I hate to write "below average" and "bad" because this was my first triathlon, and it was all good to me! I backstroked nearly the entire course because I got a brain freeze every time I put my face in the water. Also, I spent so much time in that cold water (because I was going relatively slowly) that I think I got a wee bit hypothermic. I didn't ride the waves in--and I'm a pretty experienced body surfer! And when I got close enough, I was knocked over because I didn't check the wave rhythm. But, hey, I made it! The only time I really felt as though I could not make it was early in the swim. For a split second--although I guess never really seriously--I thought, "I have to stop; I can't do this! The water is too freaking cold; I'm not ready for this!" But in less time than it took me to say all that, I was determined I wouldn't DNF. Kayakers asked if I was OK, and I said, "The goal is to NOT DNF! I'll make it!"

Work more on ocean swimming--especially working in v. cold water. My body and feet (booties) were great--my face was v. unhappy in that freezing water. I panicked every time I turned over to swim freestyle.

T1 was a little rough. I was still sorta weaving from the swim. Thankfully I had my little stool to sit on. I wasn't breathing hard (the person who came in after me was really breathing hard! I was a bit worried about her!), so I know I didn't really push it in the swim. I told myself to take my time, and I made it!

Oh, just about everything. I did great on wetsuit exit, both top and bottom. The rest was just going slowly cuz of the weavy-wavy feeling. I did fine, though!

Biking felt fine except that my legs felt too weak to climb up out of the seat. I don't really know why that was since I didn't put much leg into the whole swim thing, but now I know what to expect! My T time is figured into my race results, so officially I came in at 1:14. My bike computer said 1:09, and the odometer said 16.9 . Right at the end, the road was rough and I lost it off road--I thought I was going down, but somehow, after yelling "Shit!" at the top of my lungs (oops!), I pulled it back onto the road, clipped my right foot back in (never touched ground, thankfully), and pulled it out to the end.

More hill work. More keeping at cadence. (Now that I have a working bike computer--did not work prior to this race!)

Faster than T1! Getting into running shoes a little more difficult than I had expected from previous tries. Perhaps work on doing it without sox? No space left on rack by the time I got there!

Get there earlier, I guess!

Run? I thought it was a walk! (Ha! All kidding aside.) The transition leg thing was less of an issue than I thought! I did try to just "spin" into the transition area to loosen up my legs. My legs were totally spent though, or, at least mentally I was not able to get my legs to stay at run very much. Apparently often enough that I kept my per mile time to under 15, which is my fast walk.
My heart rate monitor says I was "in the zone" for 2:10, so I guess I kept it at my best pace for all but 7 minutes of my overall time (which would make sense, I guess, given my time in the Ts).

Uh, more bricks to practice. Many more. Push harder on the run. Remember to turn off the watch!!!

Walking, stretching.


Best I've done, but, hey, it's my first. So, I guess it has to be my best experience. I was so awed by the volunteers who really gave it everything they had and made the experience really awesome for me! I even got the goggles I lost and the "good luck charm" Eleanor gave me back! Volunteers found them. The sea turtle from Eleanor was handed back to me right at the finish line--a perfect finish! I thanked every volunteer I came into contact with because I was just so amazed at their supportiveness!