banana. I grabbed a sandwich for the road because Anna and I had to get back to the hotel, shower, and check out before we were charged for an extra night. I was able to eat part of the sandwich about 75 minutes after I finished and a full meal another hour after that. After that, I ate anything that wasn't nailed down!


Besides the whole base-building comment above, I'd say the heat. It was brutal on the run. But I really felt like I executed exactly according to plan, and absolutely nothing went wrong. I couldn't ask for a better experience for my first Olympic distance.


This was an execellent race! Everything was perfectly done, there were TONS of volunteers, the organization was top-notch, and the course was great. Kudos to the folks who put this on.