This time I decided to get into the washing machine as opposed to what I normally do, which is hang to the back of the pack. There were a couple of times when a leg touched my arm and I touched someone's leg, which was a pain, but I managed to stay w/ the group. I felt strong and think I had a good swim time, for me. I want to say I was out of the water in under 10min but I won't know until the oficial times are posted. My new Zoot tri-suit was comfortable. As I'm exiting the water I hear my name called and to my surprise I see my friend, Big Dave, at the swim finish. He held his hand out and I yelled back, "you da man!" God what a great moment. There's nothing like seeing a friendly face out there cheering you on. All in all, great swim!

Practice more in the open water, do more bricks, swim more.

Transition went smoothly.

Practice more.

Got on the bike and the ride went well. As I approached the bridge, which I hadn't trained on AT ALL this year, my mental effort got me through. I repeated the mantra, "the bridge is my bitch" over and over again. I geared down and just got it done. Still not comfortable w/ coasting down the bridge at those un-godly speeds, but did a little better on the way back. Had a really good ride. Drank the water in my bottle in preparation for the run. Getting off the bike my legs were noodles and it was a bit hard. But my spirits were lifted sky-high when I saw my friend Maria there taking my picture! Moments later I saw Dave again... both were right at the bike finish, cheering me on and taking pictures. OMG that was so, so great to see them there. I've never had anyone come out to support me at a triathlon, so it really touched my heart that they were there.

Ride more.

Transition went smoothly.

The run was hard. I mostly walked the first mile b/c I couldn't get my legs back from the bike. It was hot and humid and my legs weren't cooperating. I noticed numerous huge cracks in the asphalt which, for some reason, made me think of lava fields in Kona, which then made me think of the Hawaii Ironman and Ron Blaise. The Blaiseman. What an inspiration that man was. I even yelled it out... "these cracks are like the lava fields in KONA!" The two guys in front of me looked back at me like I was nuts or something. The Blaiseman got me through that first mile. I looked forward to the water station and asked them to splash me with the water - it felt so cool and was just what I needed. Mile two was hard as well. But my spirits were high and my mental effort was great. I just listened to my body and walked to bring my hr down when I needed to. I averaged a 13min mile for miles 1 and 2, but slowed down for mile 3, averaging 15min mile, even though I jogged most of the 3rd mile. Doesn't make sense, but that last mile I kept my slow running pace and got it done. Rounding the corner toward the finish line I hear Maria scream "Cari!!! There she is... go Cari!!!" She's taking my picture and I see Dave there again... man oh man... that's got to be the highlight of this day. I crossed the finish line happy and spent. My watch said 1:45min, the time clock said 2:10 or 2:11 - so if I go by my watch, we're talking 10min faster than last year!!! OMG if that's the case then I kicked some serious a$$ today. We'll know once the oficial times are posted.

Practice more bricks. I've been mostly running in training and the bike really does a number on your legs, so I need to do more bricks.

Walked around w/ Maria and Dave... even felt a little light-headed. Got some food and water in my stomach and felt immediately better.


Excellent race! I improved from last year and with each race I feel more comfortable and stronger. Having my friends Maria and Dave there was so great. They stayed w/ me while I recovered and grabbed my stuff. Maria was so cute... she was taking pictures all along, from me grabbing my stuff, to walking w/ Marcello, a picture of just Marcello, it was so cute to see her. I got a text message from another friend, Rachel, who is in Mexico. God, that also touched my heart. Maria took a picture w/ her cell phone and transferred it to Facebook so my FB friends could follow along. Another friend, Maribel, immediately posted a congratulatory note upon seeing the pic. All this love from my friends today, and the well wishes I got before my race from my friends, rivaled my triathlon performance today. It made it that much more special. As I write this I'm thinking of my BT friends too... after all its all their fault that I'm doing this crazy thing in the first place. It was good to see Bill out there today. And I'm thinking about Stacy (aka luv2ride)... and how thankful I am that she is recovering. BT rocks always and forever!

Here are some pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21672&l=8cfcf&id=550264633