I scored with 5 flat tires and my back rim is ruined. After the 4th we discovered the flaw in the rim and with the 5th I said screw it and road the final 15 miles on a flat tire!
Other than that it sure is a fun bike course and swim I’ll probably be back next year =) Hope everyone had a great day out there!
Great job sticking it out. That must have been really frustrating.
What were the times for the top pros?
I didn’t see but Deboom beat Reid out of the water by a minute + (they were the only 2 pros but steve larsen + some others raced AG)
.
It went great for me, I didn’t race ; ) However, the stars must have aligned for Tracy (my wife) because I’m the proud husband of a first-time IM Hawaii qualifier! She finished fourth in her AG and got one of the two slots that rolled down. She is unbelievably excited, as am I. Now, she needs to get in shape ; p
congrats to Tracy (and to you too as you’re also going to kona now 
.
Hey, that’s great! Tell her congratulations for me!
I wonder what brand of shoes she’ll be wearing…
-Colin
Larsen went 4h03’…1’ behind DeBoom…
At the Friday night event, he claimed to have swam 3 times over last year…yea right. They did a good slide show spoof of elite vs AG after it was mentioned he was racing M35-39AG. All I can say is he was hauling serious ass through the mile 2/11 run aid station I was working. He is still a real competitor!!
He swam 28+, rode 2:06 and took a 35-39 spot to Kona.
We were already going…I have to work ; ) Now, I’ll be sightseeing by myself the week of…
Great news Shawn - congrats to Tracy!
Joel
Swim went about as expected - pretty slow overall but not bad for me. Bike was good. Run was fine up to just past the 1/2 way point then it all fell apart. I ended up under 6 hours, which was my goal, but if I’d held it together on the run I would have been sub 5:30. Beautiful course and we’ll be back next year!
I’m doing the Full Vineman in 2 weeks and I was curious for you that rode the course today if you would recommend a disc or a HED 3?
Thanks for the input.
Yesterday was great, meeting up and riding with a bunch of STers. Today sucked.
I didn’t see but Deboom beat Reid out of the water by a minute + (they were the only 2 pros but steve larsen + some others raced AG)
Larsen raced AG? Hope he did not accept the Kona slot
“Today sucked”
Cathy,
Second race in a row where you had on a serious game face as we crossed on an out and back. You didn’t look too happy.
I set a 1/2 PR with a 5:32. There were a bunch of Slowtwitchers out there because I got a bunch of comments on the TSR gear on the run. I was in Larson’s AG and never saw him after the start. That is an awesome time considering how many people he has to pass.
I also witnessed the most stupid (dangerous) maneuver that has ever been done in a Triathlon. There was a Casino bus on the course about mile 30 or so. There were bikes on the inside so the bus had to go slow and wide around a corner. So some dude crosses the double yellow and passes the bus on a blind corner in oncoming traffic forcing the bus inside and way too close the bikes on the inside. I was sure somebody was going to die, I just didn’t know who.
Good race overall.
Dave
I didn’t see but Deboom beat Reid out of the water by a minute + (they were the only 2 pros but steve larsen + some others raced AG)
Larsen raced AG? Hope he did not accept the Kona slot
Why not? He doesn’t hold a pro card anymore. Guy has a full-time job and a family. What about Molina and Cuddeback and some of the other former pro/elite guys? Should they give back their slots and trophies, too?
And BTW – plenty of AG athletes are sponsored nowadays. I know of people that have bike deals, wetsuit deals, clothing deals. Everybody from Ray Britt to Joe Bonness…should these guys give up their slots, too?
No but I think they should have a separate division for ex pros/elites - Kona included.
I saw a 19 year old male crash right behind me at the airport blvd overpass, I hope he is okay.
Way to hang in their Cathy. I could see that it was a tough day especially for the later waves. That marine layer went poof in a hurry that’s for sure. Kudos. Ask Dave not to put the ladies in the last wave next year. 
It ended up getting pretty hot out there after all (I just finished applying aloe gel to my maroon radish colored skin, ouch). It was plenty hot by 2:00 and blazing by 3pm. Not 100+ llike last week but still burning. Folks seemed to love getting sprayed by the water hose while passing by.
I didn’t see a bunch of animals jumping out of the ground but there were plenty of heat monkies just the same.
Didn’t get to meet the ST’ers out there since everyone was pretty much done by the time we took down the aid station. 
Had a bunch of fun volunteering. I finally got to see that P3C in person. Suuweeet. I did see someone in a TSR Jersey though. Looked strong at mile 4. I MUST do this race next year. If anyone has pics please post. I took my camera but didn’t snap many since the aid station stayed busy.