Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond

 It occurred to me that after 2024, things will be changing. My daughter will be in school starting in
September 2025. The idea of just heading out to some exotic triathlon destination in the Fall 2025 may be difficult. It will at the very least be very different. I would do it alone and/or for a much shorter duration. It will certainly feel a great deal different So I feel very fortunate to have one more year of family trips without the consideration of a school calendar. As I thought through what my actual goals were for 2024, this is where I landed. BLOW IT OUT WITH TRIPS!

My saintly wife knows at this point that whenever we take a trip I may just look for a local triathlon to check out. Now that I have invested in a Buxom case, traveling with bike is almost easy (not really but close). I've already hinted at some races for 2024 and a lot of this is still TBD. But first things first:

Goal 1: Travel as much as possible with family and bike in tow ;)

But where should we go? How about this:

1. Sarasota for the first triathlon of the year in January! Ok this one only kind of counts because I couldn't convince anyone else to join me in Sarasota. So this will be strictly a pop in/pop out race. I love that its the weekend after New Years (I may regret saying that if the weather sucks) to get a race every month!

2. Havana in February! An honest to goodness legal reason to take the family to one of the craziest places on earth. My wife is looking forward to getting back to where she studied. Even my daughter turned to me out of the blue and said "I can't wait to go to Coooba". This will be another perfect Spanish immersion opportunity for my bilingual (except me) family. And it's an international race that as I have learned will show in my World Triathlon profile  but will not show up in any USAT rankings. Oh well. But can't wait!!

3. Austin on Memorial Day! My wife turned to me and said "When is the triathlon in San Antonio?" as if every city has one or many triathlons. We have family there and she knows her husband. I did some research and apparently there is a TRULY MASSIVE triathlon in Austin on Memorial Day Monday. So I calmly said, "Ok, that would be Memorial Day". And it looks like it may just work out! May even be able to count this as Spanish immersion depending on where go too ;)

4. Omaha in June! But what about the World Chamionships in 2025? Well, like I mentioned, I'm kind of thinking this may not be a good fit do to school. But maybe I try to do it because it is a huge massive challenge that would require my absolute best? I'm kind of jonesing to try the mixed relay but want to really go for it. Not that I'm so great but I DID get 4th in the US at Nationals this year and 5th overall for the US in the Worlds. So I don't want to just show up, I want to get some not 5 talent around me. I put my name on a list but we'll see. I love the super sprint by World Triathlon doesn't so might skip that and just do the Sprint. Although frankly doing the Super Sprint didn't hurt me this year at Nationals. What's the point to this again? I'm not sure. This one is up in the air.

5. Malaga in October! Definitely the crown jewel of the year. We are going to do a big 2 week blow out in Southern Spain. I planned on doing Southern Spain after Pontevedra but then they announced Malaga would be the location of the 2025 WTCF and I switched it to Mallorca. I can't wait to plan this one. Probably not possible to top how well things went this year in Galicia but this race has a strong "prolonging the magic" kind of feel. And it's fully Spanish immersion!

6. Florida or Arizona in November? I didn't do the Sun Devil Classic this year and opted to do a family trip to Orlando which was great. I'm intrigued by the draft legal aspect (and a spot on the national team for age group winners). We'll see how this one plays out.

7. Key West in December: Need to defend my crown in 2024. And also it's just so darn awesome being there. Hope I enough family goodwill to pull it off. 

* I may have some "targets of opportunity" in Tennessee and Georgia depending on how things work out. May could fit in triathlons in 9 states and 3 countries all in all. YOLO!

What about other goals!? I feel it would be hard not to thinking about the following so may as well make them goals:

Goal 2: Win NCTS Series

Goal 3: Win SCTS Series

Goal 4: Get All American Status

Goal 5: Even though I may not attend do to Sofia's school schedule, I'd still like to qualify for the 2025 World Championships wherever they decide to have them. 

Super Stretch: Seems unlikely given our top state performer, but - Top ranked triathlete in NC for Age Group.

Keys to the Year

 

Just got back from Key West in what I hope is a grand tradition of winter triathlons and ending the year in style in paradise (that's me and Santa Earnest Hemingway at his family foundation's Rum distillery). The weather was perfect, it was a ton of fun and happened to finish the Sprint in first place this year. It was a perfect way to end what has got to be the most successful year athletically of my life and one that I won't even try to top.

