This weekend I headed up to Nashville for the Music City Triathlon.  It was a good opportunity to hang out with Paulo while also getting in a solid effort with friends.  Because I was coming into the race off a pretty hard week of training, I wasnt sure how it was going to turn out. Regardless, I was still looking forward to it as after having only raced 70.3s this year, I was ready for the Olympic Distance.

Swim (20:34, 3rd): With the TT start I was the 4th to jump in the river and immediately tried to catch one of the two guys in front of me, as I knew catching teammate “First Out of the Water” Bruce Gennari (who started first) would be all but impossible. Unfortunately they both swam away from me pretty quickly initially but about a third of the way through I reeled one of them in.  Thanks to my new AquaSphere speedsuit (as Chris already noted… these things are FAST!) no one from behind caught me so I exited the swim in 3rd.

Bike (1:02:19 including T1 + T2, 2nd): I felt a little sluggish at the beginning but after passing the 2nd place guy around mile 4, I finally got into my grove around mile 8 or so. The bike was a two lap out and back course so after going through the first turnaround, I noticed Bruce was about a minute ahead of me. I had heard he was about 50 sec up out of the water, so I figured we were riding about the same speed. Coming back into transition, Paulo alerted me Bruce was about 50 sec ahead, so I figured we were riding about the same pace. I felt a lot better on the second lap and really tried to focus and lessen the time gap to Bruce. With about a mile to go, I sped past Bruce but as I went by I heard, “Got a flat.” After my experience in Clearwater last year, I felt his pain.

Run (34:45, 2nd): Heading out on the run, I felt fine but was still worried (due to the TT start) that maybe I wasnt actually in first place. I ran the first lap of the run alone and and then Paulo gave me time gaps to a couple of people.  Luckily the gaps were fairly substantial so at that point I was feeling pretty confident about the win, allowing me to I cruise the second lap.

Still a little worried, I was relieved when the RD finally announced the OA awards. All in all, this was a really cool race. The start and finish was at LP Field (where the Titans play) and the run course cut through downtown Nashville which provided an awesome urban setting.  So if you ever need an excuse to visit Nashville, this would be a good one!

Results can be found here