Barb's Race - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Was a little apprehensive about the swim. Really no reason to be, just is my weakest link. Got in the water which felt great as it was 20 degrees warmer than air temp. Was only in water for about 1 minute before we started. Ended up with my best swim yet!

Not hyperventilate at the start!

I'm always a little dizzy coming out of the water no matter what the temp is. I have to take it easy and walk to my bike in order to get my equilibrium back. I also wanted to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything and we had to put all our swim stuff in a bag as we had a point to point race. There is a steep hill just after the mount line, I decided to walk my bike up and mount at the top as I had seen lots of carnage from the previous waves of Vineman competitors.

Maybe wear some earplugs to hopefully help with the dizziness...Also use a wetsuit stripper.

I felt really good on the bike. I had put a lot of time in trying to improve over the last couple of months. I actually slowed myself down several times as I wasn't sure how my legs would take it on a half marathon after that many miles on the bike. It was hard at times to get through the other people as it got congested but for the most part, was a pretty enjoyable ride.

I wouldn't slow myself down. My legs felt fine.

Again, I take my time in transition. I seem to have poor circulation because my feet are always asleep when I get off the bike. I took my shoes off and walked quickly my rack. I drank some water and stretched out my legs a bit and stomped my feet out.

Getting into the run after a 56 mile bike was new to me...I was happy that my legs felt surprisingly fresh. Right around mile 3, I began to feel chafing on my legs. Unfortunately, it only got worse, a lot worse! Walking did not help, but stopping did, so I ended up stopping for longer amounts of time at each aid station. I'm not used to doing tri's in a humid environment so I wasn't ready for my suit to remain wet from the swim throughout the day.

I would put anti chafing cream under my tri-suit.

Didn't really do anything to warm down!


Chafing...I am thankful that this is an easy thing to remedy though! I trained to finish in 7 hours or less and ended doing much better than I expected!


I did this race to raise money for a very dear friend whom I lost in April. I am thankful to have raised $1,200 in her name and was honored to race for her. Seeing all the other women out there doing what I was doing made me very proud to be there.