Washington Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim was tough with the current/chop!!! It was a mass start and although there were roughly 100 folks it was pretty intense. I started at the front, but I was not able to find a hole. I got swam on, hit in the face, and even kicked twice. After the first 300m I found some space and my grove. But as I got away from folks I realized the chop wasn't getting any better, it was intense. I got several faces full of water, and I was breathing away from the waves. Rounding the first buoy got my space and would just sight off the boat leading the first swimmer - the fog was so bad it was really hard to see. Being alone and the sighting dificult there were several times I wondered if I was on course. Rounding the second buoy for home I found I was really getting pulled off course. It was a fight to stay on course.

Not sure what I would do differently, except swallow less water. Given the conditions I think this was a decent swim.

I ran into T1 and shouted "what are we wearing". It was cold/temp dropping and I was trying to decide between tri shorts or pants. Ended up wearing tri shorts with long sleeve top and arm warmers.

Oh, and my hats off to Suzy in the mg. I've had so many problems getting my wetsuit off. She suggested I cut it. I did, and had no problem getting it off.

This all started off well. Seemed we had a little wind early, but would be manageable. The bike felt good. But it was cold/temp dropping. My hands were frozen by mile 4 and my toes were going numb (I knew I should have put on that 2nd pair of socks). By mile 17 all that water I swallowed on the swim was causing me to snot like a 2 yr old kid with a head cold. That continued throughout the bike and into the run. Thank goodness for the arm warmers...they worked keeping my arms warm and as a tissue.
By mile 26 the wind was really tough. Speed slowed down huge, and it was a fight. I was praying for turns taking us in a different direction to get out of the headwind and get some relief, or areas that were wooded and the wind would be blocked. Nope. We rode into the wind all the way to T2.

The wind on the bike really took a toll on me. I got into transition and just sat down. Seemed I was there for forever. Somewhat disoriented.

Kind of out of it in T2. Ran out with a relay runner (Boston runner). She and I ran together for the first 3 miles and chatted about everything. Huge shout out and Thank You to Tara!!! My legs were trashed from the wind on the bike so I couldn't keep up and didn't want to hold her back. Keep moving was the motto, and was doing so until the cramp. So I made deals with myself..run to the bridge and you can walk up it, then run down and to the next bridge, then you can walk up it......

Need to ride in wind and then get off the bike and run. This really did a number on my legs.

There was no warm down. The temps were dropping all day and by the time I finished it was too freaking cold. I talked to some of the Finish Strong guys. They told me to check my results, get my award, and go home. So that's what I did.


The course was good. It could be a fast race. But mother nature showed she is in control on this day and totally turned this race around.
It took a lot of mental effort/determination out there. I felt I gave it all I could, and with different conditions it would have been a fast race. But this was a good exercise in making the best with what you get.