The water was OK -- temperature was good and the clarity was good. I didn't stray off course too badly, although the efficiency of my sighting could use some work. This swim seemed really hard. It's the longest open water swim I've done and my first in a wetsuit. I didn't feel like I hit my stride until after the first buoy, and even then it was pretty slow.

I've been focusing almost exclusively on swim technique for a few months on the advice of my former coach. Although my technique has been improving, I think it actually hurt me in this race because I have lost some of my swim endurance that I had built up before. My expectations were based on my times in the pool where I'm pushing off the wall and not swimming in a wetsuit. Both of these factors led to a slower time. I'm seriously considering joining a master's program and doing OWSs about once a week.

I ran the whole way to my transition spot. I was able to take my wetsuit off with my feet while putting on my glasses and helmet. I was glad I had brought a squirt bottle with water because my feet needed to be cleaned off. This transition seemed to go slow, though. I had a hard time getting into my pedals. I should have just put my one foot in before getting on the bike like I usually do.

I usually leave my bag in transition and it acutally takes up a lot of space. Maybe next time I'll try moving everything back to my car except what's needed to have more space.

My strategy was to put it all out on the bike and damn the run. I passed LOTS of people and only got passed by a few. This was my best leg. I was surprised who was ahead of me. There must have been some good swimmers who rode mountain bikes or something because I seemed to pass a lot of women on mountain bikes (maybe you just see what you look for). I stayed on the large chain ring almost the whole time. Luckily, the trucks and cars didn't slow me down much.

I really hate drinking from a bottle. I'm seriously considering getting a camelback or something. It slows me down to reach down and then hold it while I'm taking a few drinks and then put it back. I need to practice more in the drops so I can be more aero.

Time approximate again. I didn't do the rolling dismount like last time, although it might have saved me a few seconds. Everything went pretty smoothly in T2. My hydration strategy was to drink all I needed on the bike and then rely on the aid stations on the run. Turns out I needed more than that on the run, and it's just going to get worse as the temperature increases.

Have more room on my towel to stand on so my socks don't get gritty. Take hydration of some kind with me on the run.

It didn't feel like my pace was as fast as calculated here, but the time went somewhere and I know the bike split is pretty close. Anyway, the run was pretty bad. I was spent off the bike because I put so much out there. That combined with not being hydrated enough, and a tough swim, and my training being less the last few weeks. I was eyeing the guys who looked like Clydesdales because I wanted to place. After the dismal swim, I knew it wasn't likely but I did pass a bunch of them on the bike. Towards the end this big guy passed me up and I stayed on his tail. I told my body to push it, even though my body was saying "no more, no more". Then about 500 yards before the finish, I turned it up, and passed him. Woohoo!

Hydrate on the run. Save a little more on the bike for the run. Run lots.

Just walked around. I got some water and some food. Talking to Brenda, I felt like crying. This hasn't happened before, I'm usually so pumped. But it's probably a combination of who knows what, and that I gave this race more than ever before.


Swim endurance and technique. Weight (I weigh too much). Run endurance.


The race was well organized and supported. I would recommend it. It was harder than my first one last October (Golden State).