This is as canoe, not swim, leg. We started in a 10:00a wave with 5 other canoes and finished 2nd out of our wave. I'll call that a win.

-More weight training. We did well, but we could have made up about 10 minutes with more strength.
-Better technique. We would have done MUCH better had our training trip not been rained out.

Unwrapped my shoes, took off the Under Armour warm up pants, hit the port-o-potty, then waited 4 minutes for my partner.

I should have started running. My partner runs much faster and would have caught up by mile 2. We could have shaved 4 minutes.

SCROLL TO RUN SEGMENT NOW.

Bad from the start. I could "hear my tires" from the time that we hit 350 on. My rear tire was very leaky and my front was low. I don't know what happened. I'm not going to dwell on that.

I stopped just after mile 1 to inflate my rear tire. I tried to tell my partner to keep going, but he's too good of a guy. That stop ate 5 minutes.

The next 11 miles were almost all headwinds (gusting up to 15MPH easy) and crosswinds (freezing each one of us). My tires continued to flatten, so I was 30-40% slower than normal. It was so damn hard.

I stopped between miles 12 and 13 to inflate my front and back. Again, I told my partner to go ahead...still a good guy. He stayed. That ate another 5.

The rest of the race was still slow. Faster, but slow. My tires were still 20PSI under max and I was pumping my legs as hard as possible without killing my cadence.

This will be the leg that haunts me until next time.

Double, triple, then quadruple check my tires.
Bring a full-soze floor pump to the transition and check my tires.
Wear my bike shorts over the running tights I should have purchased.
Borrowed/bought a CO2 inflator.
Changed my rear tire at mile 1.

Walked from the top of the hill to my bike with my five year old son, Sammy. Shed the run gear down to my compression and put on my RoadID set. It took much longer than it could have, but it felt good to not rush it. Thank goodness that I had that mindset because I was going to need it during the bike leg.

Tri-shorts: I will get them for next year. That would save all kinds of time.

SCROLL BACK UP TO BIKE

There's a short trail to the road. It's a beautiful run. I'd swear that almost the entire thing was a gradual uphill until you hit the bike path. Then, it's flat for about 1/2 mile before you hit the big hill. I didn't walk a single step of the run leg until the first set of steps on the hill. From there, I "hiked" the rest of the "climb". That sounds better than I WALKED the rest of the COURSE.

This was a great run...probably my best too date.

Worn tights. It was cold.

SCROLL TO T2

Lay on the grass and try to keep the bright lights from overtaking me. Getting kisses and hugs from my son and dear wife.


My weight...which is improving.
My mind...which was still doubting.
My tires...which are in for a lashing.
My hydration...the water on the run tasted horrible and I didn't drink enough on the canoe or bike.
My lack of proper temperature prep...I should have purchased tights.


It's too hard for me RIGHT NOW, but it was my first tri. 2011 will be a whole different story. Don and Gary do a fantastic job of organizing the event. Flawless. I'll address the volunteer stuff below.

This is a great event. It's 1,200 yahoos having fun and about 60 serious athletes. 50% of the yahoos think we're serious athletes, but we're not (me included). There's great comraderie, the scenery is gorgeous, and the after-race party food & music is awesome. I didn't like the band at first, but MAN can they play.

It was so cold during the bike and during the after-race party. I was warmer on the bike (because my legs were pumping), but the after-race party was just WINDY AND MISERABLE.

There were lots of nice volunteers, but they needs some clear training and leadership. Two of the running waterstops were really just tables of cups with people standing there. There were not enough volunteers at the cycling corners; there were two that were down-right HAZARDOUS. This can't happen...period. I'm actually surprised that some of the people that ignored the rule to ride single file weren't hit.

Finally, there needed to be a briefing just before the whole shindig starts to remind people of some very important things. Here's my suggestion of bullet points:
(1) Stay diligent in the canoe. People die in this river every year.
(2) Help people who have tipped. No race is more important than safety.
(3) Don't play around on the river. Keep moving.
(4) There are cars on the running course. Shout ahead ("CAR!") when vehicles are coming.
(5) Be careful on the hill. If you can run up the hill, shout ahead ("RUNNER!") as you approach people walking. If you're walking, GET OUT OF THE WAY OF RUNNERS!
(6) Don't forget your bike helmet. Make sure it fits you and the straps are tight.
(7) Don't go faster than 10 miles per hour until you hit Route 350. You're still inside Fort Ancient and there are lots of people.
(8) SINGLE FILE ON THE BIKE UNLESS YOU'RE PASSING. (This was ignored to a ridiculous degree.
(9) Don't forget to dismount ON THE PAVEMENT and keep moving until you cross the timing chip mat. Take off your timing chip AFTER you cross the mat and get out of the way.
(10) HAVE FUN!!!!