First, I haven't been swimming as much this season because of a weird ear thing that started the beginning of May. While doing a flip turn, a person jumped in the lane and the force caused my ear plug to fall out and water into my ear. The clogged ear became an inner ear thing which I was told would take at least 3 months to clear up. It's now September and my ear is still clogged. So, as a result I have dreaded every swim set knowing that my times are a lot slower than they should be.

Race day:

Started in the second wave with all the old ladies, old men, and a few other random groups. Guys, please, if you start in the same wave with women, don't assume they are slower than you. Don't push us to the back. If you do I will just have to hunt you down and pass you. Which is great in theory if you can actually see while swimming…

Somehow within the first few minutes my right goggle decided to leak. Not sure if I was hit or if it was just not a good seal, or what. But it leaked. But since I can’t really see anyway without my glasses did it really matter? Nope. It was just annoying. We were also swimming directly into the sun so no one could see anything. I just decided to swim towards the light, I mean the sun. I did try and find buoys.

Unfortunately I never relaxed in the first half of the swim so I didn’t feel like I was driving my shoulders with the rotation or getting a good catch. At the first turn I stopped to let the water out of my goggles and just pressed it really hard into my face. By the time I got to the second turn buoy it was filled with the pristine water of the Boulder Rez but I emptied it again because I knew I could see better without the blinding sun. Whatever I did worked.

I stood up to soon at the swim exit and walked further than I should have in the water. I usually wait until my hand is grabbing sand but I stood at the finger touch of sand. While my official swim time was 34:42, I stopped my watch at the arch. I don’t count the stroll from the lake to T1 as part of the swim. Greg told me that I was third in my wave out of the water and the first female. I was bummed I let two guys beat me haha.

Official swim time was 34:32, but that includes the long walk from the lake to T1. I do not consider the stroll part of the swim so I always stop my watch when I hit the exit arches. (I don't run barefoot because of my ankle/foot surgery)


Swim more for next year.

T1 was pizza delivery. I take my sweet time in transition so I can think about the next leg.

I also used the port-a-potty again because there was only 1 aid station on the bike course with only 1 port-a-potty.

When I got on my bike my saddle felt really weird, like the nose had tipped up. I felt like I was sliding backwards. Decided it was my imagination and tried to ignore it. Then around mile 6 or 7 I hit a bump and the nose went crashing down and I almost crashed. The only good thing was bike support was about 200 yards behind me so I ran my bike to the truck. This is what ruined my ride. It was pure misery for the rest of the ride. The guy moved my saddle forward and up. It changed my entire position. I’m not sure why he didn’t just lift the nose back up and tighten it, but he moved my saddle. I swear this entire process felt like it took 10 minutes but according to my watch it was only 5.

For the rest of the bike I counted down the miles. I’ve never done that. The new position put me really far up on the bike and my legs had to extend way more than they’re used to. I also couldn’t get comfortable in aero, as at first trying to figure out the balance, but then the discomfort. I could only stay in aero for no more than 15 minutes before my arms, neck, and shoulders were crying. When I sat up, though, the saddle was painful and I could get no power. In either position I couldn’t get the power I wanted so I upped my cadence to try and compensate. When I would have to sit back up my left hamstring would cramp and the limb (what we call my left ankle and foot) cried big ugly tears. It was so miserable. I stopped at the aid station to get off my bike for a second to try and relieve the pressure on my foot. It didn’t work. A really nice kid put water in my torpedo for me without asking. He said he was sorry it wasn’t alcohol.

Started up again and felt a bit better until I got to Monarch road. Then a car pulled out of a driveway and almost took me and a guy passing me out. The guy told him how he felt but I actually kept my comments to myself for once.

Second loop was horrible. I refused to stop because I was hopping I could negative split. I mean how could I not if I didn’t stop, right? Nope. My entire body was in agony. I was wishing I had cold water to pour over my head and on my top and the heat has never bothered me before on the bike.

I was so disappointed in the bike.


Double check my saddle bolts or have someone who is stronger tighten them for me.

T2 was Door Dash and another potty break.

Haha! My T1 and T2 times were the same!

Background: Last summer my left knee swelled so much it looked like it swallowed a watermelon. It was caused by lack of mobility in my left ankle which caused arthritis. There was also some MCL damage but I have no idea what I did to cause that. I have not a run longer than 6 miles since then. Hey, if you can run 6 you can run13.1, right?

When I left the bike the temps were in the mid 90s. Great, just what I want to run in!

I tried to jog when I got out of T2 but my body was mad from the bike. My hamstrings and the limb were beyond mad. I wanted a run like I had this past week. Even though it was hot and smoky on Wednesday, I was able to do the “800s”. My race plan was to run the 9-10 minutes and walk through the aid stations. I could run no more than a minute at a time. Okay, I think it was 45 seconds at a time. But I refused to give up. I just tried to stay cool the first loop so I could survive the second.

At the end of the first loop a teenaged boy was shooting those who wanted with a super soaker. I told him if he were one of my students he would get As for life.

The beginning of the second loop my husband poured a bottle of ice cold water over my head and at the aid station, someone was pouring water over everyone whether they wanted it or not. My mind woke up a little and by the time I got past the second aid station I felt like I could pick things up a bit. Like as run for more than 45 seconds at a time. I think I may have made it 2 minutes in a few places. At this point I wanted to untie my left shoe and loosen my timing chip strap because my lfoot was so swollen. Both feet hurt like they’ve never hurt before in a race. They felt like feet that had walked around Disney World for 15 hours.

At mile 9/10 my lower back got even more tight than it already was. By the time I hit the pavement for mile 10 I could feel the spasms in my lower back wanting to start. . The shuffle became a mind game again. With 2 miles left I kept trying to pass this guy who had a very offensive shirt on, but I couldn’t do it. He finally stopped at the last aid station and I shuffled past him and crawled the last half mile to the finish.

The only positive of the run was my knee never hurt at all during the run.


This summer the air quality as been a huge issue due to fires in the west. As a result, most of my runs have been inside so I wasn't used to the heat. I would still take running in the heat over running outside when the AQI is over 130.

Warm down? What's that?

First thing I did was tell my husband I wanted to go get my timing slip. Throughout the race I was waiting for the other 6 women in my AG to pass me. I didn't see any of them so then I wondered if I was so far behind them the bike and run I never saw them. Only 3 of us in the AG finished. Some who started with us are listed in the Aqua Bike results so they may have switched right before the race started.

The timing slip said I was first. Not sure how that could be because this was by far my slowest 70.3, with the exception of the 106 West in 2016 (but that race was at 9,000 to 10,300 feet)