Unbelievably clear water. Used my new Aqua Spheres and I just hadn't pushed them enough to make a good suction (although I'd tested them by dunking under before the gun went off) so within the first 150 yards I had to stop and shake the water out and push them on harder. I was able to stand up in the "deep" part of the water and it only came to my neck (I'm 5'2")so I knew there wasn't much to worry about with this swim since I could see and touch the bottom. I kept to the rope which connected the bouys and didn't need to sight much because I could see it clearly when I turned my head to breathe. I found someone to draft off of on both loops which was sweet. Unfortunately, they started the sprint distance swimmers (doing one loop of the same swim course) about 30 seconds after I started my second loop so it got rough with some big guys trying to swim over me. Got hit and jostled pretty good for most of this loop but goggles stayed in place and I finished happily. Based on my swim time the swim course was shorter than it had been in the past. Average time for the past two years was 32.5 minutes and there's no way I've made any kind of improvement that significant.

DOUBLE check the goggles before the gun goes off to make sure they're securely suctioned on.

The chip they gave us was huge (at least I've never seen them this big) and they told us to leave it outside our wetsuit so it would record properly. That made it extremely difficult for me to get my wetsuit over and off my ankle. I had to sit down and use both hands to pry around the thing. Aero helmet has a built in visor so didn't need sunglasses. The helmet went on smoothly for it's first race. Grabbed the bike and away I ran.

Spend a little time with the wetsuit figuring a way to get around the timing chip better. Also cut some length from the legs on the wetsuit since it's a bit too long and tight.

Felt the HR spiking at first so slowed it down around the construction area which also has the most traffic. Turned onto the county road and started nailing it. Since this was my first race with my tri bike I wasn't sure how she'd respond but I finally felt like a real triathlete on her. :) So glad Dirk talked me into the aero helmet because I had no heat issues. I hydrated well and took in a gel. My throat was dry from allergies and I brought some lozenges and they helped. I passed several people throughout the ride and was passed by a couple others at the end. I realized I'd been lulled into a comfortable pace and hadn't been pushing it the last 1/4 of the course. Still thrilled with my avg pace of 18.8 because last year it was 17.7. I know I can get that even higher as I get more time in the saddle.

Stay more focused through the whole race on keeping a competitive pace.

Official results don't show a time for this so I just took a minute from my run time to guestimate. Aero helmet was a little trickier to take off but thankfully I'd practiced it and had no problems. With the heat on the run I decided to wear a fuel belt with two waters. Grabbed that after throwing on my shoes and was able to go.

Nada

Getting off the bike and doing a strong run has alluded me at every tri since last year and it alluded me again at this one. I've not figured out how to manage the heat really well and it's only MAY. I think I'm in trouble for the rest of the summer but I'm determined to keep trying. I hadn't been on trails since my DNF from knee pain at the 60K last month so maybe I was tentative and not sure how it would hold up? I don't know other than I walked up the hills and poured about 3 cups of water on me at the aid stations. I'd only brought one gel which I took at the beginning and that should have been sufficient but I realized I could have used another since it was taking me longer. I was pleasantly surprised and knew it was a God-send when I found an unopened gel on the trail that I assume someone dropped. Strawberry/Banana..yum! :) Nothing like manna from heaven to see me to the finish line joyfully. Realizing that I did the whole trail run without an iota of pain in my knee gave me even more joy.

Do more bike/run brick WOs. Do more, do more, do more. Keep tweeking hydration and nutrition. My body is just not managing the beating sun as I'm getting older so I need to research some options.

Crossed the finish line and poured a bottle of water over my head/body. Chatted with Dirk who was eating pasta but I couldn't stomach anything right away. Packed up my transition area and stretched. Got a bite to eat while they were doing awards for the Sprint. Then they did some door prizes and I won a $50 gift certificate from Summit City Bike. Sweet! Found Dirk again and chatted some more. Then they started the Oly awards and called a friends name as 3rd overall male which made me shout out to him and I missed when they called Dirk's name as 2nd overall. That made me laugh and I was smiling from ear to ear for them both. I checked the posted results and saw I was the oldest female and the only one in my AG so I stuck around to get a really nice plaque.


Heat, tentative with my knee and plain older age. However, this was my third year at this event and I bested my first year by 3 minutes and last year by 22 minutes - getting in under 3 hours - so I was happy.


I love the state park setting for this race. Camping and racing just plain make me happy. It's a very well organized race (started a bit late due to the pre-race talk going a bit long). However, it's not a well-attended race. They added the sprint distance and a 5K to add options. They've only had pancakes and strawberries for post race food in the past but this year they added pasta, bread, cookies and fruit which was nice. The RD came and sat with me at the beach on Friday and said he's hoping to turn the race over to someone else because he's done it for so long and is burning out. I sure hope someone steps up to the plate because this is a great tri season opening event.