Before I sum up where ended up with my goals, I wanted to document what turned into a major in-season goal for me - podiums. In 18 races last year, I had 6 podiums including 2 out right wins. Now I'm the first to admit that podiums are truly a function of who happened to show up as much as it is about my own personal execution. But it feels good to win and podiums are a good metric. I judge myself on age group wins but let's face it, winning the whole darn thing feels even better. 

In 2023, I participated in 25 races (also a record for triathlons) not to mention 3 running races as well. Of the 3 running races I did well overall, capped with an outright win at the Reindeer Romp 5k the weekend before Key West. Of the 25 triathlons I did, I managed to get a true (not divisional) win for my age group a total of 15 times (fwiw a divisional 1st in AG 21 times). Of the 25 triathlons, I got 8 podiums including my outright win in Key West as the capper. I ended the year podium'ing 7 of my last 10 races! Statically I have podiumed 33% of my races the past 2 years. That shocked me especially since several of these races I've included are the Nationals/Worlds as well as the "mistake races" of wrong turns and other such nightmares. 

Looking at my "in-league" play, I had a better overall average NCTS and SCTS score than I did in 2022. I also had a higher weighted avg (which is what really counts) for SCTS but slightly lower in NCTS (I think mostly due to the Lake Logan debacle and the fact that the Fall White Lake Event was attended to by some heavyweights whereas i was the overall winner in 2022). 

Perhaps the ultimate (and supposedly race neutral) measure of performance is USAT score. If you average all my races from both 2022 and 2023, my average USAT score jumped over 3 points. If you look at my weighted average (average of top 3 races within a year), my average jumped over 4 points to my all time high best USAT score - 98.4880!

Podiums are fun to track and, again, just a function of who shows up so i doubt I'll ever have it as a true goal. But let's review my goals and how I landed:

1. Qualify for Team USA 2024: Status: ACHIEVED! This was my #1 goal when I set out last year. As I've discussed, it was no cake walk. I'd say I barely qualified and it took an absolute career day on the bike, a very competitive swim, perfect transitions, and a run where I gutted out to the end. We have just started to sketch what our trip to Malaga will look like next October but I am absolutely thrilled and shocked beyond belief that we get ANOTHER chance to take my bilingual family to a place that speaks Spanish again. Spending back to back years in Spain during formative years for my daughter has been a blessing and the greatest series of events I could have asked for. 

2. Qualify for Team USA 2023: Status: ACHIEVED! This one snuck up on me. Didn't ever hear of a "super sprint" before but when I heard that there would be slots to go to Spain THIS YEAR, I jumped on it. Again, it took EVERYTHING I had to qualify and I did barely (4th place when top 5 would count). The experience in Pontevedra was beyond my expectation both in terms of the cultural opportunity it was for my family, but also the race itself where I was the 5th fastest American overall and the fastest American in my AG, 9th in the world. Couldn't have scripted that one better.

3. Win NCTS Series: Status: ACHIEVED! I participated in 7 NCTS events this year. One event, Lake Logan, was a disaster as I was in first place overall, was told to take a wrong turn, ended up going an additional 4-5 miles. Made even worse was that they are now no longer doing Lake Logan. So my favorite race of all time went out on a bad note. Of the remaining 6 races, I got a true 1st place AG finish 5 times, but divisionally (which is actually more important for points), I got it all 6 races. Frankly there wasn't a strong field here this year.

4. Win SCTS Series: Status: ACHIEVED! I participated in 5 SCTS events this year. I got a true 1st place AG finish 3 times, but achieved it divisionally all 5 times. Again, I never felt like there was a big group challenging my position this year. 

5. Get All American Status: ACHIEVED! Well, I should say 'should achieve' since all results aren't in USAT rankings yet. Honestly, the website is a mess right now with people with 0 races and a ranking of 144 in 1st place? Anyway, my analysis showed I needed a 92.9 last  year and I would be an all American even for the 40-44 crowd now. So feel pretty good here.

Then there was the stretch goal. 

6. Be the top ranked triathlete in NC for my age group: Missed! Again, the final results aren't in yet but I know for sure I won't finish higher than 2nd. But 2nd here would be a pretty good result and something to build on. It was a stretch for sure and I'm really proud to be in the company of the athletes I see at the top of the rankings.

That sums up 2023! What about 2024? What about goals? Well, I need to think about it. A few things are known for sure. First, I'm doing the very first triathlon of the year in 2024 in Sarasota! My 3rd Florida winter tri! Can't wait. Second, we know we'll be in Malaga for the Sprint in October! Trip planning to commence soon. Really excited about that as a Spanish immersion opportunity. The final thing that is known for 2024 is ANOTHER Spanish immersion. We are doing Cuba in February! It is a legal reason to go to Cuba and will be another way to get immersion for my family. Cannot wait! Other goals to follow soon!

