I positioned myself badly at the start. There were many people near the outside and back, so I moved to the inside before the wave went. Got caught in a lot of kicking, hitting and people swimming over my legs. Very bad breathing as I was slightly panicked and fighting to stay up. Got better as I worked my way through and by about 1/3 of the way, I could swim normally. Scariest swim start I've ever had.

Start way on the outside - I'd rather go around than to deal with that again. Will start on the outside of my next tri and sprint to get ahead of everyone.

I was much slower than I though I was at the time. Darn suit is hard to get off...thank God I won't be using it again this year.

Move faster!

I was having a great time on this - biking is my hardest event and I trained quite a bit on this with my husband. Made great progess in this race at the halfway point, was only getting passed by tri bikes. Just started going up a long hill when I heard a distinct "whap, whap, whap". Yup, rear flat. I've never changed a flat tire in my life, have read about doing it a few times though. I figured I could muddle my way through. Got the tire off and changed the tube fairly quickly (yay for me!) and put the tire back onto the bike as the police showed up. During the entire time, people passing me were asking if I needed help (God bless triathletes!) but I told them no, I was fine (even though I really wasn't - I wasn't about to ruin someone else's race... When I tried pumping up my tire, it wouldn't inflate. The cop called for the repair truck and I kept at it. The tire wouldn't stay inflated. Repair guy shows up 1/2 hour later and told my I blew the second tube because I didn't clean out the tire originally......I'm such a dumb@ss.

Tire fixed and on my way, second to last. It was a humbling experience to say the least. I decided to finish the race anyway, quitting isn't really an option for me.

I should've known how to change a flat long before this......the time to learn is not on the side of the road during a race. I'm going to bring my bike into my family room and practice, practice, practice.

For the actual ride, though, I thought I did well for me.

I was slower than normal, possibly because I had to explain my situation to the race director (who followed me into transition, and to my husband, who thought I had been lying by the side of the road in some terrible wreck).

Nothing, I was a bit discouraged about my time, and my T2 time and run reflected that.

Discouragement effected my run, was pretty embarassed about being next to last. My pace has picked up though. I ran for years at about a 9 1/2 to 10 minute mile, but ever since crosstraining, I've gotten faster!

Drink more, relax a little.

Walked feeling a little blue


inexperience with bike repair


Great local race with helpful, friendly volunteers. Plenty of cheering for us back in the pack.