TTT and a Sprint

Two weeks ago Zoot teammate Rick Lapinski and I decided to do a 40k Team Time Trial for fun. I did this race before and it was anything but fun. It was about 40 and raining and super windy… in June. Anyway, the weather was much better this year, however a thunderstorm did come out of no where but that was after we were back at the cars. The first 15 minutes went well and then I slide of the back of Rick's wheel on a turn and pushed hard to close the gap and then take my pull. After that I could tell my legs weren't into it and then to make matters worse the clamp that holds the saddle to the seat post broke and my saddle become loose. As long as I balanced perfectly in the middle of the saddle it was fine but the second I slid in any direction the saddle would move. The next 40 minutes were not fun at all, but Rick had a really strong ride and pulled me in. We ended up winning the open division and once again I remembered how bad an open TT hurts (especial when you can't really put any weight on the saddle).
Today I went back to race the Twin Lakes Triathlon in Palatine, a local race that I did for the first time 2 years ago. Last time I wasn't sure what to expect but I ended up having an outstanding race and winning.
I jumped in to do the warm up swim and my stroke felt great, probably the best it has ever felt. I was super relaxed, swimming easy and had a great feel for the water. So for my warm up swim I did the full 700M course in 10:40, which is really good for me considering I never once swam hard. I started right up front and immediately got swam over by about 4 guys, than swam around them to the outside in the first 200 meters, and then started making my way over to the buoy line and got mixed in with another pack. I tried to get in front, but I just couldn't get away and ended up with the group for the rest of the swim. I ended up only going 19 seconds faster in the race, while swimming much harder, then I when swimming super easy on my own just a half hour before the race.
T1 was my quickest ever and I managed to pass 2 or 3 people. On the bike I passed another 3 people in the first mile and was then on my own the rest for the ride. I never saw anyone in front of me, but assumed someone was up the road so I keep pushing. The course had probably 30 turns in 14.5 miles so it was really hard to get into a rhythm. I ended up riding a few watts higher than 2 years ago, but never caught up. I believe I came into T2 about 2 minutes down on the leader.
T2 was also perfect and I was out on the run course in 38 seconds. I felt good starting to run but I didn't have any speed in my legs and they were heavy. I keep pushing through and they did loosen up. Each mile got a little faster and I felt a little better. A little after the third mile marker I could see the lead truck up the road. I did everything I could, but just ran out of road and crossed the line just over 30 seconds behind the winner.
Sure I would have liked to have won this race again, but I'm pleased that I went about 30 seconds faster than last time I did it and it was another race with no issues. I've had this feeling all year that I've been flat as I haven't had any really great races, but other than the TTT, all my races have actually been very solid and I've executed without issues. Now it is time for a good solid block of training to peak for Vegas.