Honolulu Triathlon

Yesterday was the Honolulu Triathlon which is an oly distance and an ITU point series event. It was on a new course which is pancake flat and made for some unbelievably fast times. The top pro men finished around 1:46 and the top women just under 2hrs. Michael Simpson was there as was Julie Swail.
My race day started as ususal by walking Maka around the block then trying to eat my pre race meal of oatmeal w/raisins and a cup of yogurt. I could barely eat the oatmeal and didn't even try to eat the yogurt because I had the worst case of pre race butterflies ever. I was worried about boinking so I took some extra GU. Turns out I didn't need it.
After finally finding parking and walking about 1/2mi to the venue, I got my transition set up and went for a quick jog. When I got back I grabbed my goggles and cap and had enough time for a 5 min swim. Then came the wait. I stretched and went to the restroom one last time. After a 10 min delay, the pro men finally took off. My wave didn't start till later and I saw the first group of men exit around 19 min. later.
My swim start was fast and I got clear quickly. I held a fairly fast pace for most of the swim, encouraged by passing earlier wave groups. Got a cramp in my right calf with about 200m to go so I slowed a bit. Finished the swim in 28 min which was ok for me. When I got out and ran to transition the cramp faded and I readied for the bike.
On the bike I slipped my shoes on before I got out of the parking lot. I bunny hoped the 6-8 speed bumps and turned onto Ala Moana. From there it was flat and fast. Thankfully there was only a slight breeze so that made coming up Lagoon Dr. easier. I dropped my spare tube in an intersection and went back to get it which cost me a couple of minutes on the bike. So instead of 1:03 I finished it in 1:05. That averaged out to around 22.5 mph.
The run transition felt hard on the legs. My pacing was right on target but the legs felt like they may not hold the distance. Focused on the small goals like getting to the next aid station or pacing someone for a bit. I was able to pass a few people and a few people passed me. Played cat and mouse a few times and ended dropping those I played with. "Just focus, keep the pace" is what I kept telling myself. At the last 1/2 mile on Magic Island I dropped the last few guys and began a moderate kick 1/4 mile from finish. With about 150 m. to go I gave my final kick, held my head high, (tried not to) show no pain and smiled for the camera. Run time=48min.
My overall was 2:26:36 which beat my goal time of 2:30 so I was very pleased. I had hoped to finish in the top 10 of my AG but there were some fast people out there. Ended up 15th, but if I didn't go back for my tube I could have moved up to 13th in my estimation.
Nikki let me take a nap later that day and I took some Ibuprofen so that really helped. I also used some IcyHot on my legs and today I feel like I can run again. I will give them the day off but I will go swim later. It was a great race and I look forward to next year. But for now I have to focus on the Honu half IM in just less than 3 weeks.