Super Sprint World Championship 2023!

Just back from Spain and it was quite a trip. A day after we landed, Emily got sick. We all slept about 14 hours a day the first 4 days in country. I was definitely fighting something off but felt way better than Emily so Sofia and I explored Pontevedra and Galicia more broadly. It was a truly amazing daddy/daughter adventure. 

I felt pretty worn out until the night before I felt a bit better. I told myself no excuses and went out did everything I could to put myself in a good position to do well. All the pre race stuff went about as well as could be expected given the INCREDIBLY complex endeavor of doing a major triathlon in a foreign country. I'll do a post about just that one day but I pride myself in my desire and ability to execute logistics and this stretched me. 

The race: Not sure I can swim faster, bike faster (over what must have been 24 speed bumps), run and transitioned harder than I did for this race. I executed the swim flawlessly for me. First off, it was a dive start. Good thing my mother-in-law taught me how to dive during the pandemic because it was literally the first time just about ever for me diving in. From there my training took over. I finished with about a 1:24 pace.

I ran so hard out of transition I thought I was going to collapse and die. But got to the bike, regained my breath and headed out. My stupid rubber bands came undone but really didn't cost me maybe 3 or so seconds. I was on the bike and luckily knew all the round about cuts (despite getting confusing and incorrect information about the course). Literally before I knew it, I was turning around and coming back down hill at full speed. The bike I rented was a top of the line tri bike that performed perfectly. I hit the turns about as well as I know how to.

Next transition felt slower but I was pushing it at 11/10. Got to my slot, got chided by an official for not placing both handlebars on the bar, fixed that, threw shoes on, took off. My biggest regret of the race was how I exited transition and took the first 200 Meters of the run. You can see in the video below my pace was not sub 6 at that point.

But after I go to the road, I hit a new gear. Once I entered the stadium, I knew Emily and Sofia would be watching so I took it all the way to 200 Meter pace. I got a couple of breaths when someone handed my an American flag and then told myself "no excuses" and did my 100 Meter pace for the last 200. I think it does actually translate in the video. 

Here's the video.

All in all I was extremely pleased with how it went:

• 5th fastest U.S. time for the race
• Top finishing American in AG
• 9th overall AG finish in the world
  

With all 5 of my goals now all but solidified, its time to finish with a couple of local races and then decide where/when to travel. 2024 goal #1 may just be my logistical "Sistine Chapel" - an international race in Havana.... tbc.

Pontevedra Bound!

 

Flights changed, shouldn't have any hurricane impacts, all is good (as of now). 

Looking forward to getting there, enjoying a vacation, enjoying Spain, and enjoying the race and race experience!

Update on goals:

1. Qualify for Team USA 2024 - ACHIEVED!
2. Qualify for Team USA 2023 (new goal after rule change) - ACHIEVED!
3. Win NCTS Series for Age Group - Had some bad luck with a course where I was redirected. Was in first place. Went 5 extra miles on the bike. Guy who passed me got a huge NCTS number and an absurdly large USAT number. Really bummed about it because it makes me now have to rely on good luck to overcome my bad luck with this goal. I'd say its more likely than not this gets achieved proving that with some goals its better to be lucky than good. 
4. Win SCTS Series for Age Group - First place AG in first race (worth the most points). ACHIEVED!.
5. Get All American Status -- Currently at 96.483. My score inched up to 96.929 and this is good for 41/673 as of now. Can't stamp this one as achieved until February but all but certain.
6. [STRETCH] Be the top ranked triathlete in North Carolina for my age group - Ugh the guy from #4 got a big number and I did not. If i had even got top 3 (not even the 1st place I was in) the worst I would have gotten would have been 97. This would have kept me in first place. But alas I'm chasing a high 96 at some other race. Not for nothing but neither the other guy or I technically should be (or likely will be) 1st in state since there is some error with scoring for the guy who is ACTUALLY in first. So even if i overcome the guy currently there, it is not possible to get past the other guy. Could there be some kind of USAT glitch where the guy who SHOULD be in first DOESN'T get it? Should there be an asterisk if there was some bug? I've concluded no since the USAT scoring magic seems to have a mind of its own and if you put any value in the metric it will certainly break under any scrutiny. I'd rather not take a sour grapes approach. Whomever is ranked first is ranked first for better or worse. Right now, I'm second and working to pass he who is in first as of now.

