-How many females are in my age group?  (8)

-How many females are there total?  (34)

-How many from last year's top ten females are returning this year?  (none)

-How many females claim to have an equal or Faster swim time than me?  (2)

And so on.  Why the obsession?  The one so-far elusive achievement was finally within reach--the Overall Hardware.  And my focus had officially shifted.

So when I found myself too fast to stay behind the dude in front of me in my swim lane but too slow to pass him in one length's time or less, I got frustrated.  I didn't have time for this.  And when the Lane 4 volunteer frenetically told me I had swam an extra 50 yards because I didn't see him put the kickboard down (distracted with passing Other Dude, no doubt), I was downright pissed.  Was my chance at Overall down the drain?

Still grumbling, I whipped through T1 in a rainy mist and discovered in the mount that my wet shoes weren't cooperating with wet feet.  Slow shoeless mount, wet slick roads, mist turned to sprinkle, more frustration.

I biked the 14 miles in solitude.  We were so spread out that minus getting passed once in the first five minutes and passing a small cluster in the last five minutes, I wasn't within 50 yards of another cyclist the whole time.  This helped me calm down a bit.  I figured I'd only lost a Minute or so, and since everyone else has to transition and bike in the rain, there's no disadvantage there.  I continued to give it what I had.

Quick dismount and off on the run.  The rain has stopped, I'm still by myself, but ready for this race to be over.  Just not feeling it, I guess.  And maybe that's a result of the shifted focus.  A glance at my watch after the swim showed a swim time a Fair Amount faster than last year's, despite very little pool training this summer.  That's something to be proud of.  The bike split ended up half a mile per hour faster than last year's, despite riding in the rain.  That's something to be proud of too.  And when I crossed the finish line my run split was nearly a full minute per mile faster than last year's.  Remarkable.  But if I'm all about the hardware, how can any of that be good enough?

In the end, I pulled off 2nd Overall--a source of pride as well as an effective motivator.  But spending a fair amount of this race in surliness has been a lesson in attempting to keep my focus on my own achievements, not just as they compare to other's.

Arrival:  Excited, Ready to roll

Bear helps me carry the helmet

Everyone gets body marked

Time to rack

Down time

Let's do this

 I still have the cutest athletic supporters in the world.

 Pooped out.

 My Lobster, Athletic Supporter Extraordinaire

 2nd Overall