I did a much better job nagivating on this swim than some of my other recent races. It helped that Jack had put a lot of bouys out. I'm not very experienced in choppy conditions, and although I had my share of water as I was trying to breath, it didn't really affect me.

Lots of avoiding other swimmers, especially early on, which doesn't help my balance in the water. But I think I recovered pretty well. Overall, I'm pleased with my time.

Just need some more open water practice for sighting and keeping my head down on breathing.

No problem with socks today, so it was an acceptable T1. I was faster running my bike out than some, and got a good jump onto once past the mount line. (didn't really slow down at all)

I need to try swimming with my HRM strap under my tri top again to see if I can get it to not slip down. I waste too much time dealing with this.

Was having a pretty good ride. Managed to keep the pace up, even into the wind (except for that one tactical error where I sat up to check my rear tire as I was crossing the bridge - bonehead move.)

BUT... after the turnaround and heading back to the park, the rear started getting squirrley under me, and I was losing speed. I had to stop. It wasn't a flat, but I was definitely very low on air - a bad leak. I was a little over 30 minutes into a ride I was estimating around 50. I shot some CO2 into it and decided to take my chances.

Managed to start making up some lost ground, but after 5 minutes or so, I could tell it was losing air again. Then I found myself calculating the tactics -- how far do I go on a low tire before I put another shot of air in? Pull over now and do it so I can keep a higher speed and run the risk of having to do it again before the end, or push a little longer before adding more air. I think I timed the second stop pretty well, as I managed to make it back to T2 without stopping again.

Overall, I lost about 2:15 of riding time, plus the speed to slow down/start up again each time. Official time as 48:09, which put me 24th in my age group on the bike with a 20.9 mph average. Without the mechanical problems, it looks like I would have been about 45:56, 18th on the bike with a very nice 21.9 average. Kinda frustrating, but I'm pleased (and somewhat surprised, actually) to say that it bum me out or affect the rest of the race.

Need to spend some time inspecting that tire and tube and see if the tire needs to be replaced. I'm tired of mechanical problems during races.

I had a great dismount. Got shoes opened and feet on top of pedals very smoothly this time. Didn't slow for dismount at all, and ran the bike to the rack. Was first one back to my rack, and rack shifted when I through my bike up, which cost me a second or two to reset.

T2 seems to consistently be my shining segment. Ooh, lucky me. :-) 4th in the age group (would have been 3rd if not for the rack).

Nothing.

Woo hoo, you mean I made up places on the run? Really? You're kidding, right. That never happens for me..

A surprisingly good run for me. Felt slow coming off the bike (and very briefly walked part of the first aid station), but my mile one split was around 7:42. Found another runner to pace with, and we pushed each other somewhat for the remainder of the run. Arms and legs started feeling heavy (full?) after the last turnaround, and I wondered how strong I was going to finish. But in the last tenth of a mile, I outsprinted my running partner (yes, we both said "let's go!" so it wasn't underhanded) and I passed two guy about 30 yards ahead of us.

Overall, one of my best 5k times.

Need to do a little more running in the heat and the sun.

Aaron (JeepFleeb) found me right at the end. We looked for Haley (Comet) coming off the loop, but she had already passed it and was headed off towards the dam. I cheered for Teri to finish and then grabbed some water.

After 10 or 15 minutes, I did a second loop of the run course. (in a respectable 27:15) After that, I got more to drink, had some pizza once it arrived, and stayed around for the start of the awards.

There were fresh-made smoothies for sale, and one tent of equipment, but I didn't really visit either.


Primarily mechanical issues, and I need to work on getting into my running rhythm faster. I still don't feel really smooth until after the first mile.


As expected from Jack, a well-run, organized, safe race. Not a ton of frills post-race, but credit for plenty of pizza and gatorade. I was surprised a little at how very competitive the age group times were, and I think there were quite a few long-course triathletes who raced in this Sprint.