My 25-29 wave had 150 swimmers in it. Starting in the middle was a mistake, I was squeezed and kicked. Around the first buoy I did the long stretch without any good drafts. I got some draft on the way back. I practiced some stroke techniques my coach, Mo, gave me. I finished almost 2min faster and less winded. I ran to the transition w/out shoes which saved time over last year. I heard a lot of people cheering for me and that always makes you feel good.

My goal on the bike was to go 1mph faster. I used the JetStream (drinking system) for the first time. With the straw right in front of you lips, it encourages you to drink often which I did. I passed Kiet early on which was strange because he's a great swimmer and biker. Turned out his swim just didn't 'click' and then his aero-bars fell off on the first hill. Then I saw Craig. He had a good swim and was really cranking on the bike. Looks like he's been training hard which is a good thing, now that he's in the 25-29 group. I was glad to get out of the steeps and into the light rollers. I was looking forward to the long sections after mile 20 where I would really make up time (especially with the new Spinergys). Surprisingly, I was alone. No big groups. I met up with a talkative guy riding a Slingshot who kept "slingshotting" ahead of me on the downhills. He said he loves downhills. At mile 30 I'm surprised to see Craig again! He's riding well. My speed isn't much better than last year (I think I need more speed workouts, the Spinergys aren't a free ride). I charge towards The Big Hill at mile 41 and, again, Craig & 'Slingshot' are right there for the challenge. The hill hurts but I'm soon alone again hammering out the remaining rollers. Starting to pass the elite women. Going 40mph down a hill, I try to pour Cytomax into my Jetstream and end up getting an orange, sticky shower. I'm sure bugs will start sticking to me. I push harder with 5mi to go. Getting anxious to switch to running.

Starting the run, I fill my side pack with Gu's and start gnawing on a Mocha power bar. I see my friends and hear Scott yell, "I think you're in 6th". It was probably more like 12th but I was running a little faster anyway. First 2 miles hurt but I kept saying, "have faith in your training, it'll get better". Sure enough, by mile 4, I felt better than the practice run-through I did a month ago. I don't know if it had anything to do with the "Women at mile 4" who traditionally do a great job of volunteering but never get tan lines. I got through the hills of 5,6,7 without walking and passed a few in my age. I ate & drank & kept pouring water on me. I had attached a white cloth to the back of my hat to keep my neck cool and it was working well. Now it was down for 8,9,10. I concentrated on recovering. Many complained of the extreme heat but I actually felt good, even cold at times. I think training in tights and long sleeves in the hot afternoons helped. Coach Roger Warnes yelled, "take no prisoners!", when I went by so I think I was looking strong. I took a Gu at mile 10 and worked the mile hill. I remembered what Michele always said about this hill, "it really isn't that bad, it's not that steep, just grin and do it", so I did and it was over in 7:40. I went all out to mile 12 and then let it ride down Lynch hill to the finish. With 200m to go, I see a fast guy in my age. I tuck in behind him and wait. I make my move too early and without enough determination (because I kept telling myself, "I'm only supposed to go medium-hard") and he picked it up and held it to beat me by 5 secs. I high-fived some friends as I finished and said a quick prayer after the line. Like always, I'm so glad to be done!! But I feel good and even run a mile cool-down.

Beth did the Long Course as her first triathlon experience and did great with a 5:47. Clint was out with an arch injury. Shawn got injured on the course and had to DNF. JD experienced the pains of lack-of-training but still did well with around 5:18. Craig had a rough run, wasn't feeling too well, so couldn't eat enough. Doug had bad luck with a flat tire and dud patches so he had to DNF also. My roommate Carl was forced to work up until race day so couldn't even participate. Kiet came back strong in the run to finish in 4:56.

My stats compared to last year are below:

1995

division overall swim T1 bike T2 run TOTAL

33 out of 123 112 out of 803 31:25 2:48 2:42:38 1:40 1:40:49 4:59:20

1996

9 out of 121 24 out of 801 29:45 2:04 2:40:22 1:33 1:35:19 4:49:03

However, this year there were also elite athletes, so in the Ironman Slot competition I was 17th and the slots went to 4th place which had a time of 4:34:00.