Pool swim, in a pool fed by natural mineral springs. mmmm, salty. No lane lines, so they devised some rather ingenius ones with pool noodles and rope. 9 lanes, one direction each lane, with steps at one end the full width of the pool. The start was off the entry steps in one corner of the pool. Max depth of the pool was 4 feet, well, pretty much the whole pool was 4 feet deep. It wasn't too bad, actually. I passed a couple guys, which is always good for the ego.:) About halfway through, the lane lines started to drift, so the lane would be a foot wideone minute, and 3 feet wide another. That added a challenging twist to the swim.

Ummm, train in the pool a little more, maybe learn to sight ahead while doing freestyle. I did a fair amount of breaststroke, partly so I could see where the lane lines were.

Slow. Kinda on purpose. I was in no hurry to do the bike, and I took my sweet time drying off, puting on socks, etc. I could easily shave off a couple minutes here.

Um, not dry off more than once? Pop a couple power beans and another swig of water before heading out on the bike.

Chain came off halfway up the first hill. I took my time, took a drink of water, fixed the chain, then walked the rest of the way up the hill. By the time I got to the top, my legs were screamin'! Of course, they were doing that on the bike, too. I had planned on taking a couple breaks on the bike, but that was the only one I needed. Yay! And without the wind I finally got to experience a slow version of the "screaming downhills" the RD talked about last week on the group ride.

Train more on my bike. The rides I did a week ago REALLY helped, but I do need more time in the saddle in order to improve.

Again, took my sweet time, mostly on purpose. As I went back into transition, I thought to myself "eh, a little run with the bike wouldn't hurt". Ha ha ha. I'm not sure if the bike was steering me, or I was steering the bike. The race volunteer sure thought it was funny, though. Of course, I was laughing, too. I can't even imagine how funny I looked.

Get a race belt so I don't have to re-pin my bib # when I get warmed up. I'm really glad I took the long sleeve shirt off, though. I would also stop to take another drink. I could've pinned the bib while I ran to save time. Oh, and the reeses pieces I grabbed instead of the power beans in transition didn't help the dry mouth. they did taste good, though. Next time, the power beans.

Got a little cotton mouth going on. I should have drank more during transitions. There was a water station every mile on the run, though. that helped. I felt like I was hardly moving while I was riding. between the post-bike lead legs and the fact that I feel super slow when running outdoors anyway, I wasn't able to run the entire 3 miles. I did, however run for 1 to 2 minutes with 1 minute walking intervals. when I look at my pace for the run split, I think I know why. I usually run at about a 12 to 13 minute mile pace, unless I'm outdoors, then I tend to run a 9 pr 10 minute mile pace. I can't keep that up for the full 5k, though, even in training. At least not yet. :)

Drink more earlier in the race and in transition.

Huh? Warm what? Oh, walking around, stretched a little, got a massage from a too-strong MT. It hurt. And not always in a good way. Ate some grapes and a drank some water.


Fatigue, lack of training, and coming down with a cold. I hardly slept the night before, both because of the kids and the scatchy throat, not to mention the nerves and insomnia. Next time: a hotel for 2 nights before the race instead of one, or leave the kids home, or insist they stay in Grandpa and Grandma's hotel room. Also, lack of training. I did train, but not as consistently as I could have. and the cold? Well, it's an occupational hazard, both at home and at the job I get paid to do.


I went into this race with the intention of finishing, and still being able to walk the next day. Also, I was hoping to get the race done in under 2 hours. I really surprised myself and did it in under 1:45:00. I feel really good so far, just tired.
I would love to have someone at the finish line cheerng for me next time. My parents fell asleep after I left the hotel in the morning, so the family overslept, didn't get to the race until after the road was closed. Actually, they didn't even leave the hotel until after I had finished the race (partially because they knew they wouldn't make it before the road was closed). It would have been nice to have my hubby there, too, but someone's gotta go make the money to pay the entrance fee for the race, and buy me lots of cool tri gear. :) I did kind of expect a phone call sometime a few days before the race to wish me good luck, though. But there, again, is the life of the globe-traveler. I'm not even sure he realizes what day it is at home at this point. I am really glad that the tri club put together a group ride and run on the course a week before the race. that helped tremendously with my nerves. Also, I met several women that day that ended up being my cheering squad after the race. I don't know what I would have done without them! And of course, the race was well put together and well run. I enjoyed it very much and plan on doing it again next year. :)