Us 3 girls were in the same lane and we know we had a very similar pace so before the start we decided in which order we should go and I was to go second. The start king of caught us off guard and I just went and somehow was in front right away. I swam controlled and had no problems whatsoever. I decided to count 100m instead of laps and after the first turn I noticed a huge timing clock on the side of the pool and I was happy about that because it meant I did not have to worry about counting 100m or laps because I know my 100m pace pretty well. For 500m I stayed in front and was actually getting a little annoyed because the other 2 girls were right behind me and were drafting me the entire time. I finished the first 500m in 10:28 which was I really happy about. At that time the girl behind me made a move and overtook me but I was only able to draft her for a few seconds as she really sped up and was then about 10m ahead of me. After the next turn I noticed that the big clock was gone (it was the finishing clock as I later found out) and at that point I did not really know how far exactly we had gone so I was glad I had someone in front of me. When she went out I had to go out ;)
Also the woman who was counting our laps screamed "Last one" before the last lap so that was nice.


Nothing. I was completely happy with my time!

Got out of the pool and for the first time in a TRI I did not feel dizzy after the swim and I think it might have something to do with the nose clip I was wearing.
It was about a 30m run (on grass) to the transition area and I quickly dried off and got my clothes on (biking shorts, long sleeve shirt and t-shirt), grabbed my helmet and glasses and reached for my bike gloves before I took my bike. I did the mistake to try to walk with the bike and put my bike gloves on at the same time which did not work so I had to stop again.
I was the first of the girls out of T1 :)


Maybe put on my gloves before I take my bike.

Jumped on my bike and started pedaling. The first bit was into the headwind so I got an idea of what was ahead of me and it was not good.
As the course was a zick-zack through town it was alternating headwind, crosswind and tailwind which was actually quite nice because you knew that somehow you would always get a little break from the extreme headwinds.
The first crosswind part was tough and I had to have all my strength to hold my bike steady and not fall over while turning on a steep downhill. That part was followed by a tailwind part and during the first lap I actually had to figure out where to go exactly but that soon became clear and I sped up a little. The tailwind part was followed by a longer cross-wind straight and it would have been the perfect time to use my aerobars but I did not dare. I still had to have all my strength to keep my bike steady. Then it was a right turn right into the wind and it hit me hard. Speed dropped to 10mph right away and although I kept pedaling as hard as I could it did not go much higher than that. This was one of the few sections where I used my aerobars the whole time because otherwise I would have probably not moved forward at all. I was in my granny gear the entire time as well.
It was mostly flat with one very small incline where my speed dropped even more. This section was followed by a tailwind section which was just simply RELIEF!! I decided to drink very time I get to that section and so I did.
On the second lap one of the girls passed me and there was no chance I could keep up with her.
After 2 laps my butt started hurting so badly and I could not really sit anymore. I think I really need to change my saddle or do something because this can´t be normal.
The wind picked up even more and the last lap it was just brutal and not fun anymore. Almost got blown off my bike twice but saved it somehow.
I just wanted this to be over so I kept pedaling even faster.


Turn the wind off ;) OK well as that is not possible then I would not do much different.
I gave it all I had, paced myself right and most of all had fun!!

It was just a huge relief coming in the transition area again and I was so much looking forward to run because I knew that it would be tailwind for most of the run.
It was my first TRI with clip on pedals so the first time I had to change shoes in T2. That went a lot better than I thought, shoes off, shoes on, helmet off, cap on, remembered to grab my Garmin which I had turned on before the race to get a signal and off I went.


Nothing

I was so happy to be running I just had a huge smile on my face when I started. The wind was in my back and just blew me along. I had to stop after about 200m because I did not tie my left shoe enough and decided it would be better to stop and fix it.
I kept a really good pace right from the start and as I felt so great I decided to try and break a 6min/K pace which would be the first time for me to do in a TRI.
First km was over before I even realised it. I did not have any camps or felt like I would get it and of course my legs were a little crappy but by now I know this is the way it is and it was OK. It was fine after about 500m.
At 1.8K the "killer" hill started. It is a 900m (0.6 miles) steady long incline and it was over before I even knew it. I kept an above 10km/h pace almost the entire hill and was just in awe over that! The wind sure helped me up!!
At the top was a photographer and I just smiled at him and told him that this was so much fun.
Downhill was steeper and I went a little faster but did not dare to go too fast as I knew my hip would not like that.
From there it was mostly flat with some minor rolling hills and I just tried to push a little extra hard the entire time. I kept asking myself if I could go faster and the answer was always yes so I did. I felt so great, my legs were strong and this time I was limited by my lungs and not by my legs! I did not wear a HRM so I have no idea about my HR but I could feel it was pretty high the entire run.
At 5.5K I decided to wait till 5.8K and then do my final sprint. At this point I could still not see the finish line but the run length was advertised as 6K and I remembered where the finish line was in the run race that I did there 4 years ago so I had a pretty good idea. So I started sprinting at 5.8K and at 6K met the same photographer from the top of the hill and just asked him where the heck the finish was. At that time I was about to be done!! He pointed across the huge parking space all the way to the end and I couldn´t believe it. It was quite a way further and now into the wind. I had to slow way down as my HR was skyhigh from the sprint and just grumbled the whole rest of the way. At 6.4K I finally saw the finish line and the clock and my husband and tried to find that last piece of energy for another end sprint but I was not really able to go very fast!
I did the final K (from km 5 to 6) on 5:37 and that took everything out of me.


Nothing. Best run in a TRI I ever had!

Hugged my husband (who had already changed and dressed in warm clothes as he finished 35minutes before me!) and got some water. At that point I started freezing and realised how cold it was so I went to the car and put some long pants and a rain coat over. Drank lots of water and some gatorade and ate a banana.

After that we went to the get our medals (I got 2nd and not 3rd and last) and then we went into the BLUE LAGOON to soak in some hot water for an hour which was great.


My weight as usual but being 25lbs lighter now than in January already makes a huge difference in speed and performance!