My plan was to push it on the swim and beat my previous times (5:30 was goal). I wanted to focus on the techniques that Todd taught me and kick as well. Well - either I went extra hard or there was some kind of confusion in the water. Based on my time, I think it was the latter.

I felt strong the first 100 and caught the guy in front of me. Swam on his toes, trying to learn to draft. It worked well - felt comfortable and was not out of breath, about to start pushing it and pass him when we got to the wall. Turned and he was gone - GONE- did not see him anywhere! That was weird. I started swimming then thought - oh no - I forgot to go under the rope! PANICK PANICK - I forgot to go under the rope! I caught up with 2 people in front of me and there was a traffic jam. I stopped 2 feet from the wall -Panick - I just froze. I looked up for guidance from the lifeguards and they gave me nothing so I was sure that I missed the rope. Went under and started swimming again. (I was kinda upset that I wasted 5 secs or so trying to figure it out) Totally lost focus by now (water in my goggles) and kept on thinking about what happened. I passed one other person and was happy about that. I figured that somebody would tell me if I skipped a lap so I got to the ladder and got out.

After the race, I talked to Jen and she said she saw it when I stopped. She said that I did not miss a lap so I was excited about that. Looking at the times though when we got home I think I did considering I did not swim a 4:40. Add 55 seconds and that is 5:35 which is what I was shooting for. I feel really bad about this because I wanted to see my swim time and also made sure that I did not take any award from somebody else. (didn't the next person was almost 5 minutes behind me)

Concentrate before the swim and figure out when to go under the rope. Have a plan and stick to it!

Came out of the swim, running to bike and my contact pops out of my eye! Oh No - got it in my finger, stop, and put it back in my eye. Totally lost focus AGAIN!!! Put helmet on, race belt and realized I did not put my shirt on. Put it on OVER my helmet - worked! On my way.


Ran barefoot with bike and hopped on then slid in my shoes

Contact was a huge issue ... could have saved about 15 - 20 seconds.

My race number came off the bike within the first 2 miles because it was so wet and it just tore. I visualized Jack not letting me take me bike from transition because I could not prove that Gabby was mine. Oh NO!!

Started strong, felt great, tried to enjoy the ride...then came the hills. Not too bad but I lost focus because there was nobody in sight. No cones, no people, no cars, nothing. Felt like I was on a Sunday ride rather than in a race. Went back and forth with #73 (male - 37 yo), passed a few people than decided I was bored and needed a GU. That is when #82 (F- 36 YO) passes me and she was strong. OH NO! Now I am motivated...she is going fast. Tried to hang with her but could not after a mile or so. Thought to myself ...what is the matter today? Decided I really don't like tris, hills, and not sure I want to race today. Funny huh???? LOL. Then decided I would catch her on the run. I did not realize at that time who she was. See post race!

Bike seemed challenging for me and knew that last 5 miles was flat and fast(Jen rode the course Thur). Well, turned the corner ready to go build some speed at mile 10 and there is the wind! Again - OH NO!

Overall - for some reason I was frustrated with myself on the bike. I wanted to go faster but battled with myself about safety. The roads were wet so I was cautious about the ride. With all the turns and not knowing what was ahead, I did not want to risk for a small amount of speed.

Train more with hills. Try to stay focused.

The transition area was soo small that you were supposed to run in on a certain side of the bike racks. I forgot everything Jack said and went the wrong way (of course - right?) Kinda pushed a volunteer out of the way with my bike to go the right way. Sorry. Got my shoes on, took helmet off, got Garmin (carried it this time), hat on and took off.

Again - focus and know the specifics.

I started running thinking 22 minutes and this thing is done. I considered taking it easy since I have had issues already in the swim and bike. Then decided to give it my best shot. Took off and past a few people in the fields and could not believe the mud we were running through! One guy said as we went through some trees in a huge mud puddle that he did not realize we were doing an Xterrra race today. Some puddles were slippery that some runners were yelling and pointing them out to others. I had a minor slip, kinda funny. I liked this run course in both the trails and the neighborhoods and it did have a few hills. One guy passed me and as he passed he was very positive which motivated me to keep up with him. Wished I had my HR monitor on because I felt comfortable and wonder if I could have pushed it more. First time ever to do negative splits with 3rd mile at 6:40. Happy with that.

nothing really -

Talked to Todd, Buehler, Docshock and Jen. Met some BTers that I have checked out their blogs before...Zia cyclist, Jcagg, davidb. FROZE... Checked out the results as waiting to get bikes and saw that I was second. the swim, bike and run times were not posted but I saw that the person behind me was 5 minutes behind so I was stealing a medal away from them. As I was looking at the results I heard a girl say to another girl that they won their age group and pointed to 35-39. Looked at the number and realized it was the girl that passed me on the bike. #82. When I saw the name I saw that she also won our age group at St Pattis tri. I introduced myself and we chatted for a bit. Super nice girl and she is FAST!!!


More time in the saddle and more focus on the specifics.




I am not sure that I will do this race again. Don't want to be negative, I had fun but I wish there were more people directing the bikers and the runners. Several times I did not if I was going the right way. Saw one person go off track and had to u-turn. Loved the run course though.