I'm slow as a slug but this was a great swim for me. Water temp was perfect. I had an early wave (6:54 am) so the water was clear. It was never too crowded and never had an issue with others swimming over me. I had little or no contact w others throughout swim. Never gasped for air like I usual do. No sign of oncoming panic! At halfway point I went to bilateral breathing bc I felt THAT comfortable. Sighting was fairly easy I think due to how narrow the river is...Strike that.....I did run in to the second depth buoy. Oopsie.







Need a good swim coach for overall swim improvement.

T1 went smoothly till I went to stuff my swim gear (wetsuit , goggles) into the transition bag. (This is the bag that they transport back to the high school).. It was gone! I stood there and looked around thinking I must be at the wrong bike rack, but how could I be when my bike is right in front of me! So I said aloud, almost shouting "Where's my bag? Someone took my bag!" One of the ladies/racer next to me said "hey, go ahead and stick your gear in my bag & we'll meet up somehow!" Nice offer but right about then I see a volunteer at the end of the rack and told her my bag was gone. Gave her my # and just as I did, I see my bag at the bottom of a huge pile of other bags. Luckily my number was in plain view otherwise I still may be on Johnsons Beach looking for it! Anyway, she said "I'll take your wetsuit and stuff it in for you. You go Girl!" I Said thanks, grabbed my bike and ran out. Transition was muddy! As I'm exiting T1, at some point I look down at my top which was white and is now a lovely shade of muddy brown Am I racing in Half Ironman or am I in a mud run!?!

1) Get to T1 early! 30 min is just not enough time to set up and eat and pee and calm down!
2) Double check bag to be sure it is open and ready to fill with gear. (and so volunteers can see that I have NOT come through yet).

I mounted easily after that hill leading out of T1. I wasn't even to mile 5 when I felt hungry! Took a GU. This was the first of many times that I'd actually feel hungry while on the bike and run. Hungry again@mi 15. Took a banana and chomps they were handing out. Ate banana first and instantly felt good. Stuck the chomps in my tank and nibbled till next stop . Another chomp at mi 30. After mi 30 I don't know exact mile where I fueled but it was steady fuel (another GU at some point), & water & Gatorade intake to the end- a lot more calories than during training.

I went fairly hard the first half then tried to slow down a bit to save for Chalk Hill b/c this was my first HIM, I needed all I could for that run. So I always free-wheeled it down hills & took it fairly easy on the ups. Chalk Hill was fine. Didn't scare me like last year and realized once I climbed it that "Hey! that was not bad at all!!" The home stretch was flat & fast.& really fun!

1) I think I could have gone harder on the ride, but was scared about the 13.1 run afterward.
2) Work on fueling

Terrible Transition. It was a long run from bike dismount to T2. Decided the day prior that I was going to change into my run shorts. So that meant I had to change out of my tri-shorts and into the run shorts. The changing rooms were toward the run exit which was all the way across T2 for me so instead of the back-n-forth I decided to have a skirt at T2. I threw the skirt on over my tri-shorts, yanked the tri shorts OFF & pulled the run shorts ON. Took time, but nobody was exposed to indecent exposure. ha! Tennieshoes took some time too. Decided to wear socks when I got there, but my feet were sweaty, sticky and still muddy from T1. Cleaned feet, forced the socks on, yanked the shoes on, and headed out. Bathrooms were at run exit with only one person in line so I figured I might as well go.

This was definitely one of the worst (longest)transitions Id ever had. No bueno.


I prefer run in my run shorts. But If I could find a super comfy pair of tri-shorts that I could run in, it would definitely help T2 time!

My legs felt really good but from the start but I was not expecting the hills right off the bat! The first 3 miles were tough. There were 3 tough but fairly short hills. I walked up all three of them! My pace was under 9:30 mpm till about mile 7...way faster that I usually go. I saw my friend Dominic at about mile 9 (an out-n-back section). He was about 1/2 mile ahead of me walking so I knew he had to be hurting. If I just continued at my current pace I'd catch him. But I was beginning to hurt too. I walked up the final hill that lead us out of La Crema Winery and finally caught my friend at about mile 12. My pace had slowed to almost 11 mpm. Chatted for a bit about what ailed us and then I was off. I always try to really push that last mile as hard as my skinny legs can take me. Last mile I was running 8:30 mpm but it started to fizzle the last 1/4 of mile -It was a long run to the finish.

Throughout run felt like I did on the bike - feeling that stomach growl. I had planned to take fuel at certain miles, but didn't keep w my schedule once I began feeling hungry. So I took h20 and Gatorade at pretty much every water stop and GU or chews at about every other. Stomach felt perfect. Totally think I got luck with nutrition. Run time: 2:19!----- I could not believe it!!! I was only 2 min short of my half mary PR of 2:17!! I thought that was awesome! Icing on the cake. !!! Saw husband right away and they got a few pics of me crossing finish.



Work on nutrition during training.

Took a few pics with the family right after my finish. Waited for my friend to cross, which he did about 10 min after me. Took a few more pics and then he and I headed to athletes feeding area. As I walked, I couldn't get air in to my lungs. It was like they were constricted. I knew I wouldn't pass out but did get scared at having to struggle to breathe. Weird. Sat on a curb in the shade. The girl next to me asked if she should get me help. I said no and just took deep breaths. Took about 15 minutes for me to feel better.

Once I felt better, I had 2 veggie burgers with tomato on top. But as usual I always get a stomach ache when I eat after training/ racing. No different today either.


This was the BEST race for me!!. I've never felt better during AN/Y other race to date!! It was an all around awesome time and CANNOT WAIT to sign up for the next! WHOOHOOOO!!!!


Thanks you Volunteer lady at T1!!