Much better swim than my first tri. I need to change my swim seed, because I was faster than the people in front of me and kept tapping feet. I swam the whole thing without really resting - my month of swimming has paid off.

Because we were so cold outside, the water felt like a bath for the first 100....steamy.

Lie about my swim time. Everyone else does. At least then I would be swimming with the people who say they take 9 minutes but really take 10, instead of the people who said 10 but really take 12.

It had been raining since before 5am, my stuff had been in the rain since before 6am, and it was around 8:45 by the time I got to T1, so my stuff was SOAKED. Even though I had my shoes and socks in bags, they were wet and so I was I and it took longer than I expected to get into them. Other than that, T1 was good.

Consult whoever is in charge of the weather & seek an exemption from rain during my race. :)

If only it hadn't been raining...I rode my fastest ever on the bike and I would have gone even faster if I wasn't so nerved up about the rain. At one of the corners, the volunteers thought I was confused because I slowed down so much, but there was gravel in the street and it was driving rain and I was afraid I'd slip. AWESOME ride! It felt good, although cold.

See T1. I loved this bike ride and wouldn't change anything I did, except maybe suck it up and practice riding in the rain once or twice. (I know, they aren't going to let me ride a stationary if it rains on tri day.)

Another good T2, since I am still riding in running shoes (which weighed about 10 extra pounds by this point with the rain in them). My next tri T2 should be more interesting since I'll be wearing cycling shoes like a grownup. :)

Not forget my racebelt...thankfully a somebody yelled out "Race Number" before I got 10 feet from my spot, so I didn't waste too much time grabbing it.

This is not the run I wanted, but I'll take it. It was a rough day and I don't think I left much out there. Well, maybe a little. Next time I'll leave nothing.

I did cheer the folks behind me on the back-in half of the run, and that felt good. I thanked the volunteers and laughed with the guy at the turn-around.

Run faster. Measure the course accurately in my mind.

Met by the family at the finish - so my finish picture should be a huge grin and a wave. (They came to see the swim start, too - but they didn't see me even though I waved from the other side of the pool.) Ate some pizza, drank some soda, ate an oreo. Shivered. Looked for my friend S, who was about 10 minutes behind me, but she ended up in the EMS truck with a likely-broken toe from stubbing it on the pool, which sucks for her first tri, but she finished and she was smiling in the ambulance & locker room, and planning her next one!


The rain. Need more bricks, I think, to seal the deal on the run.


I was a bit turned off by packet pickup, since the problem was that someone seeded us by sign-up order rather than swim and all the packets had to be redone at the last minute. I was also a little turned off since they said there would be numbered bike racks, but weren't at the last minute.

However, the race was otherwise done well. There were a ton of volunteers and the traffic was well controlled. I would have liked to wait inside the pool area for my swim (which they did in my first tri at a different Y) - maybe there wasn't room here. I liked the pizza at the post-race. Yummy! I liked the neoprene chip bands, rather than the plastic strips. I had a great time!