So to summarize it, I'd say its 90% likely I achieve all 5 goals and I would say I've got a 33% chance to get goal #6 if they don't correct the system, 0% if they do. But that WAS a stretch goal and I did have 1st place for better part of 8 months. 

Did some analysis as to where I am. I have 3 races this year i'm signed up for with 1-2 more this winter. I'm down slightly in the NCTS/SCTS tournament from a like for like perspective but I've concluded the races I've scored lower on are actually because better folks showed up. The USAT measure (which takes this into account better) has me up a 1.8 points over last year. 

When I dig into triathlons that I've done year over year I am seeing that my swim times are very much improved. And me with a wetsuit is downright fast. My bike times are stagnant or down, my run times are on par, but my T times are near world class. I've said it before, doing tons of triathlons may not make you great at any particular event, but it does make you great at triathlons and that means transitions. It goes as far as when I see someone a full minute ahead of me on the bike or swim I feel like I'll get them out of transition. It's crazy how often that happens too. 

So net net, I'm a better triathlete this year then I was last year. When you look at the USAT progression score wise since 2009, I've gotten better and better nearly every year. So maybe I'm the best triathlete I've ever been right this second? As my 3 year might say, "maybe yeah"

Still a go for Spain...

 For now, we are still a go to leave on schedule. 

Here is a heart thumping video produced by the Pontevedra Race folks

Wow! Going Back to Spain!(?)

 

It was 12 short years ago that I found myself in uncharted waters. The year before, I had qualified for USAT Nationals for Long Course, attended the National Championships and came up JUST short on making the team.

In 2011 I recommitted to do whatever it took to make the US Long Course National Triathlon Team. It was incredibly stressful to me actually. Luckily, the work I did paid off and I was able to get 9th in my AG at Nationals. So, in 2012, I headed off to an amazing adventure in Europe that started with a race in Vitoria.

FAST FORWARD TO NOW....

I set the goal at the beginning of the year to have another go at it. But as chance would have it, I had the opportunity to make Team USA for not just next year 2024, but also a shot (Due to a series of strange and unusual events) a shot for Team USA THIS year. The fact that it was in Spain made it extra attractive and interesting since my family is always looking for Spanish immersion. But I needed to get top 5 (?!) in my age group. Seemed unlikely. BUT, spoiler alert, I ended up getting 4th! So off we go!

Not so fast. There are 2 hurricanes directly in the way of getting to Spain from JFK (where we fly out of). What's going to happen? Will we ever get there? More to come...

Old Goals Achieved, What's Next - Set New Ones

 Let's have a look at my 2022 goals (and later stretch goals):

1. Win NCTS Series for Age Group - ACHIEVED!
2. [STRETCH] Win SCTS Series for Age Group - ACHIEVED!
3. [STRETCH] Get All American Status -- {wah wuh} NOT achieved.

Here were my 2023 goals going in to the season:

1. Qualify for Team USA 2024 - ACHIEVED!
2. Qualify for Team USA 2023 (new goal after rule change) - ACHIEVED!
3. Win NCTS Series for Age Group - First place AG in first 2 races, think this is achievable
4. Win SCTS Series for Age Group - First place AG in first race (worth the most points). Achievable.
5. Get All American Status -- Currently at 96.483. This SHOULD be sufficient but won't let up.

So I've had a good start to 2023. First the swim:

I feel like I never get comfortable in the swim. So this off season I hit the pool hard. Covid was no longer a concern so I went at it hard. Last summer, I would do a 15:52 for 900 yards and not think much of it. I was enjoying great success in races including my first 2 outright wins, but still putting up times in the mid to upper 15's. As I closed out the Fall, I started to consistently see times in the 14's. After the season ended, I knew I had momentum and decided to hit the pool extra hard in the winter. My times went from upper 14's down to mid 14's. my the time I go to Spring, I was seeing low 14's and even dipped down. Since I have seen a few times in the upper 13's. This is after maybe 10 years being in the low 16's to upper 15's. I also invested in some upgraded equipment in the offseason. I got a Roka Max Buoyancy wet suite (which does help my dragging long legs) and a Roka tri suite (after being torso nake for 14 years). These help in the water. Strangely, the bike was my weakest leg last year.

