Choppy! The wind didn't die down a whole lot by the time we got in the water. White caps and swells. I wasn't expecting that, but it didn't take too long to get in a rythm.

I had never done a mass start before, but it was a smaller event, so that part wasn't too bad. However, it was a running start from the beach. Ouch! The first 500m were pretty much a slug fest. I have no problem duking it out for my position and found myself towards the front of the pack after it settled down a little.

But...I didn't realize I was at the front of the pack, so I kept questioning whether I was going the correct direction. After the first turn-around buoy it got a bit confusing. The line underwater (I know, sweet, huh) disappeared and the sun was water-level in our eyes and impossible to see anything. I wasted some time treading water trying to figure out where I was. I finally saw another buoy and just swam towards that, hoping I was on-course.

I spent the entire day wondering if I had cut the course short, but after seeing the results, realized that I was way slower than normal. Dang it!

Be more familiar with the course! I'm usually way more confident than that. Shame on me.

For whatever reason, I couldn't find my wetsuit strap. Once I got unzipped I laid on the ground to take it off. I have no idea why I did that. I never do that. Huh. The steep run up the wet, grassy hill was no picnic, but my mount was pretty quick. Despite all the weird stuff I did, I still had the 13th fastest T1 overall.

Oh, probably not much. I went with the flow pretty well.

Wow, spectacular course! It was hot. And steep. But beautiful. The out-and-back at the beginning went along Lake Chelan and had some rolling hills. Nothing too steep, but enough to get the legs warmed up. After a little over 30 miles, the course made a loop down Hwy 97 and then back around through Navarre Coulee. The big hills were here. And while they were about as challenging as I expected them to be, my body handled them better than I thought. Woohoo! Perhaps I'll turn into a climber one day after all.

Oh, and I peed on the bike. Everyone was very proud of me. And my friend Jon owes me 2 beers.

Train more hills. Lose this ghetto booty I can't seem to get rid of.

The big thing I did RIGHT? Nutrition. Spot On!

I was able to take my feet out of my shoes before the dismount. It went much quicker than it has in the past. My dismount still needs some work though.

We had to run down the same steep, wet, grassy hill back into transition. That wasn't fun on tired legs. But I didn't fall. I wonder if other people did that day?

When I racked my bike I saw that I was completely surrounded by cheering Headhunters! They had all just finished the Oly distance and were getting their stuff. It was so cool to have tons of friends around me as I headed out for the run.

Nothing. My T2 was slower than usual (only good enough for 26th overall), but you know, I had just rode 56 miles of hills. I feel lucky to have even MADE it to transition!

My legs felt surprisingly fresh coming off the bike. And I felt hydrated and strong. The first few miles ranged from 11:10 pace to 12:10 pace. Too fast for me to maintain. And then...I had to pee. There were no porta-potties and not really any trees to speak of. So my options were (1) hold it for the next 10 miles, (2) go in someone's driveway or yard, or (3) just let it go dude. Haha, if you could smell my shoes right now you would know exactly which option I chose... I totally hadn't thought through the whole "wet feet for 10 miles" part. Oh well, the blisters will heal.

The pace started to slow down a bit, and as it got hotter and my HR started spiking, I stopped at the aid stations and allowed myself to walk up hills. This slowed my pace to the 12:30-13:00 range. But I didn't care, because I KNEW that I was going to finish!

Around mile 9 I started to fall apart a bit. My fuel reserves were running low and it was becoming difficult to not overheat too much. I was also approaching the max distance I had done in training, so my body hurt. And then...with 2.5 miles to go the Headhunter van comes rolling by. My unofficial coach hopped out and ran with me! I don't think that this is really "legal" but I was one of the last ones left on the course and no one cared.

With 1 mile left to go we could see the park and I knew I was soooo close. Coach Denise said "if you have anything left in the tank, now is the time to leave it on the course." So I picked it up. Big time. My last mile was 8:01! I have never run a mile that fast. Even a single mile. Wow!

Crossing the finish line was amazing and had I not been so anaerobic, I probably would have choked up a bit. After getting my chip removed and getting the medal, I beelined it straight for the lake and laid down in the water. So refreshing! All of the Headhunters followed me down there and we had a fun time congratulating each other.

After listening to awards -- I got second place by default -- we hung around to watch the last people roll through the finish line and cheer on one more member of our group.

I had a lot of injuries this year that kept me from training properly for the run. But I worked my a$$ off for this and I'm very much happy with the results!

Soak in the lake!


I'm grateful. Nuff said.


I predict that in the next few years, Chelanman is going to become HUGE. I have never been to an event that was so well put on. And this is only it's second year. Top notch volunteers, and the race director really had everything figured out. My only complaint was lack of porta-potties. But then again, people wouldn't owe me beers if those were an option...