Water was super warm. Everyone was clumped together on the inside buoy so me and a few others went outside and right on the line for some clear water. Start was pretty clean until I drifted into the mass of traffice but I got through it oK. Was right on the first two buoys but I drifted way right going to the thrid buoy which I couldn't find due to the sun and needed a redirect from the guy on the sea-do. Got back to the course and from there i stayed in the major traffic lane and got run over by the fast folk with red caps. Got into a good rhythm and swam nice and controlled. Felt Ok but really was surprised and disappointed when I got in an looked at my watch and saw 48 min. Warm water, no jelleyfish, no current, no wetsuit and felt fine. Alot of folks said it was long but I don't know about that long, i was just slow.

Swim straighter and faster with some intensity.

Was a good transition. Nice and smooth no wetsuit to worry about and I was out to the front of transition and I realized my gel flasks were still on my towel. So proped up the bike jogged back to my area packed the gel flasks and pump, retrived my bike and was off.

Don't forget my gel flasks. Laid it out right, guess I was brain dead.

Since this was my 3rd race and 2nd HIM in 8 days and third HIM this month, my goal was to have a solid bike leg and break the 20 mph barrier for a HIM. Started off easy as we worked through Cambridge and settled into a nice medium gear and a fast tempo and got to it. The pace felt strong but at the same time smooth and sustainable. Stayed in the same gear for most of the ride except for a few sections where I downshifted due to the headwind. Had two bottles of EFS on the bike which I drank every 15 minutes and two flasks of EFS liquid shot vanelli and a berry from last week which I had every 30 min. Starting off in the 6th wave and with such a poor swim, I had a ton of targets in front of me to run down. Still had a few people pass me but the majority of the time I was passing. That makes you feel really good and very positive. I had my nutrition spot on, I felt good, and the headwind seemed to be early on (but we did hit it again around mile 40 for a stretch). Had the hour timer on my stopwatch to keep track of my nurition hit mile 30 at a :45 so I payed attention and saw at mile 40 I was at :12 so I was over pace. From mile 40 to 50 we hit the headwind and I started feeling some bloating in my stomach whih was a sign to come. Hit 50 at :42 so I slowed some but 20 mph was in the bag. Had some issues with my last gel shot, but got back strong in 2:38:25 or 21.21 mph a HIM bike PR by over 12 min. Great ride. Picked up 554 spots on the course officially going from 1278 to 724.

Figure out what my stomach didn't agree with. SUspects are the Powerbar, the Wheaties or my EFS liquid shot didn't like being out in the sun last weekend at Quazzy.

Took my time and put on some more sunscreen and drank some last EFS off my bike bottle. Then shuffled to the exit.

Was OK

Right from the start I didn't feel right, but I figured it wold pass. Trotted out to see Miranda Carfree cruising down the finisher chute for the Pro female win. Then it was out of the park and no fun. My stomach was not happy even though I only had water coming out to transition. Tried to stop at the first porta potty but they were full so waited until the first aid station. Stopped but unlike Quazzy where my pit stop made me feel great, this one didn't help too much. Found no matter what i ate or drank my stomach would revolt. Tried most everything the had at the aid stations but I would feel extremly nausious no matter what went in. Before mile 3 I got really hot and felt like garabge so I walked a bit. And once you pop that top you never get it back inside. each aid station due to the heat and humidity I had to drink something and I took cups of ice and dumped them inmy shirt and hat, but the for the next 4-5 min I would feel like doubling over, then it would get better and I could jog. This pattern repeated 10 more times. I never suffered anything like that before and hopefully never again. Was able to stave off heat stroke but not much else.

After the bike, I only needed a 1:47 or so to qualify for Half Max even with that swim, but my legs felt good; unfortunately, my stomach didn't and had a rotten run and wasted a spectacular bike.

Got done and the pulled off my timing chip gave my my medal and a wet towel and water. I sat in a chair by the finish for about 20 min. After that I walked to the grass and flopped next to the big Pepsi can and laid on my back and crashed for a while. Got up about 20 min later, got in line for food but could stay verticle. hand too bend over or squat in line. Got some fruit and a Mountain Dew. That actually helped. Then I got my stuff and hopped on the shuttle to my car then came back parked in the street and got my bike. Ran into Richie CUnningham a Team Trakkers pro who firsted 2nd with a monster run going from 9th to 2nd with the fastest run split of the day. He wanted to know how my race went and I had to tell him about the run. How many sports would a top pro be able to wander the crowd practically unnoticed and then care about how some MOPers race went. What a great sport and a very cool guy.


My swim and my stomach.


Really didn't like the parking situation, especially when they randomly let people park in the park, even though they said it absolutely would not be allowed. The mess with the start wasn't good either, but I really do enjoy this race. Great history, but a rough day took alot of the joy out for me but still a great event.