First off my brother and I got to Gunstock to park b/c we were told that the lower lots would be full. As we got there and put our bikes together my brother popped a tire on his brand new nver raced on bike! ouch that was a tough start to the day. After trying to getting fixed we finally go the the transition area with about 15 minutes to spare.
The Swim- .33 mile.
I went off in the first wave and really had no chance to warm up. The only warmup I got was rushing around trying got get my stuff together while wearing my heavy sweatshirt. After getting settled I headed down to the water and started going through the paces of the race. The water was good and not much glare from the rising sun. It was a big wave, couple hundred I think. I snuck my way to the front then off we went. The water was shallow for a good 25 yards so while the majority of the people tried to swim I did about 7-8 dolphin dives and cleared past a large portion of them. I hit the first turn buoy quickly then it was a straight line before we headed back in to shore. I felt great and was not overcooking myself. I got to the last turn buoy and headed in for about another 100 yards to shore. When i stood up I was surprised at how well I had done and was psyched to get out on the bike. I clocked my watch at 7:12.
The bike-15 miles
Got my gear on and passed a few people in transition and hoped on my bike. headed down the road to go out to RT11 and about 200 yards away from T1 I heard the dreaded his of air escaping rather quickly from my tire. Before I knew my front was flat. What the hell do I do now? I opt to go back t the bike tent to get it fixed. I did not have a tube to fit my zipp 1080. So I run back and the 2 techs get to work. 16 minutes later they give me my back and I get to go back. I was BULL. Ok, I should have had a tube and been able to do it myself I didn't and the $100 entry fee should have given something! As I stood there waiting I saw hundred of people go right on by, one tech said at least you'll be rested for the bike! SO as a man possessed I rode my bike with vengeance. I originally planed to hold around 275-280 on the power b/c of the big hills and I knew that would get me around 22.5 MPH and a good chance to hang with the front of the pack. Cause of the flat and my anger I went out at 295 for about 15 minutes. Not the smartest thing to do but I wanted to try and place in my age group. I got back to T2 in bike time 39;41 total time with flat 53;00.
Run -3 miles
It was a tad short but who cares. I went like a bat out of hell. My legs felt great and figured I could probably make up the most time here so that is what I tried to do. I was clipped right along and hit turn around and headed back to the finish, The best part of the run is that the last half was down hill and helped me pick it up even more. My final run time was 17 flat. I could not have run any harder or faster. total time was 1;20. If i took out my flat i would have finished in the top 3 overall and 1st overall age grouper! oh well better luck next time, and i'll bring a tube
