This swim was great. I positioned myself at the inside front and took off fast. I was one of the 1st 3 in my heat out of the water, so I had no one to draft. I stayed with one girl briefly, but she veered right and I lost her. I did catch the previous two waves and actually swam over a swim angel. I felt bad, but I couldn't see her. The new stroke feels FANTASTIC. I was so smooth, fluid and strong. My actual water time was 13:35, the official time includes the run up the boat ramp.

Nothing.

As you can see from my time, this is where the frustration started. My transition spot was 1/4 mile from all the exits and entrances. The extra 1/2 mile run, in cleats and barefeet, really affected this time. My usual T1 times are sub 2:00.

Also, once I did have my bike and was running, I was blocked by 100's of women, walking their bikes and chatting. It drove me crazy!

Set up my transition in a different wave rack near the front? Just kidding. But I wish I had that advantage!

This bike was a cluster-eff. First, the exit out of transition was the width of a sidewalk, uphill, with a turn. Try getting 100's of inexperienced athletes on their saddles and clipped in with that set up. I was soooo frustrated. I did have a bit of a problem getting clipped in, but the women surrounding me were part of it.

Once I finally got open road, I was constantly passing...until the U-turn. I had just flown up on the rear of 4 ladies when it came up. They made us go single-file and then the lady 4 positions in front of me literally unclipped, and waddled her bike around the cones, right in the middle of the turn! I got a little vocal at that point, as about 6 of us were about to go down.

I took off after that and did well until the end, where once again, we were funneled into a 3.5 foot channel into transition. Once again, another CF.

I felt like I pushed my body at maximum limit for the bike as much as the "traffic" allowed. My computer wasn't working as the little button on the back wheel wasn't working, so all I had to go on was cadence. I might have pushed for a faster average if I had known what it was.

Once again, my time reflects the 1/2 mile extra run I had to do. My usual T2 times are sub :50 seconds. I did forget to take my helmet off and realized it about 25 feet away from my spot so I just chucked it in the grass!

This run was awful. It started out with a 160 foot elevation gain in 1.5 miles. Not too bad, but I hadn't anticipated it. I also realized that I had forgotten drink on the bike. I thought I had, but my aero bottle was only down 2 inches. I bonked in the heat on this run. They did have TONS of water stations so I took in as much as I could and stayed wet to stay cool.

I haven't been running because of the leg and foot issues and if I have, it's only been 3 miles. It showed. I need to start training up to at least 6-8 miles once a week.

Water, ice in the bra, walked around with my friend Linda who did the race and did awesome. Stale bagel and Powerade. Had to walk the mile to parking with the 1000's of other people on one tiny sidewalk. I finally put my bike on my shoulder and hoofed it through the weeds.


Poor hydration, poor run training, and crappy, crappy transition spot. Also, the beginner masses got in my way. I wanted to race and most just wanted to finish. I applaud them for trying so hard and completing their race. I just don't think I want to do it again.


The volunteers were amazing at this race and it was cool to see so many first timers working so hard. Also, the survivor wave was cool. One swim angle carried her survivor all the way to transition on her back. Very inspirational.