After an hour delay and an 80 minutes waiting for my wave to go, I was fairly nervous. I got into the water and it wasn't freezing as I had expected. It was cold, but bearable. But I think my adrenaline took over and I basically hyperventilated through the whole swim. It wasn't pretty. I got kicked in the head and side a couple of times but, surprisingly, it didn't freak me out. At least there was something good about the swim :)

I got to the

I need to be sure and continue stretching while waiting for my wave to go. After the 2:20 delay, I could feel my joints and muscles getting stiff from waiting around.

I need to find a way to control the adrenaline surging through me. I think if I could have been able to catch my breath, I would have had a very good swim. As it was, I shaved 10 minutes off of my best training time. Although I wasn't pleased with the way I got through the swim, I was definitely happy with the time.

There was a pretty sizable run through from swim out to the transition area. I was taking it slow (walked the whole way) because I knew I needed to slow my heart rate so I could catch my breath. Then I had to take a potty break. I think the thing that took me the longest was getting my feet clean. Part of the distance between swim out and the transition area was sand and then mud. Other than that, it was pretty easy to throw my shoes, helmet and glasses on.

Assuming I can control my heart rate in the swim, I need to be able to run from swim out to T1. And I need to find a better way to clean off my feet. Also, I would like to be able to run with my bike to bike out and take a running start. Baby steps :)

This seemed like the most comfortable part of the race, but in looking at my pace it seems like this is the leg that I paced the same as I did in training. There were a few low grade hills, but overall pretty flat. One part of the road had a lot of patch work so it was a little bumpy. I think at least one person crashed and I saw someone on the side of the road fixing a flat. I was a little paranoid that I was going to have a flat because I didn't bring anything to fix it. Not that I know the first thing about fixing a bike flat.

I had some GU during the first lap which could have been good or bad. I had never had any before and even though everyone had told me to not try anything new on race day, I decided to do it anyway. It wasn't too bad actually. A little bit of an aftertaste, but otherwise good.

An interesting thing happened on the bike. I had some pain in my hands and wrists. I didn't wear gloves and I think that was a problem. I was using my hands to support me quite a lot. I know I need a different bike, but I'm waiting until next season for that. I might experiment with different handle bars to see if that would help for now. And my butt and lady parts started hurting about half way through. I suppose there's no way to get over that except to keep training.

I do have to say that it was discouraging to see people in later waves passing me. But they were always very nice about it. 'On your left...you're doing awesome!' One day I'm going to be the one to say that :)

Learn how to do routine bike maintenance so I don't have to go home with a DNF.
Be more consistent in training so I can go faster :)
Get more comfortable with reaching down for my water when biking.
Don't forget the lip balm at home!
Wear biking gloves.

I biked in my running shoes so I didn't have to worry about changing shoes. Although I could feel some sand on my ankle, so I applied more Body Glide. I had an issue with the person next to me. She basically put her bike where mine was supposed to go so I had to move hers in order for my bike to fit. Almost forgot my hat and my race number but remembered to go back and get it. Overall, I didn't feel too badly about this transition.

Need to get better at transitions so I don't forget stuff and have to go back and get it.

There was little to no running today. If I had to guess, I would say it was probably 98% walking. I wasn't sure how much I had left in me and didn't want a DNF, so I took it easy. But looking at my pace, it's my fastest pace ever!

I brought a water bottle along with me which helped in keeping me cool. My ankles started hurting at about mile 2, but I tried to keep jogging as much as possible. And I started to feel blisters forming on both feet but I kept going.

Again, on the run as it was on the bike, ladies passing me telling me I was doing a great job and to keep it up. I was amazed at how encouraging everyone was. I have read it here on the boards, but until you experience it first hand, you really can't understand.

One of my goals was to run across the finish line, so I dug deep and kicked it up and ran across the finish line with a big grin! And then I went over to my friends and started blubbering like a baby.

I need to be able to jog most of this leg, but that will come in time.
Not sure I would bring the water bottle along again, especially when I get to the point where I'm running the whole thing.
More Body Glide!

Lack of consistent training


I was amazed at all of the volunteers at this race. They were all very encouraging during every leg. Without them, I might have given up. You guys rock! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!