Great swim for me. I told myself to take it easy, don't get caught in the frenzy and think "lean through the water."

Nothing. This was a solid swim within my current abilities.

Ran in feeling good from the swim. Fairly quickly got out of wetsuit and into bike kit. Took a swig of Gatorade and got ready to do some fast biking....sigh.

Not much

Remember when I said I was going to check my bike? Got caught up in the excitement of the race and forgot to check the bike. Big mistake. Barely could turn the crank over, when I tried to mount the bike. Got back off bike and adjusted the brake. The rear tire still had resistance and squealed like a stuck pig. The ride was horrible. I stopped three more times to adjust the brake and wheels to see if that would help. Nothing did. I was forced to ride the small chain ring in a middle gear, as anything more was way too hard to keep up. I was barely passing mountain bikes and thought I was averaging somewhere between 12-14 miles per hour. I was shocked to see almost 16 MPH. Considering the gearing and difficulty I was having, this was a welcome sight. However, I was leaving 20+ MPH on the table, due to stupidity.

Check the bike better before the race. The issue was the rear tire was rubbing against the frame and not the brakes. I had bought some new tires, which were a little bigger, and I believe that was the issue. I need to find out if I can pull the wheel further out into the skewer slot to make room or if a space is available.

Still have to get better getting faster here.

Hurry

I felt ok, and kept it slow on the way out, and I thought I picked it up after 2 miles and closed faster. I must have been practically walking on the way out, because this was a horrible time for never walking the course. I felt good though, so chalk it up to understand what it feels like to run and be slow.

Push the beginning a lot more.

Ran through the chute, heard my name, raised my arms, and got passed at the mat by the one 41 year old male I had passed with a half mile to go. He beat me by .75 of a second. He remembered he was there to race, and I lost focus. Next time, stop posing for the camera and run. Congratulated him for beating me with his kick.


Bike sapped my legs. It was the toughest 16 mph average I have ever maintained. I'd rather do hills.


Awesome race vibe and logistically everything was perfect. I'll be back every year I can.