Boulder Stroke & Stride - Biathlon (swim/run)

I started out pretty strong. I was able to freestyle just fine, but then I got tired and had to flip onto my back. I switched from freestyle to backstroke the entire swim. A little frustrating because the backstroke caused me to zig zag all over the place so I spent a lot of time during my freestyle navigating back. I also found that sighting really zapped a lot of energy out of me - it kind of jacked up my rythmm.

I need to swim A LOT more to build up my endurance in the water and practice sighting.

I could have been a lot faster on the transition, but I ended up chatting with my husband and daughter for a few seconds.

No chit chat!

I must have swallowed a ton of water because I was all sloshy at the start of the race. I had a wicked cramp right under my rib cage that slowed me down considerably at the beginning. It was funny though because at two separate times, I belched huge and the cramp went away. What a relief - I was able to finish the run strong. There was one woman who passed me on the run before the turnaround. She told me she didn't do the swim. This kind of irked me because she was on fresh legs, so it pushed me to pass her after the turn around. I could hear her right on my heals the entire time and at the end, the announcer said "the next person who comes in will win a bottle of Hammer Gel." I immediately heard her speed up and people started cheering us on. I was not going to let her pass me. I won the bottle of Hammer Gel. :)

Besides the cramp, I wouldn't do anything differently. Maybe pick up the pace a little if I can.

Drank some gatorade.


I need to swim more to get used to the distance. The cramp during the beginning of the run really hindered my performance.


I had a really great first OWS experience. I didn't feel panicky at all. The cold water and not being able to see the bottom didn't bother me. I just need to work on being able to swim those long distances without getting so fatigued. I hope that I am able to freestyle more during the next race and get better at sighting so I'm not all over the place.