Even though (maybe because of the fact?) I trained a lot on the bike last year, my bike times would often be my weakest leg. BTW, my transition times have gotten to be elite whereby even the elite folks at Nationals had comparable transition times. Any rate, everyone who does triathlons excels in bike, not really me. I hit the bike about the same in the offseason but have adopted a new strategy (that I eventually found mid last year) which was NOT biking or doing any leg work the week of races. The results have been dramatic. It turns out I needed more rest. A lot of it. So now during race weeks, I'll swim, I'll do core and yoga, but that's it. Leave it for the race. Surprisingly, I've had only positive results from that (in terms of conditioning, race results, etc). I guess I'm old, I'm realizing it, I'm adjusting. I also made a few bike equipment mods in the offseason. I got my dream helmet (Rudy Project Wing) which I swear cuts through the wind and propels me forward somehow. I also got new aero bar pads that are super thick and comfortable. I used to feel bumps, now I don't. Finally, had some 105 pedals and upgraded those to dura ace. Not to even mention I had to go out and buy a dang road bike for the Nationals and ended up getting good value with a S-Works SL6 that had disc brakes so I could use my 303 wheelset. Embracing wide tires on that bike and lower inflation values got me to 25 mph so I'll forever trust the Zipp calculator. But I'm a runner and I found something that I didn't think was possible.

My wife said, "You hear about these carbon shoes?" It was January this year. Of course I had. But I have bad knees and I had forever put myself in a special needs type category. Wear Brooks Glyerin's, don't get hurt, move on. BUT, I thought 'what the hell. I'll spend up[like 250 bucks?!]' My first training run, my first mile was 5:50. WTF?! That was 20-25 seconds faster than the week before. I ended up with something like an 18:15 3 mile for my hilly course. I was sold. Since then, I've been in love with these shoes. And my body had some initial protests, but I think I've figured out a winning formula. My experience so far is that it gives me 10-20 seconds per mile. My choice is 100% validated at Nationals when I look and see around me nearly EVERYONE wearing not only the same sneaker but same color. Training wise, I got into the 6:30-6:45 range early and often in the off season (rather than taking a little 7 minute mile break like I usually would). Body holding up so far so good. But the result has been an improvement on what is my best leg and something I haven't improved in years. My first race this year, had a slow, soggy, horrible bike but then did a dead on 6:00 pace for the 5k. As I have gone harder on bike, that has gotten harder, but I think I can settle in on a sub 6:30 pace after killing a bike leg. That is going to help me this year. 

SO, looks like all the goals are squarely in the "achievable" or "achieved" category. My true feelings are actually that I would be SHOCKED a 96+ doesn't get me All American (in the 40-44 let alone the 45-49 age group). Just looking at historic numbers, I think I'm good as of now. As far as NCTS and SCTS, I feel like I'm beating the "Advanced" folks at my age group right now. Something may change, other's may step up, I may get injured, but there isn't anyone right now in my age group that is killing it (there is someone in the 40-44 age group in SC that may be a problem in a couple years though). So not spiking the football, but I need another goal. Something bigger. 

My current score would have me ranked as the #3 triathlete in my age group in 2022. Of the two guys who would have beaten me last year, 1 is moving to the 50-54 age group. I had a look and there is no one who moved up with me to 45-49 that had a higher ranking. So just looking at the numbers, I could be top 2 in the state. So, new stretch goal......... to be the #1 triathlete (all distances) in my age group in the state of North Carolina.

6. [STRETCH] Be the top ranked triathlete in North Carolina for my age group

Team USA, I'm BACK!

 11 years. Lots of changes. Too many to count. My diary here is too spotty but let me catch myself up
here. At the end of last year, I had reached my goals and many stretch goals. For 2023, I alluded to setting my sights on getting back to Team USA. There is nothing easy about triathlons Logistically, effort-wise, organizationally, its all VERY complex. First Gnoce Te Ipsum. I'm not going to train or do any long events. My knees can't keep up. But as I've demonstrated the last couple of years, I am quite capable in the shorter recognized distances. I dug in and learned a ton about the current state of affairs. And you wont be surprised, its super complicated. 

ITU has decided to go draft legal for shorter distances (to be more like the pro's and maybe Olympics?) So Draft Legal is the future. USAT is in the process of transitioning. And its messy. There are now (and I think for now during this transition) 2 separate National Championships. The "Multisport" and the typical Nationals. There are generally 18 slots (used to be 15 back when i did this in 2010-2011) per age group. But since the ITU is going Draft legal, they've decided to allot 10 slots for the Sprint World games via the "Multisport" or draft legal sprint and only 8 slots for the traditional Nationals (in Milwaukee in 2023). I decided 10>8 and decided to target the Multisport in Irving, Texas. 

