This was more of a wreck than a race. The combination of 41F, steady rain, and 10- 15 mph wind made everything tough. Other than dodging puddles, the rain didn't bother me too much, especially after I decided that trying to keep the shoes dry would be a wasted effort.

Start closer to the front of the group. Would have been nice to run on a sunny day without raingear, but it was not meant to be. Overall, pretty happy so far.

Learned a few lessons today.
1. Don't have the bike in the granny gear and a big ring on the front to start out with. Spun out and had to shift quickly to avoid falling over in the transition area. (this was not planned)
2. Pop out lens' on glasses sound cool, but they also pop out unexpectedly (like when trying to snake the glasses around the helmet straps I put on first, oops!) Glasses first, then helmet.
3. Put glasses in pocket for run, then they fogged up as soon as I put them on my face for the bike(oops!).


Quite a bit actually, see above.

This is where my race got interesting. I was riding alright, keeping up with the people I expected to keep up with, until about 1/4 of the way out. I was soaked, hands were icecubes, and all of a sudden the bike get really unresposive, yep, Flat rear wheel. I get off the bike, and do as good of a job as I can with shivering fingers. I could not find any thorns or the reason for the flat, so I throw on my spare tube, then use one of my 2 CO2's to fill it up. The whole thing took approx. 5 mins (?). It was frustrating getting passed by all those people. Get back on the bike, and ride for a few miles and look down to see the tire going flat again. All of this was while riding into a 10- 15 mph headwind. I get off the bike, use my last CO2 to top off the tube, and race back to try to beat the leaky tire. Any idea how hard it is to work that little presta valve with gloves on and frozen fingers? Make it back with a few pounds left in the tube. Helped a lot to have a headwind on the way back. The bike computer shows my wheels were moving for 59 minutes.

Might look into different tires, and maybe put the slime tube back on the rear. The rest of the race was affected by me getting the flat, both mentally, and physically. It was tough to keep focused on performing, and I got really cold, and never warmed back up when I got off the bike for so long.

Wife was there to help get the helmet buckle off, not sure I wouldn't still be there if I had to do it. Got a charlie horse in my left calf, man that didn't help. Wife and son were there cheering me on though, so that helped. Just can't help thinking how much more enjoyable this would have been with decent weather.

This one went pretty well.

This one was tough for me because the out and back course meant I had to pass everyone who was still running. It was hard for me to be behind people I know I am much faster than, but behind them due to the troubles with my bike. About 1/2 way through my run, I saw a few of the guys I was riding with before the problems, and it was tough to know that is where I should be. I had a good second run though for me. The feet were numb from the cold, and the legs felt like bricks, but I pushed hard because I wanted to end on a positive, and I did. I passed 4- 5 people on the run.

I was pretty happy with this leg of the race, so I wouldn't change anything.

Got in the truck and drove home to take a long, warm shower. I was totally soaked.


Weather and Flat Tire were brutal. The weather affected everyone, but the loss of time from the flat tire is what has me the most disappointed. Also, I have not done enough speed work running, or on the bike.


This was my first race, and I learned a lot. I am a little disappointed, but even with that I am still looking forward to competing more.