Litchfield Hills Olympic Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I was in the 3rd wave, so I stood around and watched everyone else go off. When it was our turn, we all waded in, the gun went off, and so did we. I made a point to start to the right of the front row, because even though I am a very strong swimmer, i get freaked out in the scrum. This tactic worked, as I avoided the flailing, and just did my thing. I saw a bunch of people jump out ahead of me, but I didn't worry. I knew they wouldn't be able to hold that pace (and if they could, good for them!), and I just wanted to swim my own race. By the 2nd buoy I was passing blue caps from the previous wave, and shortly after the yellow caps of the first. I have no idea if i took a wide turn, but I was in no-man's-land between buoys 2 and 3. i didn't see anyone, but I was sighting and new I was fine. I quite enjoyed the solitude. Kept swimming, caught more people and just enjoyed the rest of the swim. I felt awesome the whole time, and didn't push too hard.

Nada. First start this year where I didn't freak. I'll have to start wide from now on.

Long ass run uphill on a gravel/dirt road to T1. About .2 mile. I had flip flops to wear, and that worked ok, but running with the wetsuit still 1/2 on was uncomfortable, to say the least! Once in transition, I got the wetsuit off quickly, grabbed my bike (there were a LOT still left in transition) and ran out with the eventual women's winner right behind me.

Not have to run uphill?

I just had way too much fun on the bike. I couldn't stop grinning form the moment I hopped on. I just love it!I kept it under control the first few miles, letting my legs warm up. Once I got onto rt. 44, I just started to hammer. Passed a bunch of men, and played leapfrog with a few until the turn into Canton. I dropped most of my leapfrog buddies on this gradual climb. I kept it in the big ring and just tried to pedal smoothly until the big hills. Then, i dropped it into the little ring and cranked up, and up, and up...Those last few miles are killer. The last big hill, I stood up and cranked over into a screaming downhill. I got a little nervous here and braked, and immediately felt my back tire lift odd the ground!!! Well, I let go of the brakes and continued on, luckily didn't endo! Arrived back at Brodie Park the 4th overall woman.

Nothing, really, It was a great ride and I had a blast! I;m really glad I rode the route with HEAT the weekend before so I knew what to expect.

When I dismounted, my legs felt like rocks. I shuffled my bike into T2, praying they would loosen up. Silly me, i forgot to count how many racks in I was, and it took me a few extra seconds to figure out where my area was. Got the bike racked, put on socks, shoes, visor, race belt, and ran off.

Remember where I was "parked"!

Ok, we all know I am a lousy runner. I've only been doing it for a little over a year, and I'm improving, but I just have zero natural running ability. Lots of room to improve, though! I started the run feeling pretty decent. My legs loosened up quickly, and I got into a good pace. I was immediately passed my one woman, and by another 2 before mile 2. Eh, I;m used to it, people pass me like it's a parade. At about the 1 mile mark I started running with a guy who was at about my pace. We chatted for the next couple of miles, which helped pass the time. I felt good. I was working hard, but comfortably hard. He peaced out a little after mile 3, and picked up the pace, so I just carried on by myself. At each aid atation I got 2 cups of water, drank 1 and dumped another over my head. That felt good, as it was quite humid! Around mile 5 I was passed by a few men who promptly started walking up the hills. I gave them a little pep talk, telling them that we're almost there, let's finish strong! I was soooo glad to see the 6 mile marker and tried to kick it in the best i could.

Not suck? Eh, I'm improving. It helped to have a run buddy, and I think that maybe I could have gone a little faster if I'd had one for the whole time (not just the first few miles). And maybe I should have taken another Gu, since I only had 1 on the bike.

Crossed the finish line, grabbed a water, stood around and chatted with my parents and Jon. Parents left, and Jon and I meandered over to the food, where I got some peach pie and Sam Adams. It was awesome! Got my stuff together in transition, and waited for the results to be posted. Chatted with some fellow HEATsters, and waited for the awards. The girl who beat me in my ag was #2 overall, so I slid into 1st place for the ag! This was my 1st ag win (the 2 other races this season I got 2nd and 3rd) and I was pretty darn excited!


Being a crappy runner. That's about it. It was a good day!


HMF does a good job. Lots of volunteers, and a fun course. I'll be back next year!