The course itself was pretty nice. I felt that I got into somewhat of a groove for the first part of the swim. Then, I lost a bit of concentration and form as I was trying to make sure I was going the right direction. Over all, it wasn’t bad, but could have been better.

I’m not sure what the deal is with my swims. I need to work on them more. Perhaps never practicing in the wetsuit inhibited me, but it was soo worth it. The warmth….ahhhh.

It took me a couple of tries to get my socks on correctly.

Dry my feet.

This was the highlight of my race. The course was a little hilly, and I go quite slowly on hills, but the view was amazing. I got on the bike, and ate some gu. Then I worked on getting into a rhythm. The girls started first, so the boys started to pass at this point. The course had some small hills in the first part and then a 4 mile gentle climb in the middle. I felt like I was doing just fine on this hill. At the turn around I had a bit of a problem. The volunteers were telling me to go and a car to stop. The car stopped, and when the volunteer got out of the way to let me pass the car started going again. So there was much yelling (by the volunteers and the driver at each other), and I was trying to tell them thank you over that. Much excitement. That out of the way, I started to head down the hill. And ready for mmore excitement? I passed someone!!! Not much else happened on the way back. I ate another gu and enjoyed the ride.

I would hydrate more. I felt like I was putting a lot of effort into the bike (mentally and physically).

I racked my bike and it fell, so I had to re-do it. Everything else was fine.

Rack it correctly.

I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination. But this was pretty bad. About a quarter of a mile into the race I got a rather unpleasant pain in my left shin. Rather than stop, I kept plodding on. At one point people were walking faster than me (despite my pain I did see the humor in this one). I had to stop at mile two to massage it, and then just prayed that I would finish. It got a little better, and by mile four it was bearable. So, at that point I tried to pick up my pace. I passed a person (which is a very rare occasion for me on the run), and I tried to cheer her on, but she was a little grumpy. Oh well. Ethan passed me with a mile left (even with a 20 minute head start I couldn’t beat him), but he came back to run with me for the last bit. I mustered up my last bit of energy and ran to the finish. People on the course were amazing…very encouraging. Triathletes rule.

Not get a pain.

Water...talking...and stretching.


???


This was my first season, and this race was my last tri for this season. I gave it my best shot. I'm a little disappointed in my times. That only leaves room for improvement next season.