Improvement at Buffalo

Last year Buffalo was my first triathlon since my deployment to Iraq. I had no idea what to expect and was blown away with my time of 2:05:53. This year was a different story. Last year I raced in the age divisions and was an USAT All American, 30-34 Regional Champion and Toyota Cup 30-34 Champion. I will say there is a lot more pressure when you expect to be faster. I have worked hard on my swim in the off season and revamped my run form and changed my training after Albert Lea. Not to mention the weapons Pat from Grand Performance Bike gave me the day before the race.
The temperature was about 48 degrees when I arrived at the transition area and it was still trying to rain off and on. The wind was picking up and I knew the race was going to suck. I never thought I would get in 66 degree water to keep warm but that is exactly what I did. I saw Jeremy in the water before the race started and thanked him for sending me to Grand Performance. Then before I knew it I was on the beach waiting to hear the horn. When it sounded I decided not to go all out right off the bat and work into my groove. I don't know how much the strategy payed off but I came out of the water at 23:37 which was a minute slower than last year. However, I was 50th out of the water last year and managed to come out at 30th this year. The swimming portion is not easily measured and I'm guessing the course may have been a little short last year. Prior to the race I had made the decision to wear arm warmers and gloves on the bike. It cost me an extra 1:30 but hoped it would help keep me at least moderately comfortable on the bike course. I then got on my knew stallion and started to pedal. I knew I was gaining ground but I don't have a computer so I had no idea how fast I was going. The wind was bad but I was able to push through it. Even though I had the extra gear on when I came to dismount I was still numb and as I got off the bike it slipped though my glove and fell over. My feet were so numb I had trouble stopping and running back to get it. I then stripped off the gloves and managed to get my shoes on with relative ease. I didn't know it but I was in fourth off the bike. John Balabuck caught up to me at the first mile and I knew there was no catching him. I remember the hill at the middle of the run course last year and how bad it sucked. This year I breezed up it passing Joe Langel on the way and felt good at the turn around. I then saw a very fast looking Patrick Parish and realized that he was gaining ground fast. He caught me at mile four and never looked back. After that I knew there was no one who had enough time to catch me. I crossed the finish line 5th overall. While I was ecstatic with a new PR of 2:05:16 I was stunned to see I had the fastest bike split by three seconds over Matt Payne and broke the 1:00:00 barrier with a 59:58. I will admit that Terrenzo Bozzone did not try hard but that's his loss. I also set a new run PR with a 37:36 run time and was ninth overall in that category.
Minnetonka is up next in two weeks and I am hoping to see what I can do there. It has a longer swim portion but I can hopefully gain some ground on the bike with my new found speed.