Nutmeg Update

Just a quick update pre-race report:

I took 1st place overall at today's inaugural Nutmeg State Half Iron Triathlon. Although I've been battling a cold all week and felt terrible for the first 8 - 9 miles of the bike, the day, on the whole, went well: My swim was solid and showed real sings of improvement (thanks John Ogdgen!). My cycling, once the legs finally woke up, was very strong, especially during the second half of the ride. And my run... I'm more or less happy with a 1:17 run split any time I hit a half I.M., but to do so after such a hard ride, with no one around to push me, well that's a great sign for the way that things are shaping up for Clearwater.

However, I am in no way completely satisfied with today's race. I was very disappointed to have found out that Pro triathlete Jordan Rapp went off course out on the bike. Jordan had amassed a formidable lead and I clearly would have had my work cut out for me on the run. As it turned out, his "detour" cost him that lead and allowed me to enter T2 all alone. I hit cruise control and ran the half marathon solo.

So... this was not the race (competition wise) that I was hoping for. I know that I could have easily run a good 2 - 3 minutes faster today, and that's what I would have needed to do to have had a shot at a "clean" win. It's hard to take pride in a victory that you know wasn't earned fair and square. I hope that Jordan and I can match up again in the future under completely neutral circumstances. In the mean time, I respect the fact that he didn't pack his race in today and gutted out what must have been a very stressful half marathon.

More to come. Stay tuned.