We were supposed to swim two laps in each lane. I did flip turns a few times and then on the third flip turn someone came under my lane rope and I swam into him. I got a little disoriented but kept going. On lap 10, there was a guy on my heels so I let him pass me which cost me about 10 seconds. When I came out of the water, I started to run and heard "no running or penalty" so I walked through the pool area and through the gym which was about 300 yards. I didn't run again until I saw the grassy area leading into the transition area about another 200 yards away. All of this time out of the pool counted toward our swim time b/c the timer was set up at the beginnining of the transition area which was a bit of a bummer.

I'm not sure I would have done anything differently under the circumstances. I think I would have logged a better swim time if I didn't have the fever blisters.

I did everything as planned and got my bike off the rack quickly. After exiting the transition area, we had to run our bike across a large grassy field about 300 yards wide out to the roadway. Once there, we were allowed to jump on our bikes and go.

Nothing except pedal faster (if I could)!

I had a tough time getting my shoes into my straps. There was a nasty crosswind that slowed me down considerably. We were told to ride on the shoulder of the highway but it was bumpy asphalt with some debris. We rode past farms with cows and goats which was pretty cool. I didn't pass anyone on the bike until the last mile and then I passed four people. I was passed by several men averaging 20+mph.

Bike more in windy conditions. Work on power on bike.

Had to dismount our bike on the road before entering the large grassy field where we had to run our bikes into transition. I was only supposed to take off my helmet and rack my bike but the bike next to mine was racked too close and it fell off so I had to pick it up and re-rack theirs and mine!

Move slower and not knock the bike next to me off the rack!

I was totally out of energy and really feeling sick by the time I got to the first water station. I had no idea how far I had left to go but I met up with some people that were walking and we started jogging and walking together.

Not much I could have done differently given the circumstances. My lip and whole mouth/chin was sore and throbbing.

I just didn't feel well today. My lip (fever blisters) really bothered me in the pool b/c I couldn't breathe properly and then my lip dried out on the bike and run which made it hurt a bit.


The race was different with the pool swim but it was well organized and the people were all VERY nice and helpful. I plan to race it again next year and do MUCH better!