the water was pretty cold even with the wetsuit on. i started off toward the middle and had a hard time getting going because the people in front of me weren't moving very fast. i did better with passing people this time, but i never got past breathing on every stroke. i don't understand why i swam SO slowly. this was the worst swim i have ever had.

i really need to work on breathing every third stroke like i do in training.

i think t1 went well. i did talk a little, but i kept it to a minimum. my wetsuit came off without a problem and i got dressed pretty quickly.

nada.

this was easily the worst part of the race. i had done the course before and knew what to expect, but in addition to a ton of steep hills the wind was gusting at 29mph. on more than one occasion i thought about getting off and walking because i was fighting the wind so hard, but i know that's a big no-no, so i didn't. i was all over the place throughout most of the bike and at one point i got blown off the road into the desert. i thought about crying, but that would have taken too much energy, so i just fought my way through. i ate gu a couple times on the bike hoping to psych myself into thinking i had more energy, but i don't think it worked! more than anything, the bike segment killed my race.

i rode the course during training and did fine with the hills; i guess more hill work couldn't hurt, though.

ate some gu, drank some water, threw on my race belt and away i went!

rien!

i thought i did well with the run until i got the results. overall, the run felt good, but according to my time it was because i was practically walking.

stretch my calves before i left t2.

i walked around, had some juice and a yummy danish and got a massage.


originally i would have said the wind, but apparently my atletic ability had something to do with it too.


in the big scheme of things, my times were comparable to the others in my age group, but my times were terrible compared to my first race. it makes me wonder if the distances were off. i'm trying not to be discouraged and to be motivated for my race in two weeks.

this race was more well-organized than my first and the after-party was more fun too. it started a little late, but they made up for it during the swim starts.