25th Mystic Valley Triathlon

Official Results: 13th OA, 4th AG M25-29; 1:09:16

Pre-Race: This was the first time that I have ever done this race which is funny since it's only 15 minutes from where my parents live. It was great that I ended up doing it because Jess and I made a weekend out of it visiting with my parents and then walking around Mystic Village and Downtown Mystic after the race since we haven't done that in awhile, it was great!

Swim 1/2 Mile: 42nd OA, 6th AG; 10:20 (1:10/100M)
There were only 2 swim waves for this race. The first wave was all men and the second wave was all women and teams. It was great being in the first wave, but it made for a lot of bumping and swimming over people over the whole distance of the swim. The swim leg seemed much shorter than the advertised 1/2 mile, but who knows. I was surprised I was out of the water as quick as I was since I haven't really done much swimming this year.

Bike 14 miles (actually 13.88 miles): 29th OA, 4th AG; 39:03 (21.3 MPH)
The bike course was mostly downhill and flat with some rolling hills. It was a great course considering there weren't many turns and you could really get into a good rhythm. Driving the course the night before I knew I would do okay with this portion of the race. The only downside was that there was way too much drafting out there. I had some 50 year old guy sucking on my rear wheel for most of the way and then he passed me at the end along with like 6 other guys that were right behind him. I was furious after that and knew for a fact that I would catch them on the run anyway.

Run 3 Miles: 3rd OA, 2nd AG; 17:11 (5:43/Mile)
I've never felt so good coming out of T2 till this race. I felt like my legs just clicked and I was on my way. I ended up catching a lot more guys on the run that I had expected. The run has always been my strong suit and I've definitely been able to put in a lot more miles this year than last year. The run course was very flat with one hill that you hit twice since it was an out and back course.

Post Race:
Even though I was hoping to finish higher up in my age group, it was still a great race. When I signed up for the race and looked at the results from the last year I figured I would be happy with a top 20 finish and I did that. It was a well organized race and the volunteers were all very helpful. It was great to that my parents didn't have to drive to far for this race since they are the ones that usually have the longest drives for my races. All and all it was a great weekend with the parents and spending time with Jess walking around Mystic.