Playtri Olympic Relay - TriathlonOlympic

What a aweful swim pace! I was having to start in the last wave with the 40+ men, since I was part of a relay. That meansi was the only female in that wave! I was a little nervous about getting clobbered or run over by men twice my size. I did tell the ones around me to remember that there is a lady in the mix, but Im not sure if that made any difference! :) i decided to make sure i didn't get caught up in the middle of a bunch of guys, so I pretty much kept my distance by staying behind them. This factored into my slow swim time. I would look back every now and then to make sure I wasn't about to get swallowed up. The aspects of my swimming that went really well were swimming straight and sighting. Last year I swam wide. This year I was right on. :)

Also, my goggles and the waves smacking me in the face didn't help my time. I had to readjust my goggles about 3 times because they kept leaking. i finally got that fixed and then had to deal with the waves in my face after the turn around. I tried to adjust my breathing so that I would lift my head above the wave to breath. Before doing that, I got lots of water up my nose.

The best part of the swim was that I had my own private lifeguard! Raegan was following along my entire swim on the sidewalk by the lake. :) I waved at him the first time I saw him and I also tried telling him about the smacing waves, but I'm not sure he heard, since at that point i was across the canal on the return.

This swim was a very easy effort for me, so the swim on the whole wasn't a bad swim, it was just a slow swim!

I guess not be intimidated by starting with all the men.

I got a calf cramp right as i was getting out of the water. Ouch! (That's not the word that came out though!) :) I got my wetsuit stripped off of me, and then headed down the looonnnggg run to transition. I'm not sure why they changed it from last year, but this year you had go along way to get to your bike. My feet felt pretty numb, so that made the run to T1 challenging.

At my bike I took time to dry my feet, put on socks, and a jacket. I usually never put any extra clothing on, but with just having come out of the lake into the cold air, and thinking about the wind to come, I made sure I put on something.

I said goodbye to Raegan, who was standing off to the side, and away I went.

Nothing considering the temperature.

That first 10 miles or so was tough!!! We were going right into a headwind. My legs felt very heavy and it didn'tf eel like I was even moving. I just couldn't believe how slow I was going. I felt sure something was wrong with my bike. At one point, I got off of my bike to see if maybe a brake was rubbing. Nope! It was the rider! :( I think my legs were just stil not working from being cold and of course the wind.

I tell you what though.... it was heaven turning out of the wind! I was then going 27mph with little effort. That's what I like!! :) The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. John zoomed by me before passing through the transition area to do the hilly part of the course. Later on I passed him back. And then of course, he passed me one more time. I would have eventually passed him again, but then the ride was over. ;)

Power through the headwind a little better. Also, not waste time checking on a tire that there wasn't anything wrong with.

I ran with my bike to my spot. It was a long way done transition. I was so happy to see Raegan standing there ready to run and knowing that I was finished! :) i almost slipped and fell with my bike turning into my row, but i saved myself. I racked my bike and then gave Raegan the chip and said, "It's all yours!" I kissed Raegan good luck and told him to get going. My job was done! Hurray!!!

I got to then take my time at the rack and relax. :)

nothing

This was Raegan''s leg of the race, so I can't really comment on it. But, I will say that he smoked it!!!! Raegan did such a great job with the run. The wind was fierce, so i was happy not to have to battle it any more.

I was at the finish line when Raegan came through and he was running strong! Excellent job, Sweetie!

I will answer for Raegan- "Nothing, I am a running machine and nothing can defeat me!" Okay, maybe those wouldn't be his words, but hey... I'm the one writing this! :)

Afterwards, Raegan and I tried to figure out if the hotdogs and hamburgers were free for everyone. Once we found out that they were free for the athletes, then we scarfed a hotdog down.

We hung out with Jill and Doug some more to cheer in the HIMers- John, Chris, Brian, Robin, plus others that deserved some applause at the end of their race.


starting with all of those guys, the cold, numb legs, wind, hills, etc, etc, etc......

No, really, if I think back about the race, I'm pleased with how I did in any given moment. I did what I did to have a good race.


I have read many report that mentioned lack of volunteers, disorganization, etc...

I really didn't experience any of that. Yes, I did think that it was funny that they were calling out for anyone who wanted to be a wetsuit stripper, but by the time I came through, there were some. I think the police officers did a good job of monitoring the roads. The cones and the car/rider signs were a little confusing, but everything worked out fine.