West Kennebunk Fire Olympic Tri - TriathlonOlympic

I am a terrible swimmer. I really felt like dropping out several times during the swim. I was the only racer wearing the high-visibility swim cap. That made me feel a little like a loser, but heck, I was uncomfortable with being open ocean in a black wetsuit with a dark blue swim cap. I would have thought that all waves would have brightly colored swim caps.

My goggles started leaking about half-way through the swim. I never felt like I got a good rhythm going. I couldn't see out of my goggles, so I did the side-stroke for a while to gain my composure.

But still my swim time was 13 minutes faster than I predicted so I must have done something right.

More open water practice.

I am happy with my transitions

I didn't leave shoes clipped on pedals. I put my socks and shoes on and then just hopped on the bike. I felt great on the bike. I was reeling in a guy ahead of me, I was catching him on the flats and staying with him on the small climbs. But then suddenly he stopped and dropped out of the race. Why couldn't he have waited until after I passed him? It is discouraging to see someone ahead of you drop out.

At about mile 12 my handlebars started coming loose. They would roll down or push up. This caused me to hold a tuck position so that my arms were pushing forward and not up/down. It was mentally tough, but I think it probably made me ride in a better position. Still, I started having stomach cramps which I attributed to the different posture. I was hoping it would take care of itself on the run.

Tighten up my handlebars! They seemed fine before the race, but I think the jarring along the pavement and the heat loosened 'em up. My husband gives me a money-back guarantee on his maintenance of my bike. Ha-ha.

With my loose handlebars I lost confidence in my ability to dismount. I knew I lean heavily on the bars as I dismount. I was afraid I would wipe out, so I was conservative on my dismount.

tighten handlebars

The heat hit me like a wall when I started my run. I felt terrible for the first 2 miles. My stomach cramps got worse. I would get cramps followed by gas. I think I got better as the race went on. I think I was running well for the last 2 miles.

I passed a few people, not many, and no one passed me on the second lap of the course. I passed one woman who lamented that she was ready for a flat course. I thought "This IS a flat course". Really, there were only a few small rolling hills.

Get acclimated to the heat. Eat a better breakfast.

Walked around, drank gatorade. Hugged my kids. Drank more gatorade. Looked at the pancake breakfast and it made me feel ill. So walked around another 20 minutes before I attempted food.


My weight, the heat, not pushing hard enough for the first 2 miles of the run.


A fun race! I did much better than I expected on the swim and bike, but slightly worse than I expected on the run. It would have been nice if the website included the run course.