I thought the swim would take me about 40 minutes. We swam up stream first so I thought that would take a little longer than swimming back to T1. There was definitely a current and the water was rough heading back to T1. It's so shallow that a bunch of people were walking and kicking up all the nastiness at the bottom of the river. Yucky! I was taking it easy because I still had the bike and run. I was pretty happy coming out of the water and seeing just over 37 minutes on my Garmin

Nothing. I felt like I picked a good starting position, middle front. There was plenty of room for swimmers so I didn't get beat up and I didn't have to swim over and around people...that is until we caught the wave swimmers ahead of us.

I had a good pace, not too fast, not too slow. Breathing was good. No complaints other than getting stuff in the river in my mouth. EW!

T1 was a muddy/sandy mess! I had two towels and a gallon of water which only slightly helped the sand issue. Got out of the wetsuit ok but trying to get into my socks and cycling shoes without sand proved difficult.

We had about a 300m run total, from the water to get out of T1. Once out of T1, there was a hill to get up to the roadway. I had planned for this and put my bike in the correct gear so hopping on the bike and climbing the hill was a piece of cake.

Lay out my big towel flat so I had more dry, not dirty, towel to work with.

Being my strongest sport of the three, the bike was amazing and I had so much fun out there, probably a little TOO much fun. I dropped my chapstick at mile 7!! Panic?? Nah...I managed to hang on to the lid. First aid station at mile 18 had no vasoline but the aid station at mile 28 did! I filled the lid of my chapstick with it, worked like a dream for the rest of the bike and the run. :-)

I had zero appetite. I didn't feel like I needed to eat but I knew I needed to eat. So, I scheduled everything out. Half of a Tim cookie (Thanks Tim!), 2 Gu Chomps, a banana and hydration (Nuun and water).

Stayed in aero for the majority of the ride. I was very comfortable. The two hills that were on the course were not bad, especially after some of the hill training we have been doing. The first was a very gradual climb of about 300 ft at mile 27, which I didn't even realize I was on until it was over. The next was the dreaded Chaulk Hill. A quick climb of 385 ft. Similiar to the Buttes but a little steeper and a little longer. There were lots of spectators cheering us on heading up the hill. Only a couple of people walking their bikes. By the time I hit Chaulk Hill, I was riding with a group of girls that were pretty competitive and we were having fun with it. We all climbed Chaulk Hill, got out of our saddles for the last 100 ft, crested the top and got back in aero for the speedy ride down the hill. Almost hit 40 mph on the descent. :-)

What a great ride...I had a BLAST!

I wouldn't have changed a thing! Yesterday, I said I should have taken the bike a bit more conservatively. But today, I say I need to work harder on my run. So, that's the plan leading up to Big Kahuna. More long runs, faster long runs and longer bricks. I got this! :-)

We had about a 400m run total, from the bike dismount to get out of T2. That took a little time. The person next to me didn't give me enough room to rack my bike so I pushed their bike over then racked mine. I know I get berated for this all the time, but I had to spray on my sunblock...which didn't take very long at all. It would suck to be sunburnt today.

Nothing other than move a little faster. I was ok with this transition.

I got out on the run and wanted to take the first half at a conservative pace to be able to finish strong. All the hills were in the first half of the run. Once we got to La Crema (the half way point run through the vineyard) I started to have some discomfort. Cramps in the lower abdomen and tight hamstrings. It was really hot out on the dirt trail. I walked the aid stations and just tried to keep jogging between the aid stations. I learned that is where the mental game comes into play. The last mile, I really got onto myself and said let's do this! And that last mile was one of my faster miles, even with all of the discomfort. It was a GREAT learning experience. It was a great experience in general! My motto now? "Respect. The. Run." hehe...I know I got the bike...Always have. I need to put some serious work into the run!

Focus my training on the run! Which is what I will do now, leading up to the Big Kahuna Half Ironman distance in September.

Walked, stretched, ate, drank, showered, drove 3 hours home.


My brain...LOL! I have learned from this experience and now I will go to work to put those lessons into practice in my workouts.


What a great experience!! But this all wasn't done by myself alone. Thanks to all who helped me prepare for this race, supported me through the process, got me into this race, cheered me on through the race and have given me kudos for my race performance. I am a lucky girl to have all of you...