The announcement was made that the water temperature had actually dropped in the past two days due to cool evening, which was not expected. The official water temp was said to be 69. I had decided if the water temp was 74 or above, I was going to wear a speedsuit. 76 degree is the cut-off for wetsuit legal.

The swim course is a one loop large triangle with an open point. We were to keep all buoys on our left. The swim start was very organized. They had us self-seed based on expected swim finish time. They were in 15 minute blocks. I lined up with Monica at the back of the 1:15 group. They rolled us in the water starting at 6:20. This really is a great way to start the swim, as it is much less stressful. I entered the water and quickly had lots of feet and people in my face (my own fault for selecting to start where I did). I swam quite a bit to the right to avoid the traffic and found open water. The water temp was actually perfect for a wetsuit. I thought it may have been closer to 70 or 71 degrees and it was very nice. Visibility was decent. I knew from the training workouts I did the day before that I really needed to ease into the swim and not push in the beginning. My lungs needed time to adjust. I swam very relaxed and easy for the first 800 yards or so and could feel myself adjusting. No issues. The course was very well marked and I was able to stay in clean water most of the time. The back of the triangle was quite choppy due to wind as the close to the end. Fortunately, I swim in the ocean so it was not really a problem. No issues getting out of the water due to the great volunteers. I saw Mike watching the swim finish and waved. I was 3rd in my age group. This was a fun swim and great swim course.

The transition area in T1 was very long (actually, both transitions were very long) due to the layout. No big deal. I took my time walking/jogging to pick up my gear bag and getting into the changing tent. One inside, I had my choice of volunteers. I took time to put on compression socks, bike shoes, and helmet. On the way out I stopped to pee and to have a thick layer of sunscreen applied. Then, I grabbed my bike and had the long walk/jog while in bike shoes to the mount line.

The bike course is 114 miles and is 3 loops with a tail at the end. This is a challenging, but beautiful course. The roads are in great condition and the course is very well marked. Police and volunteers are at every turn and provide direction along with the signs. (Very different from my last race in Los Cabos!) There is great support from volunteers at the aid stations and lots of spectators. I stated the bike course off easy to once again adjust my lungs to breathing while biking at altitude. For the entire ride, I could tell I needed to stay in control of my breathing. I didn’t have issues, but I kept things under control. The bike course has lots of hills and climbing, but nothing too tough. There is one long hill that then leads to a false flat that then leads to a steep climb. Of course all of these climbs become more difficult on the 2nd and 3rd loop. My good friend and former E2 teammate from my tri team in Ohio (Valerie) moved from Ohio to Denver last year. I saw her on all 3 loops of the bike course and stopped for a hug and a slap on the ass at the third loop. This was the only time I stopped on the bike. I was able to grab bottles and nutrition from the volunteers as needed. The weather ended up being so much better than expected. We had some cloud cover and the temperature was in the mid 80s, which was 10 degrees less than expected. I saw Mike and a friend once on the bike course. Monica caught me at lap 2.5 and we continued to pass each other for the rest of the ride. She is much better at descending and cornering, while I am stronger on the flats and climbing. The last 9 miles of the 114 mile bike course is on a very windy bike path and around town by the school. There were lots of curves and corners. Monica caught me at the dismount line. A great bike course!

T2 is even longer than T1. We hand our bike to the volunteer, grab our gear bag, and then run along the high school track and up a few concreate steps to a field with the changing tent. I should have taken off my bike shoes and ran in socks. Oh well! The volunteers in the changing tent were great. I put on my running shoes and visor. I stopped to pee and for another layer of sunscreen.

The run course is along the winding bike bath along the creek. There is the center point and then three out and backs that are each ran twice. There is some shade and being next to the creek also keeps the temperature a few degrees cooler. The run is mostly flat with some little rollers and inclines. There is great support from volunteers and spectators. I really enjoyed this course! Again, I eased in to the run to check my lungs. I could tell my legs were tired from the climbing, but better than I expected. I was so thirsty! I did a great job with hydration and nutrition on the bike, so I am not sure why I was so thirsty. Maybe being at altitude or the dry air had something to do with this?? All I know is I started drinking like 4-6 cups of water and Gatorade at the aid stations, but never needed to stop to pee. This created a problem because then it was sloshing in my tummy and I had to walk some. I saw Valerie on the first loop at mile 12 and I stopped and chatted with her for about 5 minutes. This was helpful as it gave the fluid time to settle. Once I left her, I didn’t walk anymore for the rest of the race. My pace was slow, but I kept moving. I liked being about to see our fellow racers since there were all the out and backs. I saw that Monica was walking around mile 14 and I then caught up with her. She was really struggling. I walked with her for a bit and then we ran/ walked for a bit before she sent me on my way. I continued on my turtle way. I saw Mike again with 3 miles left of the run. These last 3 miles seemed to take forever! LOL! Finally I reached the last .2 and then headed into the finish shoot. What an amazing feeling!

I really loved this race. It is such a great course and wonderful support. I had a wonderful day and felt happy the entire race. This was my 13th Ironman and there is still nothing like crossing that finish line. It is truly magical!