The water was very clear and warm. There were not a huge number of people in this wave, maybe only 40 or so, so that there was minimal contact. I must have been swimming strong, because I was soon overtaking some of the red caps, and even some greens by the finish. I felt good and strong the whole time.

So part of the transition over the beach, across the boardwalk and road is included in the swim time. I even took a moment to shower off the salt water. I was a little slow getting my socks on, but otherwise ok.

The bike was the part I was most concerned about coming into this race. I knew I wanted to maintain +16mph and sometimes I struggle with that when I am on my own. So I spent about 3 miles getting into some kind of a calmer rhythm, and made a plan to get the 2 bottles of Heed consumed before the end of the race. That was great, because it reminded me to grab the bottle, even when I wasn't feeling thirsty.

So I felt strong on the bike! I was able to maintain around 17mph most of the time, occasionally dipping into the 16s, often up into 18 and even 19 mph. Maybe that is not so great that I vary so much on the bike, but I still felt strong and able to pass people pretty much throughout the entire course. I was still passed a lot, too, but I could tell it was by people who were much faster than me.

The course wound through many neighborhoods, and a good deal of it was shady. There was really no wind to speak of through most of the course, not really until almost mile 18 or so where there was an unprotected section and some headwind.

I can't believe I was this low in the ranking and still felt so great and fast the entire time! Apparently, I will have to shave off 5 more minutes to even get close to the middle of the pack here. And that would mean an average speed of well over 18mph! Yikes!

Just continue working on my bike strength. I am really getting better at keeping focused. Now to stretch that out to a course twice this distance.

Ran the whole way to my transition spot. Racked up and changed shoes, grabbed hat and belt, and took a gel.

Started off at a steady pace, which turned out to be pretty quick. I believe the first mile was 9:39, so faster than my usual 10k pace. I felt good and planned to keep the cadence up and walk all water stations. My pace declined for miles 2, 3 and 4, but picked up again for miles 5 and 6. My last mile was sub-10 again. This was close to my PR for a 10k from last year's Cooper River Bridge Run of 1:00:28. 5 seconds faster and I would have a new PR!

Bonus: I saw an alligator and a snake on this run!

They were handing out cold towels at the finish, so nice!! Also, their post-race food was really nice. I had a big yogurt with almonds, fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries! They had beer, but I couldn't handle a beer at that point.


My training seems to be good so far! I felt strong, never really felt super tired or really wanting it to be over. Yes, I was glad to see the bike leg end, but I was never in pain or suffering at all. So mentally, it was a good race. Physically, I probably could have done more on the bike.


This is a very well run race! Nice course, flat bike and run, lots of volunteers and nice post-race activities. They must have sprayed for bugs beforehand, because I didn't see a single mosquito that whole morning.

My family also loved it because they got to spend the morning at the beach where they saw volunteers helping a bunch of just-hatched baby sea turtles out to the ocean! Really neat.