Echo Tri Olympic 2012
http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/final_list/division/154410

The development of my swimming skills improved dramatically over the past 11 weeks.  I spent two swimming sessions with a coach during the 11 weeks and he helped me focus on specific drills I could do to improve efficiency.  I spent more time swimming in preparation for Echo then all of the other triathlons I have ever done, combined.  I spent at least 2 hours in the pool each week for 11 weeks -- shaved 5:00 minutes off my previous best olympic distance swim.  I came out of the water fresh.  I pushed the second lap hard, but was slowed down in the last 500m when I ran into all of the women Olympic, Senior, and Clydesdale distance athletes.  I spent the bulk of my time and energy at the end of the swim avoiding other swimmers.  Top three swimmers in my age finished 4:00-7:00 minutes in front of me out of the water.  Room for improvement.

Echo Reservoir was low, so it was a long transition to the bike.  The dry dirt in the transition area turned to mud so, regrettably, I took about an extra minute rinsing my feet before I put on my bike shoes. I stayed in the areo position for the whole bike and didn't feel extra fatigue when I got off.  Training up and down Emigration Canyon mimicked the race perfectly. 1100 feet of elevation gain over 12.5 miles up the Echo Canyon.  Looking back, I would have had a better ride had I spent at least one training ride on the canyon.  I pulled back on my decent and could have gone harder coming back to T2.  Garmin Bike: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199233069

I moved at 7:30 pace almost the whole way, although my heart rate took a dramatic jump when I made the turn into the final 3 miles.  I thought I pushed the pace on the final three miles, but my GPS doesn't lie.  Garmin Run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199233058

Honestly, I wanted to get on the podium in my age group.  I beat all of my training partners and friends, but coming in 9th in my age leaves a sour taste in my mouth.  Are there really that many dudes out there that are training that much harder and smarter then me?  Racing is amazing, but the triathlon community drives me nuts with their compression socks and tank tops.

Positives:
Stronger in the areo position from smarter strength training.
Sport specific training improved my ability to focus on key training sessions that made me a better racer.
Staying away from heavy weight training allowed my body to recover from sport specific training.
Staying with a schedule of training forced me to swim on Mondays.