St. Anthony's Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Stood at the start with Lucy & KathyG (wow! she has a LOT of energy!), tried to get in the back, back, back. Started off strong and kept with my wave until the first turn. Actually, I had passed the 1st buouy after the turn when I heard the horn go off. The next wave (whitecaps) caught up to me and by the time I finished, I was in a mix of white & bluecaps with a few very speedy redcaps coming thru. VERY pleased with my time.

The first leg was totally freestyle. The rest of the race was a mix of free & breast. I'd swim freestyle until I found myself headed off course, then switch to breast to site & get back. Switched to free every time other girls got close.

I had predicted a 50 minute swim, so I was thrilled with 40-something. I was so much faster than I thought I'd be, that my husband totally missed me coming out of the swim :-)

This was the fastest T1 I think I've every had!! Including several races without wetsuits! One thing that took some time was to rinse my shirt under the armpits. This is a particular area of chafing for me...especially with all that yucky salt water. Every shirt I had 'tested' bombed in this area, so I was glad I took the time to do that. Ditched the socks for the bike. Love how easy my new shoes are to get into!

Sue7013 passed me on the cobblestone...I knew right away she flew on her swim! A few minutes later, I passed #2653. She and I took turns passing each other about a dozen times on the bike. I was thrilled to pass her for good on the run! The entire field passed me on the bike, but I was very pleased with my speed. Even though I slowed down quite a bit on the last 5 miles, it was my "best case scenario" to finish with a 14mph average, and I came in 3 minutues earlier than my best prediction!! Add this to the 10 or so minutes I 'saved' on the swim, another 10 min I didn't use in transition, and I knew I could walk the whole run and finish by 1:00. I was in such a different place mentally and physically from last year!!

Saw my hubbie at the end of the bike. He said I was looking confident and strong and hollered out to him "see you at the finish!"

Had 2 gels, a bottle of gatorade and water thoughout the bike. Love the Zephryhills sport bottles they handed out.

Keep pushing the last few miles. Though I am glad I got my garmin off the bike to carry with me on the run.

Almost missed the dismount cuz I got distracted looking at the photographer. Some men who had already finished were totally in my way coming into t2, but a stern tone moved them out of the way.

Took the time to put on socks now & lather up the armpits with vaseline. Walked with bike.

Run out instead of wogg.

Very HOT. Thankfully, there was way more shade on the course than I thought we'd see during the high noon hours.The homeowners with the hoses were angels from heaven, as was the lady who gave up some ice! Put ice cubes in my hat and in my tri-top. Jogged through a lot of the shady areas and walked most of the long stretches of sun. After the turn-around, met up with Melissa and we stayed together for a couple of miles. Saw hubby just prior to the chute.

Got my medal (finally!) and found the BT group. The lines for food were very long and hubbie was hungry too. He was so wonderful all day, I didn't want to drag him through any more tri stuff. Gathered my stuff and took off to a convenience store, got some milk & bannanas. We picked up some subway and headed home. Spent the rest of the afternoon napping on a raft in the pool.


The extra 50 lbs that I need to lose.


Will do this race every year!