The swim went very well. I looked down at my watch as I was getting out of the pool and read 4:16, which is a personal best by 14 seconds. So I was pleased.

I cought up with a couple of guys at the end of the very last lane. Otherwise there were no traffic jams in the pool for me.

Nothing.

A guy next to me asked a volunteer to help him pull the shirt over his back, I am glad I didn't have that trouble and that's probably why T1 went well. I got stuck behind a guy walking his mountain bike at the end of T1, but that's ok.

Nothing short of going sockless.

I was about to pump my tires in the transition area that morning when I noticed that the rear tire was flat. I proceeded to change it out with my only spare.

I came of T1 feeling strong and was passing people from the start until about mile 2 where I felt a definite bob in my rear tire. I couldn't believe it, I was having a flat on the first even ever. As I pulled off to the end of someone's driveway I was cursing like a sailor.

Luckily I bummed another tube from the Clean Machine boys helping people with their bikes by the transition area, so at least I had a spare tube to change to. The tube changing process went smoothly until it was time to inflate the tire. The first CO2 cartridge vented into the air as I struggled to release its content. Luckily I always carry two cartridges. The second one inflated the tire to maybe 80 PSI, but that was good enough; plus, that's all I had and had to live with it.

While I was changing the flat an older lady came walking down the driveway still in her robe to pick up the news paper. She saw me, smiled, and wished me good luck.

But good luck must've been somewhere else that morning because five miles I felt the same dreaded bob in the rear. I didn't know what to do. Should I get off and run the remaining two miles or just ride it out. I got off the bike and checked the tire, it still had some pressure left, so I kept on going. I stopped once more thinking that I'd run the remaining mile, but change my mind again and kept going.

Check the bike the night before. When changing a flat make sure whatever punctured the tire is not lodged in the tire still. After the race I examined all three tubes and, as I suspected, all three had punctures in about the same place. Whatever punctured the tire must've dislodged when I was riding it flat. I wasn't able to find anything in the tire.

T2 went ok despite the fact that I knocked the bike racked next to mine off the rack.

Don't knock the adjacent bike off the rack.

I used the two bike flats as motivation for the run. I took off, but seeing the pain, misery, and exhaustion on the faces of the runners near the finish, I backed off realizing that I was running down hill, which meant that I'll be running up the hill in this out-and-back course. Nevertheless, I was passing people. Within two or three minutes of the finish I added a little more speed to top off the race. I didn't get passed on the run.

Nothing.

Flat tires and lack of foresight to check the tire before putting in fresh tubes.