Chatted with Amy and Kellybear before swim. Weather was moving in pretty fast and reservoir was getting pretty choppy. I lined up to the outside to accommodate the drift and to get out of the way of the crowd.

Not a terrible swim for me sans wetsuit. It felt like being in a washing machine the whole time. I took a couple mouthfuls of water in with the chop and all the bodies. It felt like I was constantly touching people with the condensed swim waves, but didn't have any bad/painful contacts. With a couple minutes left on my swim, the rain started pouring. I got out of the water right around 40:00 (beating Steelhead by almost 4 min), but swim times included a decent jog up to the mat.

Still some more OW swimming. Not breath in water.

Normally I'm a really good transitioner, but I think the crazy rain had me rattled. I had covered up my area with my towel before the swim to keep it dry (we didn't bring plastic bags with us), so I uncovered the area and put on my socks and shoes. I wasn't going to try pre-clipping into my shoes in the rain.

Saw that my glasses were wet and foggy, so I wiped them with my towel. And proceeded to knock out one of the interchangable lenses. Great. It took me 2 tries to get it back in with shaky hands...it felt like an eternity. Glasses and helmet on and I was off.

Plastic bags are now added to our pre-race checklist. Not wipe my glasses off.

I really wanted to be under 3 hours for this bike, but it was not to be. I know this is my weakest sport and I'm trying hard to not suck at biking.

Lightning was flashing on the way to the bike, and I briefly thought about how safe it was to ride. I didn't see anyone else not continuing though, so I tried to think about how not to get struck during the bike. The rain was crazy though...like thousands of little needles. I tried to think about it being maybe like acupuncture.

First mile or 2 had some rolling hills until the greenway. This was nice and fast! Only problem was that sunglasses meant I couldn't see anything with the tree cover. I was just hoping there weren't any pavement breaks in front of me that I couldn't see. I tried to go a decent pace on this section because I had a feeling the wind would be a factor once we hit the highway.

Guess what? I was right. Once we got on the highway, the winds were gusty...sometimes cross-winds, sometimes hitting me in front...always wanting to knock me off the bike. I felt more exposed to the weather here too...and still afraid of lightning. I thought, I wonder if I should not be touching my index shifters while biking in case lightning does hit me - then I'm touching less metal. Yes, crazy thoughts.

There was a right turn after an hour of riding and things got even worse. I was for sure going right into the wind and I was getting a little demoralized. I swear people were passing me like I was standing still. I saw Eric a little bit before the turn around and that helped. Once we turned, there was a nice tailwind, and I finished that section a full 5 min. faster than the way out.

Full disclosure - I ended up peeing on the bike at this point, first time for that. I had to go, there wasn't an aid station around, and I was so drenched anyway that it seemed okay. I found out later that Eric did too. Note - we did shower after the race.

The rest of the bike went a little better, the winds were mostly in my favor and the rain was getting lighter. The last 6 or so miles were worse road conditions, but definitely better than some MI roads we've ridden, so not too terrible.

I finished this course 37 seconds slower than Steelhead, but I guess with the terrible conditions compared to perfect conditions last year, I can't complain.

More biking and more deliberate bike workouts instead of slogging through miles! I definitely need to get more power on the bike to deal with winds, because we'll likely get some of that at IMFL.

Slope into transition was MUDDY! Got feet out of shoes before dismounting and ran in socks through the mudpit to my rack. Uh-oh...I forgot to cover my gear back up after T-1. I did have an extra pair of socks, but they were soaked. I figured that was better than soaked and muddy, so I swapped 'em. I actually had puddles of water in my shoes. I shook them out and put them on. Grabbed my hat, racebelt and flask and was outta there.

Ummm...plastic bag, obviously. But overall transition was okay.

Slosh, slosh, slosh out of transition and onto the road...my feet were WET! Luckily, the rain had stopped and the weather instead turned into a super hot sunny steambath. Awesome. Thank goodness for icy towels at the aid stations.

First 3 miles of run seemed like the rolling hills wouldn't stop. And my ankles and calves were achy from the slope of the road...I swear there were no even surfaces. Held a pretty firm 10 min pace for a while and was feeling okay.

Saw Lori when I was at mile 4...holy crap she's fast! Then Amy a little later...also fast! Missed Rottieguy, he slipped by me, and then saw Eric after mile 5.

I was loving the Infinit nutrition I had going for the race, no belly issues for me this time. But I forgot my emergency gel in transition, so I was just going to get one at an aid station at the turnaround. Got there and they only had banana flavored Hammergel. Gross. I decided to go without and to do another shot of Infinit concentrate in water. Had to wait until the aid station at mile 8 for another shot at a gel, and I should've just went with banana. I started losing steam for a bit, and dropped off my pace between miles 5-9. When I got to the gel girl (my savior), she had chocolate and banana, so I got the chocolate and took it down. Oh my gosh, it was like heaven. Chocolate-y deliciousness in a tiny packet. I love you, Hammergel.

Started feeling better and picked the pace up a little more. I was able to pass 2 other women in my age group in the last 2 miles. Last year I for sure wouldn't have been able to because I had no steam left. I actually felt pretty good for the last part of the run. Kind of a cruel joke that the final .1 mile was uphill. Thanks for that.

Run was almost 5 min. faster than last year, despite the much hillier course.

Not feel so beat up after the bike. Start off with dry gear. Take a gel with me and take it sooner for some more calories.

Warmed down with a walk to the food tent. Replaced about 2000 of the calories I burned with lots of yummy food and ice cream. Used the outdoor shower to wash off all the disgusting-ness I accumulated out on the course.


Choppy swim with no wetsuit. Awful weather on bike. Me being a crummy biker. Hillier than expected run. Picky tastebuds dictating nutrition.

But after all of that, I still beat my Steelhead time by almost 8 min...and I didn't feel too bad afterwards.


Awesome race, great organization and volunteers.