Daily Trainings

Total Time = 1h 58m 10s
Overall Rank = 115/322
Age Group Rank = 24/43
Age Group = 35-39

Pre-race routine:
I read previous race reports from me and other racers on BT.com. I packed my bag the night before and double and triple checked it that morning. Got up early around 4 AM and took a hot shower, ate a half of a PB&J sandwich and went to the restroom while waiting for my ride. I rode to the race with Greg and we just talked about different topics while driving.

Greg and I pre race, making our race plans!

Event warmup:
We got to the race in plenty of time to setup our transition area, get body marked and go to the restroom again. I picked a pretty decent spot I felt and had time to get in the water early. My wife and kids came to the race later, and once they got there I was ready to race.

Swim (800 yds in 15:34 8th in AG)
I really felt like I had one of the better swims I have ever had. At the start, the majority of the wave got to the left of the beach area, so I went further right than normal. The wave group was a lot larger than I expected (all males AG over 35). There was some bumping the first 200 yds or so, but it did not throw me off any. I was able to sight fairly well, although the first buoy was very hard to see. My plan was to cut the swims into segments and just focus on getting to the buoys. I had good lines to swim 90% of the time. By the time I hit the last buoy, I was already going through my transition in my head. I felt great at this point.

I was thrilled to be 8th out of the water in my AG!

T1 :55
T1 went smoothly, no complaints. Last time I did this race T1 was 2:31, so major improvements!

Bike (18 miles 56:35 Average 19.3 mph)
I was on bike and rolling fairly quickly. I felt good on the bike, I wanted to stay around 20 mph for the ride and I got close. I felt like I was in the right gearing the entire ride. I was able to stay in aero for a lot of the ride, which helped remind me to drink regularly. My lower back ached about 15 miles into the ride, but other than that, I really felt good coming off the bike! My top speed was 35 mph coming down the one hill of the course. I felt like I went fairly hard on the bike, but I think there is still a lot of room for improvement and more speed.

T2 :46
I was able to get my shoes off with about a half mile left on the bike. I made a good dismount and ran the bike back to my transition area, grabbed shoes and race number, then threw my helmet off and headed out. I was feeling really good coming out of T2

Feeling Strong out of T2!

Run (4 miles 44:22)
This is where it all fell apart. As you can see, I was really feeling good as I started it the run. I had realistic expectations and was on pace to meet my goals. The run started out with a one mile road segment, followed by a two mile trail run, which lead you back down the original first mile.

The sun was out in full force and it was very hot on the road section. The heat was draining. The heat got to me quickly and it was draining. It really zapped me hard. Once in the trail, it got worse due to no air circulation and it was humid. I did alot of walking, which disappointed me. I hit every water station to try and get back into it, but I was out of it, mentally. As I told my wife, it wasn't that I was hurting or even tired, I was just mentally checked out about 2 miles into the run. I just didn't want to do it anymore. I really wanted a better run, but mentally I was drained. I was able to walk/run the rest of the way, but I was really disappointed in my run. I know the heat effected a lot of people and I still made improvements over the last time I did this race, but my goal time was within reach, I just missed it!




Post race
As I crossed the finish line, the volunteers jumped in front of me to get my timing chip, which cause me to stumble a bit, so a separate volunteer grabbed me, gave me an ice cold wet and shuffled me over to the sprinkler tent. I admit, I was burning up hot and the cold water felt so good on me. The towels were a God-send also! I guess I needed a few minutes after finishing to restore myself, but I was so glad that race was over. The heat was that brutal.

After I was able to pull myself together, they had fajitas and watermelon for us to eat. I ate some watermelon, and hung out with the family for awhile. I got some of my friends together and we all took some group pictures, before loading up and driving home. It was still hot while loading up the van, took me forever to stop sweating!


Greg, Dave, JF, Tim, Eric,Freddie, Phillip, Chris, and not sure who she is!

Greg and Me (Greg finished in the Top 20!)

Event comments:
This is one of my favorite races of the summer. The family likes coming to this race and playing at the beach after all the swimmers are gone. Great race, great course. My wife really got some good pictures for me to share! Thanks Baby! While I was disappointed in one segment of this race, overall I was very happy, and I can see improvements with my racing.