Here are the stats:

 180 out of 953
 143 out of 532 Males
 28 out of 78 Males in the M3034 Age Group

Overall I felt really good.  The swim is still my weakest link.

Swim: 400 yards – 8:20 Overall 275/953 Age Group 36/78

I started at the back and to the left of the main pack hoping for a straighter line around the first boat and to the bouy for the left hand turn.  As soon as we jumped into the water though I realized that I was behind some slower people and quickly fought my way past them and went out really hard.  I struggled with sighting to the first bouy and almost ran into a paddleboard/lifeguard.  Once we  made the left hand turn around the Swan it was mostly straight to the finish with Swans on the left.  It was a super crowded swim and I was constantly running into people and trying to get around them. I had to keep reminding myself to relax and settle into my stroke.  There was a lot of churn and I needed to focus on breathing.  The last stretch I felt like I was doing more looking around to avoid people than efficiently swimming.  As I came up out of the water I knew I had done a very strong swim and was feeling it a little.

Successes:

My time, holy cow! That’s way faster than any average workout I’ve done at the pool.   That is 2:05 per 100 and I don’t ever recall hitting that on any 100.  Wesuit was a good choice due to the churn making the water cooler.

Even Better If: 

Better sighting and bi-lateral breathing!

T1: 3:02 Overall 267/951 Age Group 36/78

I was really wobbly coming out of the water.  I struggled to run or walk in a straight line.  My entire body wanted to go to the left.  I did fine getting my wetsuit off, but struggled trying to get my shoes on since my body was so out of balance. Once I got my shoes on and started run/walking my bike out I felt fine.

Even better if: I read more about transition setup and how to make T1 smoother.

Bike: 12.8 miles 41:11 Overall 267/951 Age Group 40/78

After leaving transition and making it on to the main road I hit it pretty hard.  As we left town I was feeling good.  There were some gradual climbs initially that led into some steeper hills.  I think there were 5 main hills – ones that you’d hit 30mph going down and then be at like 10mph as you hit the top.  Race organizers touted this as a freshly paved fast course, which makes me wonder what it was like before.  It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t freshly paved either.  I know that last year they had to reroute the bike course due to construction so maybe some parts were newer and I just didn’t notice!  I passed my co-worker Lisa, part of a Team, right before the first big hill (at maybe mile 4 or 5).   I had a Gel pack about half way through.  The bike course basically made a square around the lake in a clockwise fashion.  The course was open to traffic but the only real traffic I remember was in Buffalo and they did a pretty good job of separating us from it and stopping the traffic at intersections.  A little over halfway through I was trying to shift back into the big gear on a downhill/flat and I couldn’t get it to go so I was left spinning.  I tried a few more times later and it still wouldn’t go.  I decided not to keep trying because I didn’t actually want to break anything.  When I got home it seems to shift fine, but I did break a rear wheel spoke somehow.  I know the two aren’t related, but it seems odd.  It was really frustrating to not be able to shift onto the big ring but I tried not to get discouraged and just kept hammering along.  It feels good to pass people with really expensive bikes!  Once we get back into town the route snakes through a couple of parking lots.  I thought we were getting ready to make the final turn back into the park and reached down to unsnap my shoes.  As we left the parking lot I realized we still had about a 1/2 mile to go.  Rookie mistake!  I didn’t do anything stupid and made it back to transition and dismounted without trouble.  About halfway through the ride I needed to pee.  I also felt thirsty.  I did drink to counteract the thirst but didn’t pee on the bike.

Successes:

A nice solid ride.  Average speed consistent with my training paces.  Felt strong over the duration.

Even better if:

I didn’t have bike problems.  I need to spend more training time on hills.

T2: 1:03 Overall 229/952 Age Group 36/78

This transition went much smoother.  As I noted I had already loosened my shoes so I popped off the bike and ran/walked it back to my rack.  The little downhill from the Olympic area to the Sprint area was a little awkward, but I found my rack slipped off my bike shoes and into my running shoes and off I went.

Run: 3 miles – 22:11 Overall 180/953  Age Group 28/78

The run felt really good.  I tried to find a bathroom so that I could take care of the pee problem but the port-a-pots were kind of blocked off.  Really it was that spectators were prevented from crossing the run area so I would have had to significantly back track to get to that set and I didn’t see any other ones on the course until I had a 1/2 mile left and at that point I just sucked it up.  I started the run out slowly to loosen up my legs.  We navigated out of Sturges park and through a parking lot to run alongside Lake Buffalo.  On the way out I saw Jeremy on the bike coming in (I think he saw me).  I got passed once or twice and passed a couple of people.  I was just trying to maintain a steady pace.  The sun came out and felt pretty warm during the run.  Right before the turn around point an Olympic distance runner went flying by.  I was a little surprised that I guy dressed like an elite runner would be so far back until he went running by the turn around point! On the way back I focused on slowly picking up the pace.  The run also got a little crowded on the narrow bike paths/sidewalks.  I saw Jeremy and then Hope  (the Team’s runner who also has an 8 week old at home). As we entered the park I really started picking it up again and right before the line I passed a Team FCA Endurance runner that had passed me early on during the run.

Successes:

Again, the time is pretty solid and a much better pace than my training runs would have indicated.  I’m also pleased with what seemed like a steady run that probably was a negative split.

Even Better If:

I’m not sure.  I know that I need to run more in training and do more brick workouts, but I feel pretty good about my run.