Overall, I think this was a pretty good swim for me. I liked starting in the first AG wave vs. waiting around for over an hour like many people had to do. Start happened kinda quickly. Jumped in the water, quickly moved down to the dock and I was off- no time to piddle around. Settled into a good pace pretty quickly and started picking off people in front of me. It was much easier to pass since it was a TT start. I didn't really feel like I was swimming downstream, especially when I was beside the huge rock clif- that felt like it was up stream. I just picked a spot on the rocks, noticed that it was moving behind me, so I assumed I wasn't going backwards. Rest of the swim was pretty uneventful. I knew the landscape on shore somewhat, so it was easy to tell when I was getting close to the finish...picked it up a bit towards the end and headed into the stairs. I guess the rain started about 1/2 to 2/3 through the swim- I knew that might cause some issues later on.

Swim faster as always. Be better about breathing every 3...I'm fine in the pool, but it doesn't carry over to races. I guess I like to constantly check my path.

Exited the swim and jogged up the steps to the T-area...kind of a longish run. Ok, maybe a medium-ish run. I had the MOST KICK ASS spot in transition, so it was super easy to find on row 1. Helmet on, shoes & sunglasses on. I did take a few extra seconds to grab a trash bag from my bag to cover up my run stuff. I wanted to try to avoid soaked shoes the entire run.
AG- 26/26

Not really too much. I guess I could have covered up my shoes before I left for the race start, but oh well. I'm not sorry I did it in T1.

I've been kinda bummed about this bike all week. I think it started off kinda bad since it was raining and I tend to be a bit skiddish on downhills when there is wet road. Really, it's taken me about 2 years to not ride my brakes downhill when the roads are dry. So I guess there was a light drizzle going on when I started the bike...I felt good from the start and tried to settle into a good pace. I should have switched to my small ring on a few of the climbs, but I was having some issues going from small to big ring..so I limited the use of my small. No biggie. The rain continued on and off most of the ride, sometimes harder. I kept having to wipe off my sunglasses since taking them off wasn't an option(the are Rx, and without them, I probably would have run into a guardrail!). Overall, this ride was decent, but what annoys me the most is that I couldn't maximize my speed on the downhills..and I definitely was not riding in aero on the downs. I kept picturing myself wrecking and sliding into the lane of traffic and getting run over by an 18-wheeler. Yeah, I guess that would be considered poor mental imagery. About 4-5 miles from the finish, my computer decided it wanted to shut off...so I finished the ride knot knowing my final pace. It actually ended up higher than it was then computer went to sleep. My goal for the bike was 19/mph...I was close, but I know I could have hit it if it wasn't for the rain/wet roads.

Make the rain stop?? HTFU?? I guess I could have pushed it a little harder, but I just felt kinda unsafe out there. I know many people didn't really have this issue, but I kept thinking it wasn't worth it to me. My A race is in 3 weeks, and I didn't want to do something that could compromise my Steelhead race. I guess I could train more on the bike in the rain, but that's easier said than done. I've ridden in the rain, but I guess it's been on flatter terrain. I don't plan on scrapping a run one day to go ride my bike on the highway during a rain storm!

Nothing crazy here. Time seems a bit slower than normal, but my ranking for T2 isn't too bad..so I guess it's b/c of the way the t-area is set up.
AG- 16/56

Hurry!

YIKES! I sucked in terms of my AG rank on the run! I mean, I knew my run sucked, but wow. Mentally, this was a hard run for me...harder than both HIM runs. I was kinda pissed about my bike and it carried over. I mentally checked out at the first hill when Leslie passed me. I suck at running hills, and I decided that this race wasn't a good time to practice...and the course isn't even hilly- I think there are 3-4 short hills. Run pretty much went like this- walk a hill, jog, get bored/tired, walk, jog, walk, jog...etc. The funny thing is that I really didn't care that I was walking. It was still raining and it felt good...the thunder even sounded cool(except when I was right next to the river and a huge lightening strike went off). I felt actually kinda happy on this run/walk/jog. I think I knew my race wasn't what I wanted, so I just made the best out of it. It was really fun when I started to hear all of the cowbells and NAMC people cheering with about 1/2 mile left. I was done and just wanted my blue margarita!

Don't check out of the race. I know I could have done much better, but it was easy for me to blow off the run since it's my limiter. Work on hills over the winter.

Nada. Talked to a few people, watched some others finish, ran to the hotel to shower and came back to watch the rest of the finishers- just in time for the sun to come out.


Rain & poor attitude on the run.


I really love this race! The swim is great, the bike is fast and the run is mostly flat. I know no one can predict the weather, but I hope it's better next year so I can have a better race!