2/6 in AG, 6/30 women only, 15/50 mixed

This was an indoor pool and it felt like you were stepping into a sauna when you entered the pool area! It was horrible! We ended up having a 10min wait because of some guy who was late getting there and I spent it outside breathing fresh air. The pool was way too warm and combined with the warm air inside the building it was hard to get your breath once the race started. I much prefer cooler water and fresh air!

However, I am happy with my swim. I was in a lane with 2 others - one guy, one gal - I lapped the woman twice and the guy once. I was frustrated with the "counter" people in my lane though....two teens who seemed to be more interested in visiting than counting. :( The officials had told us that they would be showing our lap numbers continuously, but I had to ask when I knew I must be getting close to finishing...and they told me the wrong numbers! So after thinking I was on my last laps and pushing my pace up, I stopped, looked up and they said "you have 2 more!" Arghhhh....oh well, I was still 2nd out of the pool in my heat.

The run to transition (approx. 2/10mile) is included in the time so it makes it hard to know my actual swim time. I am guessing about 10min. I was winded when I got out and put on my Keen sandals for the "jog". I know I beat the woman, who ended up first in my AG, out of the pool, but she still had some zip to her and she ran the little "trail" the whole way. I did some walking, took in a gel and told myself I still had a LONG way to go!!



Hope for a cooler climate in the pool! Train a little more, although I think I did the best I could given that the closest pool, until June 1, was 70 miles away. In April I got in one swim/wk, May I pushed it to 2 swims/wk. When outside pools opened in June, I had a few weeks when I got in 3 swims/wk, but it is still 30 or 40 miles to a pool. Open water is closer but I have no one to be there to watch me for safety.

Also, in retrospect, I wish I had pushed myself a bit harder on the run portion of the swim and done my own counting of laps.

I was happy with T1. I had to kick off my Keen sandals that I had worn to run from the pool and slipped right into my socks (rolled up for easy on) and bike shoes.

I could work on swinging onto a moving bike and having my shoes clipped in, but wasn't worried about that for my first tri.

1/6 in AG, 6/30 women only, 21/50 mixed

Being out of the pool early got me out on the bike course with only a few ahead of me. It was really awesome to round one of the first corners and have my family parked alongside the road! I gave them big "WOO HOO"! The course was well managed for traffic control which was really nice. Lots and lots of volunteers everywhere, cheering us on. I think I said 'thank you for volunteering' to every one of them!

The hills were tough and lots of the road was pretty rough. I got passed by a lot of people, but kept encouraging myself by noting that every single person that passed me was on a fancy tri bike! I did a horrible job on the turn around, almost coming to a complete stop and putting my foot down. I have tried to work on that a bit at home, but come up against old time cycling fears and wrecks from my youth! Worst part about that turn is that you are at the bottom of a long hill so it would be good to have had some momentum.

In the last mile of the course, a younger gal passed me on a grueling hill and then moved right in front of me. I know the passing rule is that you are supposed to drop back and give them the spot, but I was fighting my way up a hill, already out of gears and I couldn't imagine slowing down to drop back. I wasn't really sure what to do so I just kept climbing and pushing and actually overtook her again. In a bigger race, that may have gotten me a penalty...I don't know for sure?? For the most part, my shifting was smooth except for one time on a hill I definitely lost my focus and shifted incorrectly causing me to spin out...very bad for maintaining momentum!

I had decided to chew on Luna Moons during my ride and set up a little cup on my top bar to hold them. It worked well until I hit the roughest roads and then without my seeing it, they all vibrated right out of the cup! Looking back, I know that affected my run, so next time I will do something different.

I had ridden the route 2 weeks before the race and done it in 53 minutes so was happy with my final time during the race.

Train more! Work on hills and speed...but considering I only got a bike the first of May, I am happy with how much I accomplished in such a short time.

Again, I was happy with T2. I had practiced transitions at home on Friday and it really helped. I was into my shoes fast - I highly recommend using Yankz or some equivalent! Grabbed my cap, threw my latched race belt around my neck, grabbed a water bottle and a pack of Luna Moons that I had set out and was gone.

Oh...the only other thing was that the transition area had a blue carpet running down the center with racks on both sides. I was in the closest rack to the T2 entrance at the very end, farthest from the blue carpet. I hadn't asked about needing to stay on the carpet or not and when I entered the area, I started toward my rack, NOT on the carpet and at the same time a volunteer called out my number. I thought she was calling me to go on the carpet so I switched directions and went all the way around. She apologized because that wasn't necessary and had just been reporting my entering transition...oh well, I might have been under a minute if that hadn't happened.

Know I could use any path I wanted to get to my bike! :)

2/6 in AG, 7/30 women only, 20/50 mixed

I couldn't feel my toes on my left foot for almost 2 miles of the run. They were tingling and numb from the bike ride. I had been really worried about energy level and nutrition for the run because I had had some trouble with it in my bricks. Basically, that part was good although I realized later that the Luna Moons I lost on the bike would have helped. I had laid an extra packet out in case I felt I needed them and was glad I did. I started chewing them right away and had about half the pack gone at 1.5 miles. I realized they were really helping my energy level so consumed the rest of the pack pretty quickly and grabbed water at the next aid station. Next time I will have a back up plan on my bike for extra Moons.

I walked more than I wanted to at the first part of the run, but my body was saying it couldn't go! I thought my HR would be super high...like up in the 180's, but my body just couldn't go hard enough to get it there! I was passed on the run by lots of men, but no women.

I was wearing my Garmin and my visualizing technique was to picture myself where I would be on my regular route at home. It has become an 'easy' 3.1 mile run for me and it helped a lot to think about it that way.

I finished really strong, sprinting hard across the finish! It helped that my youngest son was standing at the path where it turned to the grass and final 100m, cheering me on, running alongside yelling "Go MOM, GO!" It brings tears to my eyes to write about it even now.


Focus more training time on running, especially some speed work. My 'normal' 5K time is in the low 29's, but that isn't after 2 other taxing events! It would be nice to be able to run that in a triathlon.

Grabbed a water, poured half of it over my head and drank a little. Hugged my family, walked around a bit. Started cramping in my calves and feet...OUCH! Drank lots and lots - water, Propel, water, Gatorade, more water, V8, more water. Couldn't get enough.

Later had a nice celebration lunch with my family - burgers and beers!

Did a few shopping things since we were in the "Big" city! I was really tired...especially my legs!


Training and fitness level...but that said, I have done a lot of reflecting over the past 2 days and have realized that this was an incredible accomplishment.

Ten months ago, I was still a couch potato blob after struggling with chronic fatigue/adrenal exhaustion for the past 10 years. During those 10 years, there were many times when I couldn't brush my own hair or stir a cake batter because it was too exhausting and I would end up back in bed. I have fought my way back to health with determination and perseverance, unwilling to give up! How could I not with 5 kids to love and teach and a ranch to help run!! lol

By June of 2008, I had gotten to a place where I was feeling good most of the time and knew that I needed to start working on getting back the strength and fitness I had lost. In August 2008, I started running with the C25K program and I will never forget that first day, when I ran for 60 seconds and thought I would DIE! But I stuck with it and ran my first 5K in November 2008. So you see, for me...and my family...to race in a triathlon 10 months later and not only finish, but finish well, is nothing short of a miracle!


It was a great place for a first timer!