Hot triathlon! The "Triceratops Tri" (first of the three Wednesday night triathlons in the T-Rex series) was 90 and sunny. The water was warm, the bike conditions warmer, and the run hellish. This was the hottet day in 10 months according to the weather reports.

I was 37th out of 250, compared to 29th out of 195 this past Sunday morning but just about the same percentage (17%) behind the top finishers.

I thought my swim was faster, but it was not the case - it was slower. T1 is a continuing bright spot: I was tied for the fifth fastest swim-to-bike transition in both races. My biking was almost identical: 19th fastest tonight, 18th fastest on Sunday. T2 was a little slower - sock trouble and I felt a little unsteady in the heat: 61st compared to Sunday's 51st place.

The run was miserable: I was 3 minutes slower than Sunday, finishing 91st  compared to 46th on Sunday. The heat was unbearable. The first two and a half miles were on hilly pavement and completely in the sun. I passed many people who were walking, and a few who had stopped under a shady tree trying to recover. I nearly stopped to walk several times myself!

At the three aid stations, I grabbed water and tossed it on my back and front in a futile attempt to cool off. In the last half mile - in the shade and downhill - I finally felt halfway alive and put in a good kick.

After I congratulated Adam Haberkorn (the cross country ski trail director at Huron Meadows Metropark) and cheered Mike Kotajarvi across the line (trying to get him to ski...), I found that I was a little dizzy, probably from the heat. I downed bottle after bottle of water and Recoverite.

The next race? The Ryanman 70.3 on July 11...