This was an outdoor 50-meter pool swim. I started out pretty strong on the swim. I had a two minute break before me, so I had a wide open lane with smooth water. Kind of nice. It didn't last, though. Once more people began following behind me and the closer I got to the center of the pool, the choppier the water got and the more I struggled like I do in the open water. I have a hard time breathing around the waves. I let a few people pass me, as I knew I couldn't stay ahead of them. Started strong and finished weak. Typical of me.

Find a way to breathe around the unpredictable pool chop. I was improving towards the end, so there is hope for me.

Dry land felt good! Since I have to wear two pairs of socks in my shoes, I tried to already have one inside the other, but this didn't work so well with wet feet. lol! Oh well. I pulled on my shorts (loose-fitting high school gym shorts, because I struggle way too much with biking shorts). Sunglasses on, helmet, and race number, and off I went. Passed most of the people that passed me in the pool. I knew I'd get them.

Just go ahead and not have the socks together. Lesson learned.

I loved this bike course! It rocked! I started off strong, flying past the people who came out of the swim with me. After the start, it was hard to really keep track, given the way the race was set up. I loved the down hills; just like flying. I wanted to change gears going down hill to be more effective, but my bike made some horrible noise, so I opted not to do it very often. I didn't want to pop a chain or something. Most of the up hills weren't too bad, except for one. And that hill caught every one. It seemed to get easier with each loop, as I knew what I could do to be effective going up hill, how to change gears and what not. I love passing people going up hill! Just a very fun course and I loved every minute of it, which is something I usually can't say about biking.

Maybe something with the gears? If I knew in advance it was going to make that much noise in that gear, I might have made some adjustments beforehand. I did have it tuned up on Friday, though, and once I got the bike home, I was able to get it properly set, but there was nothing I could do during the race.

My T2 is always quick. It was a long run back with the bike, but since I bike with my running shoes on, it is a matter of putting the bike up, taking the helmet off, and then running.

Not a thing.

I started off slow to let my legs work out of the bike. I had a few really bad cramps, but I kept running and they all faded. Once my legs were in run mode, I tried to step it up a notch, but by then I had found the up hill portion of the course and another gear wasn't possible. I swear, this was the longest 5K ever! Slow for me, but everybody goes kind of slow on this course. More hills than I was expecting, and I just don't train with hills very often. I live in a flat part of the state. lol! In any case, I climbed up and kept on going. Got some water at the second stop, and made it to the finish line.

Run up all the hills, not just some of them. Oh, wait, my legs were in a state of rebellion, much like the time I ran up the mountain. I guess I should do more hill training.

Water, walked around the race cite, and had a sports massage. Ate half a bagel and then jumped back in the pool, which felt much colder by this point.


The heat and humidity, probably. Still getting used to summer. And the hills.


Set-Up Events always does a good job. One reason why I skipped the two races closer to home and made the drive for this one. Decent food after the race, lots of places for a massages, the awards were timely, and people were friendly and helpful. My only complaint is with packet pick-up: there was no race day pick-up and it closed the day before at 3PM, making it difficult to get there from out of town- seemed very tailored for locals.