Second, there is a new race length known as "Super Sprint". Its like a 18-20 minute race. I decided to sign up for that during the Multisport nationals just to have another race to do and frankly to diversify my ability to make the team. 

A couple of things happened:

1. ITU cancelled the 2024 Super sprint.

2. USAT decided to allot 5 (JUST 5) slots in the 2023 Multisport nationals for Super Sprint to go (in 2023) to the World games in Pontevedra. This means there are NOT 18 slots (easy) but rather ONLY 5 (VERY HARD). I decided to do it anyway. Secondly, I want to take a vacation to a Spanish speaking country (for wife and toddler reasons) so it could be perfect if I could only kill it and get top 5.

So I went to Irving this week with a VERY difficult task. Not get top 15 or 18 but rather get top 10 in the Sprint and top 5 in Super Sprint.

To put this into perspective, I got 9th place in the 2011 National Championships for Long course. Back then, I was a upper 70's, low 80's scoring triathlete. I devoted my entire life to doing it, I did it, it was a major thrill. BUT now, I'd be going up against triathletes ranging from low 90's to mid 110's. The competition is 20-30 points better and intense. 45-50 at the national level is intense. 

I didn't really realize it, but I was feeling a lot of pressure to do well. I couldn't take the idea of leaving my family for the better part of the week without achieving anything. I did some scouting and it was going to be tight. I would have to have maximum effort and career days to pull it off. It was NOT a situation I could just show up and qualify. It turns out the very best triathletes still show up for Nationals and the competition was SIGNIFICANTLY better than what I faced in 2010 or 2011 to qualify. Luckily, I'm a lot better too.

Since 2010, my USAT ranking has improved nearly every year slowly but steadily. The idea of beating someone ranked with a score in the mid 90's was once impossible. Now it is possible and would be necessary to qualify.

Super Sprint

First up, Super Sprint. I originally signed up as an afterthought. After finding out it would be in Spain, it took on a major importance to me personally. I wanted to take my family to Spain and enjoy the slow pace of a Spanish town. Spanish is my family's first language (other than me) so it would be a real cultural experience. To get there, I would need to beat some very good triathletes from around the country. I had a near perfect swim, my bike didn't hurt me, and I ran the fastest pace I've run in probably 23 years. I left it all on the field and squeaked by and got 4th in my age group. 

Sprint

I really thought the Super Sprint would be the hardest of the two. After I qualified with the Super Sprint, I thought I may be able to take a breath and just relax. But the pressure of achieving my original goal was very intense. My swim didn't go great. It was very choppy, felt long and I never got comfortable. Luckily though, I've hit the swim SO hard in the off season, that I was able to essentially PR in the 750 meter. I reduced my times in the offseason to a pace I never thought I'd reach. It wasn't comfortable or fun but it was fast. Then came the bike.

I never had done a draft legal race. I didn't know what to expect. As soon as I got out on the course, I got behind a couple of bikers. This became a huge peloton that I stayed with the whole time. I think I was very lucky to get in with these folks. But it also took a HUGE effort to stay with. That effort was rewarded though. I average over 25 miles per hour (previous best on the bike was in the mid 22's). When I got off the bike, I all but knew that I had qualified. I didn't model myself going that fast on the bike. I was actually 3rd fastest in my AG on the bike leg (traditionally my worst leg). I was conservative on the run. I knew roughly where I was based on some names I knew. I figured I was somewhere in 6-8th place (I was in 7 then 8th in turns out). So I kept some in reserve and read the field. Truth be told though, my legs were tired and I'm not sure how much better I could have done (ended up with a 6:36 pace).

When I finished and checked my phone, I got 8th place. I had qualified for Team USA 2024 (location TBD). I had hit both my goals!

I'll have some more posts soon but still processing how much stress this was, how difficult this goal was to achieve, how it compares to 2011. From what I can tell the difference is:

1. In 2023, I had smaller margin for error. It was 15 slots in 2011, I was hoping for 18 slots, I ended up having to deal with 5 and 10 slot races (which is very low for other distances). 

2. The caliber of competition is substantially better. Maybe 20-30 points in the USAT scoring system.

3. My current age group is very competitive and lots of folks who are very capable show up in outstanding shape with outstanding equipment. 

Next up will be a nice full season of triathlons getting ready for and culminating in a trip to Spain in September!