Just arrived back in Durango last night after another epic driving mission through the Mojave desert to Wildflower and back. It was a short vacation, but I try to make the trip each year to do battle with the top pros on a challenging course. It's tough to beat the atmosphere that surrounds the race, with thousands of people camping, racing, spectating, selling triathlon equipment, and just generally creating a woodstock-esque environment. I heard that projections for the total number of people in the park for the weekend would reach 35,000, so it ranks as one of the largest events out there, and the venue is easily one of the most scenic.

I got in Thursday evening, did a short jog to stretch out the legs, and then went to bed early. Friday started out with perfect weather, and we rode a little over an hour, bricked a short run, and then went down to the expo to check out vendors, meet with sponsors, and do a short swim. By the time we wrapped up the swim, rain was falling steadily, and it didn't let up until some time early Saturday morning. At the pro meeting, race director Terry Davis noted that we would have to dismount our bikes around mile 42 to run across a metal bridge if the rain kept falling, so we all hoped for a change in the weather patterns.

Race morning showed perfect weather for a fast day, and I felt surprising good even though my build for the race was interrupted by a nasty virus. The field was absolutely STACKED, with something close to 60 pro men toeing the line for the 8 a.m. start. I started second row so I could "surf" everyone's wake for the first part of the swim, and by the time I hit the first turn buoy at 200 meters, I hadn't worked too hard and stayed near a lead group. Of course Andy Potts was going full gas off the front, but I could tell I was in a good spot and just kept fighting for good feet through the first half of the swim. I've been working hard on my closing 500m strength in these swims, so I knuckled down when things got strung out a little and stayed on the nearest feet. Arriving in T1, I saw the likes of Chris Lieto and some other good swimmers that I rarely see that early in a race, so I kept my transition smooth and rolled out in contact with some of the big hitters. At the top of the first big climb I was with Matt Lieto, Chris Lieto, Jordan Rapp, James Cotter, and several others. I knew it was going to be a bit of a gun show on the bike, so I just rode steady and watched to make sure my stagger was legal. By mile 25, things began to string out a bit more, and I decided that I didn't have the legs to follow Rapp and Lieto as they pulled ahead. Looking back now, I probably should have gone anyway, because they made contact with the leaders around mile 35, which included Terrenzo, Eneko, and Potts. I still felt like I was riding solid though, with Matt Lieto, Romaine Guillaume, and another athlete all rolling along for the last miles.

Into T2 we were down considerably on Bjorn Andersson, but I took off at a steady pace to reel in some of the men out front. By the first real climbs I had caught one, and been passed by Romain, who hung in front by about 100m. Around mile 6 or 7 we both caught and passed a fading Fraser Cartmell, and then I began to chase Romain down, finally catching him at the turnaround at mile 10. I hit the gas on the uphill, forming a small gap, and stayed on it through the top of the hill, gaining about a minute in those 2 miles. I let the legs go on the descent of Lynch hill, and crossed the line well clear in 9th, with a total time of 4:12:14.

Reflecting on my performance now, it's a little bittersweet. I came out to race against one of the most competitive fields I have seen in my short pro career, finishing 9th behind names like Potts, Llanos, Colucci, Bell, Bozzone, Gambles, Lieto, and bested a huge number of others. I swam faster than I have, maybe ever, and ran solidly on a very tough course. The one part that irks me is that I am easily fitter than any other year, and didn't have the bike legs to match my split last year (2:18:52) in good conditions. I lost close to 4:30 on the bike this year, and I can't say where it went, although I know my form could have been a little better without being sick for two weeks beforehand. I really wanted to go sub 4:10, and my final time was well above last year's effort of 4:10:52. In the end, I was in the money against a very competitive field, I learned a ton, and had a good time at one of my favorite races. Next up, Ironman Florida 70.3 in Orlando in two weeks. Look for me to remedy the bike and get in the mix once more against some top pros.