2011 USAT Southwestern states 3rd Place Finish

Hello All!
 Just got back from a very busy weekend! I headed out to San Francisco on Friday after getting a brand new pair of white wall racing tires! I got a bit lost looking for Crissy Field but got there eventually (6 hrs. Later) After stressing out about possibly missing packet pickup and getting to Treasure Island itself I was able to eat dinner and settle in for an early bedtime! Race mornings are always fun when you need to be up at 4:30 A.M but i did sleep well better than the night sooner from just being so excited for the races. After another stressful hour of just getting transition and everything set up I was able to warm up for nearly an hour get a small amount of nutrition and get my suit on. The race started promptly at 7:30 the water temp. for the morning was 58 degrees slightly chilly. It was also a bit chilly on the course until the run portion. The swim didn't go to great I wasn't happy with the time to begin with I added 2 minutes from my previous race but did exit the water 1st. Going onto the flying mount at the Transition 1 for the bike i cramped up on the back of the knee at the hamstring connector. after a half lap i was spinning up and feeling great. The bike course was six laps with 15 turns each lap, very technical but my average speed was the same as when i raced on a flat straight fast course so I am very happy with the outcome of that, the bike is getting better and better every week! I came off the bike in 5th place overall, not to bad. Going into the 10 k run i was feeling a little sluggish for the first half lap after shaking everything loose I started picking it up I negative split the three lap course but unfortunately with 1.5 K to go I cramped up and lost a little bit of time I couldn't shake the cramp up until the last 300 M or so and was able to kick hard into the finish. My efforts earned me a 8th place overall finish and a 3rd place state championship finish. I'm overall quite happy with the bike split and set up for the run and next time I'll be hunting for the win at national championships this August!