Great swim, felt very strong, it went by almost too quick. About a 200 yd or so run into T1, overall a great swim. Wish it were longer. Cold did not bother me, but I am glad I decided to wear the wet suit, it really did not choke me during the swim like I was afraid it would.

I would have tried to get to the front of the pack while on shore. I could have gone a bit harder on the first straight-away, took a few minutes to get used to the dark water.

T1 was pretty quick. Because we were not coming back to T1, I had to put all of our gear in a white plastic bag marked with my race number. Took a few minutes to get everything (towel, wetsuit, goggle, cap) into the bag. I had my bike gear set up pretty well, got right into the shorts and jersey pretty quick. The entire transition area was gravel, and thank goodness my bike was at the end closest to the entry from the swim, so I did not have to run barefoot on it, but little tough running on it with the bike shoes.

Bike shoes took the longest, tying the laces. I will have to get laces that can just be tightened. Overall decent T1, would have been about a minute less if I did not have to pack the gear in the bag.

Hard ride for me. The new bike really was fantastic, I think without it the ride would have been miserable. Even though I was getting passed, still felt really good on my bike. I did pass a few people, so didn't feel so bad. It showed me the amount of work I need to do on my leg strength and bike endurance. Good ride, very challenging. Hard to find any hills in the Plainfield area to really prepare for this race!

Nothing I could have done day of the race. I would have done exercises directed for builing leg muscles, I guess I have been spending too much time in the pool.

T2 was quick. I set up T2 the night before, so I had my shoes, shirt and race belt all ready to go. Again, the ties on the shoes took the most time.

Shoes and laces. I actually tied my shoes too tight, so it affected the first mile and a half of my run. Wondered why my calves were killing me and I could not even jog. More on that below.
Oh, and where were the port-oh-johns in T2? I had to pee so bad after the bike from everying I drank, but none in there.

I had to pee so bad for the first half of the run. Remembering what I had read here, I know people just go when they have to go, and I really tried to talk myself into it, but I couldn't do it. Thank goodness there was a porta potty on the course, but unfortunately it was not until mile 2. Felt a million times better after that. Got passed on the run also, but not as bad as the bike. Like the bike leg, showed me I have a lot of work to do on the running leg.

I would not have tied my shoes so tight, when I stopped to retie at mile 1, leg cramp instantly went away. Then I had to deal with the pee cramp until mile 2. Why were here not more potties either on the course or right after T2?

Walk around a bit, ate a banana and had some water. Stetched my legs very well. Watched and cheered for the finishers coming in, great to see all of the expressions of joy, pain, releif and pride as they crossed the finish line.


A few things really limited me: Lack of bike training, not able to pee on myself during the run to feel better, tying my shoes too tight. I have a lot of training to do for the rest of the races this season. Going to be focusing in on bike training and leg exercies for Reebok on 6/12.


I heard lots of complaining about the race, people complained the water was too cold, the course too hilly, the transition areas too far apart. I thought this race was nice just for those things, it is so different than any race I have done in the Chicago area. I will say they need to work on transporting spectators, they encourage the shuttle instead of driving to the lake, but then don't try to get spectators back in a timely manner. I am sure there are other roads to drive on back to town other than the bike route. I would definitly do this race again next year, good race to open the season with because it really is a challenge. I always like swimming in this lake. Last year the race was cancelled due to weather (I did not register for that race), so there was still talk of that this year. Overall a great race, great town, I always love going to Galena. The B&B we stayed at was lovely, right up the road from Main Street so we were able to walk into town Saturday night to enjoy the Galena nightlife (sort of sarcastic comment.... :) Overall good weekend for the race and for a getaway.
What made this nice too was the weather. Not too hot, not too cold. Little windy, some drizzle later on Saturday, but nothing major.