ITU race report from the deep South!

I was in a bit of an unknown territory this morning, a swim with no wetsuit or no speed suit allowed, this should be interesting. On race morning I'm always a bit nervous, but adding the fact that I was wearing the Canadian colors, it seemed to add a bit of weight on my shoulders. This race format was different and the men get their own start. I exited the water in 30 min, not as good as I hoped for but not as bad as well. Off to a fast transition and out on the bike course, trying to reel the competition. You have to understand, this bike course did not have a lot of room to pass, which makes it hard at times for me to pass faster swimmers but slower riders. At one point, an American rider past me, on the right, without even announcing, to add he pushed me and I ended up crashing against a tree. He never said a thing or even apologisied. I got up on my bike and forged on, trying to recuperate the time, position and people I had passed. There was one big climb on this single track course, although long, it was gradual. Once I arrived at blood rock, a section that deserved that name, I elected to get off my bike and run it. After that it was mostly down hill back to transition. I had a another fast transition and headed out on the two 5 km loop. The run wnt well, minus a fall close to the end of the first lap. I would book the course in 2:39 , good enough for 13/29 in my age group with 8th fastes bike split in my age as well. This race was a very neat experience and the usual suspects Al, GL and Allison were also racing. In addition, great job by Pete Lombard from Gum, whom I met when I raced there. NHL raced the entire course with a broken rib, what an inspiration. As for me, my next race will take me to Grand Rapid, Michigan in 3 weeks for a traditional 70.3. Time for me to rest. Happy trails! Carpe Diem