I am a slow poke! I came in 131/251 females


Besides the length, and the fact that I can't swim straight, I probably added on another extra mile .. ha! My sighting is really pretty much non-existent so I found myself all over the place. I did notice that the inner buoys were way too in in comparison to the big orange turning buoy, so I started on the right hand side but since I my sighting sucks and I can't swim straight it didn't help much. It also got very choppy especially when were going across the lake ... wow! I was actually getting a bit nauseous ... how the hell am I gonna swim in the ocean? ...

My swim has a loooong way to go. I was bumping into people, and I was getting bumped into the whole swim. There never really was open water for me to grab. I secretly hoped for 35 min swim, but realistically I at least wanted to be under 40 min. One good thing to take out of the swim is that my shoulders felt awesome the whole time. My left shoulder (breathing side) used to get tired fairly quickly but not this time! :)

MY SWIM NEEDS SOME MAJOR HELP!!!!! I am sick of being a slow poke and I know it's not my fitness but rather technique ...

I MUST get faster! It's time to get some help cuz the laps in the pool don't cut it.

Attempted to put my arm warmers on but realized that wasn't gonna happen very fast so decided to go without them. Little Nola cheered me on "Cesi do toho" (Go czech in my native language) .. soooo AWESOME!!!!

Oh I was also able to stuff an entire cliff bar into my mouth all at once! Ha! I am pretty sure it took me almost a mile to actually chew it up and swallow it! Ha! Swim just always makes me soooo hungry!

I came in 47/251 females - still need to learn and practice hopping on and off the bike with shoes already clipped in. I actually never tried ...

My avg. power was 165 and I came in 26/251 females

2 loop course ... Very wet, hilly, slippery course - I am glad I survived and didn't take any spills. Probably could have pushed a bit harder as my power was way lower than when I rode the course in my training ride, but the conditions weren't exactly perfect. My avg. power on my training ride was 177, and I ran 4 sub 7 min miles after that and was pretty spent, so I wanted to be around the 170 mark. Ended up with 165, because I am not gonna lie I was a bit scared in certain parts of the course (downhills especially). I lost my gu's from my bike frame too so had to grab them from the volunteers, which was a little challenge. Was able to get one at one stop, and at the second stop I ended up getting more, however they were the double caffeine once and I am only used to 1x caffeine so didn't end up eating those. Better be safe than sorry. Had to wait another 10 miles to get my fav one - strawberry/banana 1x caffeine .. yum! I was still bummed about losing my chocolate one though .. :(

I also put on my clear lens glasses, but that only lasted about 3 miles. They kept fogging up and I couldn't see anything at all. I honestly don't even remember last time I rode without glasses. Ugh! I also tried to take it pretty EZ up the silly 3+ mile hill both times, and I honestly would have gone up it one more time if I didn't have to go down those hills! I was scared for my life. Going up the hill the 2nd time was probably better than the 1st. I am really not sure why. It also always gets me when I see peeps with $10,000 bikes, and aero helmets and they can't make it up a hill! Who pushes a perfectly fine and working bike up a hill? I am pretty sure the aero helmet does you no good at that point in time! :)

My favorite part of the entire downhill section was the ref. chick with the speed gun! She looked like she didn't move the whole time cuz I swear she looked exactly the same on my 1st and 2nd loop. Ha!

I also peed on my bike ... :(. I was so freaking soaked that it didn't really matter but there was no way I was stopping because I am pretty sure I would probably not make it back on my bike if I did. I was getting little chilly on the downhills, but I otherwise I wasn't cold at all.

As for my overall nutrition, I ended up the cliff bar right after swim which I managed to fit in my mouth ... ha! 1 bottle with gatorade and almost 6 scoops of carbo pro in it (roughly around 285 g of carbs), 2 strawberry/banana gels, and 2 bottles of water.

I probably should have pushed a bit harder on the flats. I really wanted to be sub 3 hours ... I am not the one to take it EZ, but I think i was little worried about the run since I have never even ran a half marathon, and my longest run was 11 miles, longest BRICK probably 60/4 so my run was TBD ... :) I was hoping to go over 19 mph, so I am a bit bummed, but if I could have pushed it on all the downhills I probably would have been there ...

Not forget my watch! I had to go back and get it .. duh!

also had little trouble getting my dry socks and running shoes on ... my hands/fingers were a bit frozen!

81/251

I came in 25/251 females

I was shooting for 1:45, but secretly was hoping to be sub 1:40 ... i really can't complain though since this was my very first 1/2 marathon EVER, never mind it was after swimming and riding ... one day i can hopefully get closer to 1:30 ...

Tough one for me ... uphills/downhills were a struggle! 1st loop was fine, I was able to do with the hills alright, but the hills on the 2nd loop got me .. ouch!!!!!! I actually walked twice for 10 seconds cuz I am pretty sure I was moving faster than when i was trying to run. I tried to control my stride on the downhill because I was a bit afraid of cramping up if I just let my legs go ...

The last 2 miles even though flat were tough. My cardio was totally fine, but my legs were just really tired (quads, and calves especially) ! I didn't get passed by any chicks or even guys on the run, I did pass bunch of peeps, but I wish I had gone a little faster. I did give it all I had though so I have no regrets. I also had to make one stop at the PP but I think that little break gave my legs a bit more life!

Nutrition wise I totally SUCK! I took in water (couple of sips) at almost each water stop, and I had 5 shot blocks cuz I just felt like I had to but I just DON'T like to eat on the run ... I know I have to but what it will be , that is still TBD ...

Cardio wise I felt awesome but my legs didn't feel that great especially on the last 3 or so miles ... I must start doing run hill repeats and really running hills in general ... I haven't been able to do so since I hurt my hip and really had to avoid the hills but I am good to go now ... the hills just killed me today! Bring on the hills! :)

Went into the massage tent to get a massage . waited forever and then it was soooo pointless .. I got tickled instead of massaged ... no joke!


Great race and I definitely can't complain. This was my first 70.3! Hell, I qualified for Clearwater, which was my goal for the season!!!!! at the same time though, I know I have long ways to go to reach my full potential! Soooo I am excited I am going to CL, but I now MUST get faster!!!! Bring it! :)