Delaware Diamondman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

We had to wade part way out and then swim to the start line. I positioned myself at the front middle, after I had noted that is where the buoys seemed to line up. Tread water for a good min before the gun went off, and I darted ahead. After about 2 minutes, I feel someone clawing into my feet with every stroke. Now really, I don't mind drafters, but if you are behind someone and you start hitting their feet, have enough common sense to (1) back off or (2) swim around them. I decided to kick extremely hard so they would back off. They finally did, but about 30 seconds later, someone is swimming right over top of me. Literally. First time that has ever happened to me, and it wasn't fun. I choked for second, popped back up, and contemplated hunting them down to swim over them. Opted to let it go and just swam my race.

I also noticed that for some reason I was drifting really wide to the left all the time. I would have to swim diagonally toward the buoy to straighten myself out. I was annoyed by that, and I didn't stop having that problem until the turn buoy on the swim back in.

With about 200 meters to go, I could see the arches we had to run through. I started sighting less and going harder. I saw one of our teammates Brian swimming right next to me (he was doing the sprint) and he is a really strong swimmer. So, I just decided to watch what he was doing and swim until he stood up. Worked perfectly; all these other people were standing up and walking so early, whereas I swam all the way to the platform before standing up. Glanced at my watch, 30.22, and then ran up the platform and stopped my watch at 30.51.

Be better at not drifting off to one side and also make sure my wetsuit is closed properly up top -- I got another wetsuit kiss.

T1 time includes about a quarter-mile run up to transition area and time actually in T1 was 1.40. I had a strong run up to the transition area and was pretty out of breath when I reached my bike. I took my time to stomp on my towel while putting on my helmet and sunglasses. I even used my hand to remove the wet grass, leaves, and rocks on the bottom of my feet before slipping my shoes on. Caught my breath a bit and was off.

Hustle, but for a half, it doesn't kill me to take a bit more time to calm down before starting.

Came to the mount line and some d-bag is actually stopped at the line, trying to get his feet into his shoes (which he had on his bike already). Kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think? So I got a bit bitchy and told him that if he was going to start with his bike shoes on the bike, he should learn how to keep moving at the mount line instead of staying still.

Anyway, I was quick to get up to speed, and I felt like a million bucks with that disc. Seriously, I felt so bad ass, and the noise it made was enough to pump me up to race hard. I got into a rhythm pretty quickly and hammered. Felt really strong the entire bike. Saw Tim around mile 25 for the first time, and he yelled at me that I was rocking my shoulders (which he later informed me meant I was going too hard or in too hard of a gear). But, honestly, I wouldn't have changed my pace or gearing at all -- I felt solid that whole bike.

The nice thing about this bike is that there were two loops, so it was easy to see where your competition was. I started counting people. When I spotted Tim, he was in 19th or 20th place. I thought I was the number 4 female (but really I was actually number 6). About mile 30, I see a female ahead of me and quickly realize I know who it is -- we have raced against her before, the last time being as recent as Wilkes-Barre in August. She's a solid triathlete, and I knew if I could pass her it would be a golden opportunity. So I picked up the pace right at the base of the headwind climb back over the expansion bridge. I whizzed by her (actually surprised she didn't react) and my HR was SOOOOO high. I hammered the climb out of the saddle, figuring I could recover on the downhill and then go to work to make sure she wouldn't catch me again. I was able to keep a solid lead on her for the rest of the bike and actually ended up beating her bike split by 8 minutes. My goal was 13 minutes, because I knew if I didn't do that, she would catch me on the run (which she did).

Came into the transition area feeling so good and really happy with my bike.

n-a-d-a.

I want a disc now, though.

For some reason, I stopped dead as soon as I dismounted. I think it was to stop my Garmin, which I had mounted on the bike. I kind of kicked myself mentally, and sped up to get into T2. I was contemplating putting on my toe condoms on my pinkie toes because I just get blisters so bad. On the bike, I had decided to not put them on. But, when I got into transition, I decided I would put them on, giving myself more time to try to eek out a pee (which I couldn't). Grabbed my gear, gave one more check that I wasn't missing anything, and headed out.

Nothing worth mentioning.

Started the run feeling excellent. Had I really just biked 56 miles? The mile splits were really screwy, so I don't feel as if the miles I got were accurate. I kept my HR around 162-164 to start and then let it raise to 165-166 after mile 6. The terrain was rought; it was mostly on crushed gravel and parts were half paved, half gravel, so you kind of had to run zig-zag to not turn an ankle. I was a bit worried about my knees, but they felt great the whole time.

When I started the run, I heard someone say that I was the number 5 female. So that was good news. I also knew Monika would be close behind and I was wondering at what mile she would catch me. The miles just ticked by -- I felt relatively good and was running pretty strong, albeit slower than my half-IM pace last year, which is fine because I know I've been through the ringer with my knees. Saw Tim at my mile 5 and his mile 8. He looked great. Later we were joking "Sianara Skelator, Hello He-Man." But he actually spoke to me, which he never does during the run when we see each other, so I knew he was feeling good. I wagered on. Monkia passed me at mile 6, and so I moved down to number 6 female. I was mindful to not let any other women pass me for the day.

At every aid station, I would take a cup of water and dump it on my head. Felt SOOOO good. It was nice cold water. After mile 8, I started taking gatorade too, just to break up the monotony of sipping on my water bottle. I started to also stop at the aid stations and walk a few steps to drink. This is the first race I have ever done that at, and I am really not sure why I did it. Its not like it cost me a terrible amount of time, but its unlike me. I'm usually gunning until the end.

My hips really started to feel the fatigue around mile 10. I think it was the soft running surface, which I am not used to. But, I kept telling myself that I was almost there, and I continued on.

Around mile 11, there was a right turn onto the main drag again, and I had the opportunity to look back and see who was behind me. There was a woman probably one-third of a mile back. Knowing that, I picked up the pace slightly and brought it home. Saw Tim just before the mile 12 marker, with the camera out, and telling me that I looked strong. He snapped a few pictures, and I picked up the pace again to ward off that woman who was closing on me. Last mile (if it was accurate) was 7.56 -- holy hell. But, I beat that woman behind me by about 5 seconds! Too close for comfort.

Crossed the finish line and actually the knees were feeling good! I was totally stoked with that.

Suck it up and not walk at the aid stations, sister.

Walked around a bit, grabbed some ice for the knees and a turkey sandwich.


I need to do more run training, but other than that, I had a solid race.


Feeling a little bit more confident about the IM given that I was able to push hard on the bike here and still feel good on the run. Hopefully my knees can hold up for the big day.

This race was great, though. The weather was perfect and I feel like I really gave my all out there. Other than some walking on the run, everything I did was done hard and executed well.