I appreciate you pointing out this. I was involved in an accident about 20 yrs ago and that forced me to realize that being able to move was something that I had taken for granted. It's the remnants of that accident that make me prone to over-use injuries (foot, ankle, and knee) and that's why I usually mix cycling, running, and weights.

My hat is off to you who can push into pain and suffer today to win tomorrow.

I don't think you need a COACH, but you need some organization and planning to your tri-training...if you want to live up to your (apparent) expectations. Although a coach could certainly help. I don't know, but I doubt it is even a quality over quantity thing. If you can train your way through double centuries, and ultra-55 (and the upcoming ultra-100)...there's plenty of fitness there...and I presume a willingness to organize a plan to get those done. You just need to apply some of that to your triathlon life.

Doing cool events (like these ultras) is cool. You should do what you think is cool---that's the whole point of all this, right? With the right thought, I think you can turn those into an advantage in your tris...instead of leaving you handicapped by insufficient bike/swim prep, which ultimately cripples your run (which should be your strong suit).

You tri-training sounds like bit of a mess. Coming off the ultra-55, I would expect that you had excellent run-fitness. With a little thought, you could have started the bike build a little earlier for BSLT (maybe in the final stages of your ultra-prep), and added SOME swimming in the 8 weeks prior to BSLT. Maybe swimming (some) doesn't make your swim FASTER, but maybe it makes it cost less, and leaves you setup for a better bike, and ultimately lets you take your ultra-run and drive the race home.

You have made some really good points throughout this discussion, and you continue that here.

I hadn't considered the lack of efficiency of my swim due to lack of prep/practice in how many calories that I'd burned and how much metabolic by-product that my body was having to manage. I took it easy on the swim and made myself avoid trying to draft on others' feet, and I thought that was enough, but my time suggests that I spent more energy than I realized b/c I honestly expected to finish the swim in about 42 minutes (assuming the course was near 1.2 miles), I am unsure whether the wind made the swim easier- I expected the wind to make the swim more taxing.

I truly appreciate your sharing your thoughts and insights. I agree that I need to spend more time planning if I expect to make improvements.

Honestly, I make this same type of mistake in other areas of my life: Too much blunt force (volume) and not enough precision (targeted workouts).

Additionally, I overcompensate with too much precision in some areas of my life and demanding the same from others (my wife and coworkers)- I suppose that I'm a mess. Maybe if I apply a disciplined or formulaic approach to triathlon that it will help me learn to experience the same level of satisfaction and joy that I get from long, slow workouts. I suppose that it goes back to self-esteem... not caring that I ran only 2 miles, but rather that I stuck to a plan of running both miles at <7 min/mile pace instead of slogging along at 9:00 pace.

I'm working on becoming a better person (as I understand it), and I can also work on becoming a better (tri)athlete.