Swim was exactly what I expected. Started out middle of the pack, made the turn, tried to get into a rhythm and actually swim with my face in the water. Was only able to get in a few strokes before my goggles started leaking. I think the seal was on the swim cap causing the leak. Ended up pulling the goggles down around my neck and swimming Tarzan style. Rest of swim went like all of my swims, slow and straight. Rounded last bouy and headed for the flags. Because of my early wave start there were still a lot of people cheering as we exited the water. Run to T1 was very long but I got to see the male pros pass again as they started the run.

MUST WORK ON THE SWIM!!!! This is my biggest weakness. Must do more OWS as part of my training.

Besides the long run to T1, my in and out of transition was pretty good. My rack was the most northeast rack in the bunch. Follow the outside fence to the end and there it is. Had two issues during T1. First I forgot to check the fit of my aerohelmet during set up. I have a Rudy Project with the quick adjust head band. It was too small when I went to put it on. Had to mess with that before taking my bike off the rack. As I exited T1 I bumped my left cleat and it popped off the pedal. Fortunately it was rubber banded to the bike so it didn't fall off and get left on the ground, it just drug the ground until I was able to grab it. Held the strap in my teeth as I mounted the bike. I normally mount from the left but because I had no cleat on that side I had to mount from the right. As I switched sides I drug my left big toe on the ground and scraped it pretty bad. I must have look like a mess heading out on the cobbles. Was able to get my cleat on with no problems after getting up to speed.

Check helmet fit during transition set-up.
Check tension on left cleat, that side unclips too easily.

Longest race ride so far. Thought it went well. After the rough start I settled down, got into a comfortable cadence and started picking people off. Things were going great until the 5th mile when at a police manned intersection, a car pulled out in front of me. I only had about 25-30 feet to react. She finally saw me and stopped with the entire front, up to the driver's door, in the right lane. Still don't know how I got around her. God was with me on that one. After I passed her, one of the riders behind me said I was so sideways at one point, that he could read the label on my downtube. HR almost hit 200. Took about a mile to get settled down again. Things went really well for the next 12 miles, then started getting a burning in the saddle area, good thing I put the small Chamois Butt'r in the Bento box. After that the rest of the bike was uneventful.

Aerobar mounted missile launcher and more lube on the seat during set-up.

Had a little trouble re-racking the bike due to another bike not leaving any room on my side. Got a look at my toe before putting on shoes, knew it was going to be a painful run.

Bike faster, get back to the rack before the other guy.

Had to pee from the start, but refused to stop or go on myself, just held it to the end. Toe bled through the top of my shoe before I hit the half mile mark. Painful but not too bad. Quads felt like they would cramp at any moment but never did. Made myself take fluids at every station despite need to go. Near the halfway point the had Gatorade with ice cubes in it. Took a sip chewed an ice cube then drained off the liquid and put the ice in my hat. That felt good. Made sure to take advantage of the people spraying the hoses. You can't spray a Clyde too much. Kept a steady pace for the most part and finished the same distance behind the guy I followed out of T2.

Not much, this was my first run of this distance so I am pretty happy with my results.

Cold towel over the head, water, Ironman Preform and head for some shade. Worked my way back to the Medical Tent to get my toe cleaned up then went to the massage tent. Got my 10 minute free massage on my calves, hamstrings and quads. Went to the food tent then the beer truck and ate in the shade.


My inability to swim correctly. Would have liked to been in the 20+ mph on the bike but didn't know how hard to push.


Definitely a repeat race for me. Will work to better my time next year.