Though I thought it would be a little faster, the swim went really well, considering there were a few minor complications. (Aren't there always?) Sat down, got my tap on the back to go, and encountered my first little "Oh, crap!" moment. See, we started in the deep end. It's marked quite well on the pool deck, I saw those markings and it did not even register in my head. So I pop into the water, my feet are looking for a bottom that isn't there... Opened my eyes (I always close my eyes when I first get in the pool, I don't know why) and quickly realized why my feet were not on anything solid. Got back to the surface, my feet found the wall and I was off - but that was a "WTF?!" moment to get things going. Freestyled along, just telling myself over and over to take it easy, no need to rush, if someone wanted to pass they had plenty of room and not to worry about anyone's swim but mine. Passed a few people and was passed by a few. I could tell my HR was through the roof anyway, so I was flipping to recovery and counting to 10 to try to keep it down, and mentally patting myself on the back for sticking to my plan. Things went pretty good for about 1/3 of it, and then my goggles decided to fail on me. Stopped at the wall, emptied them out, re-seated them and went off on the next pool length, and it was a NO-GO on the goggles wanting to work properly. Time to panic? Heck, no, it's time for backstroke!! So I happily backstroked the rest of the swim, and managed to even pass some people while doing it. Hit the last lane and there was a volunteer there telling us we were almost done, I couldn't help but let out a WOOHOO!! and pushed HARD off the wall and kicked it for the last 25 - probably a mistake in hindsight, but I was ready to be done with the swim. Hit the ladder and was VERY proud of the fact that I didn't fall off of it trying to get out of the pool.

Checked my watch: 13:10. Not too bad at all! (Turned out I must have started my watch too soon, as the official time was 13:05 - even better!!)

While I really wish my goggles had decided to maintain their "great goggles" status, I don't think I would have changed anything else other than really noticing that the water was 7' deep where we got in. Despite my best efforts to the contrary, I also ended up with water up my nose on multiple occasions getting under the lane lines, which made my sinuses go nuts and start draining.

They instruct you as you come out of the pool, "No running on the pool deck!!!" Well, that was no problem. I was happy I was walking semi-straight - if I was running, I would have run headlong into a wall. The path to transition goes through a little patio area then to the parking lot. I got outside, stepped over into the grass and took a moment to decide if I was going to throw up or not. (Apparently this is now a race tradition for me - and hey, it's not like you get DQ'd for it.) Getting the water in my nose (and I think I swallowed some, too) and having my sinuses go crazy draining on me did NOT make my stomach happy. Fortunately it passed after a couple seconds and some deep breathing and I headed on out to T1. There was a photographer on the path, and I just started laughing cause I know I look like I've just been hit by a truck and they want to get a picture of this...

Found my bike with no problem. (I left a VERY bright tie-dyed shirt draped over the handlebars - smart move!) Sat down and got my socks & shoes on with no problems at all, and then realized I'd not dried my feet off, and I would end up with soaking wet socks and shoes by the end of the bike. Oh well! Helmet and sunglasses on, and took a long, hard look at the windbreaker I'd brought along. Though it was a lovely day, there were lots of high clouds, and very little sunshine and a cold/wet Cindy is a miserable Cindy. Then the angry little chicky-chick in my head yelled at me and said, "Oh, grow a set - you'll be fine." Well, that's that. Dried off my arms and face really well, threw on my Camelbak and headed for the mount line. (I can't remember if I was running or not.) Got on my bike with all the grace and coordination of a baby rhinoceros and off I went.

(T1 was included in the original bike numbers, I do remember it was between 4:30 and 5.)

Remember to DRY OFF MY FEET!

The bike was GREAT. It's a really flat course - unless you're not from around here. Talked to a couple gals afterwards who were from Virginia Beach and they said, "We know they're not big hills, but we don't even have little hills down there." Settled into a "comfortable but I feel like I'm working" pace right off the bat. Once again, got passed a lot, but passed others, too. Was really on top of my game with gear changes to keep my pace steady without killing myself. Lots of turns and turnarounds on the course, and I tend to slow down a lot with those, and today wasn't any different, but it's OK, cause I'd rather slow down on a turn than wipeout. (There was one turnaround where the volunteers were telling everyone to be extra careful cause there had already been a couple spills.) Remembered to drink after almost every turn. Hit the end of the first loop and checked my watch - under 19 minutes. Considering that I had figured the whole ride would take 45 minutes, I was VERY happy. This gave me a good mental boost going into the second loop, and I continued my "working but not killing myself" pace with no problems and kept my hydration routine going and felt really good through the whole thing. Managed to say "hi" and "thanks" to just about every volunteer on the course, and LOVED being able to tell them to have a great day on the second loop cause I wouldn't see them again. :)

I did pass one guy who apparently had some sort of bike failure and he was RUNNING with his bike. I told him he was my hero. :) (And that the actual run would be easier when he didn't have to drag a bike along.)

Only downside to the ride was that my tri-shorts would NOT get dry, so for about the first 2-3 miles I felt like I had popsicles on my quads.


Really can't think of anything I'd do differently - felt great, ended up being a lot faster than I thought I'd be. Wish we'd had some sunshine, though.

Once again showing off my mad skillz when it comes to getting on and off the bike, I hit the dismount line and came to a COMPLETE stop and jumped off. Given the looks from the volunteers, I get the impression that I may have been the only one to do that. I said, "Hey, I haven't quite mastered the flying dismount yet!!" Ran my bike to the rack, dumped my Camelbak and helmet, got my race belt on, grabbed my water bottle, did a quick stretch on my quads and headed out to the run. Thought briefly about my wet shoes and socks and figured I had less than 2 miles to go, might as well just leave things as is.

(T2 was originally included in run numbers, but I remember it being 1:47 when I checked my watch as I exited transition.)

Nope - it was under 2 minutes as it was.

Honestly, the run is where my brain just says, "You've already been swimming and biking and now you're running? I'm leaving." So, I'm off and running - or something kind of resembling running and not really able to *think* about what I'm doing - I'm just on autopilot. My shorts are STILL wet and I'm wondering if they'll even be dry by the time I finish. (No.) The run was almost all on sidewalks and marked very well with arrows, so I'm pretty much just blindly following the arrows and the people in front of me. The volunteers were GREAT and the run is where you really need them, at least from a mental standpoint. They lie to you beautifully and tell you that you're looking great and strong. I tried to say something nice back to all of them, though I'm sure on more than a few occasions whatever I said was probably completely unintelligible. Stopped and walked a few times cause my legs would occasionally feel like they were about to lock up, and just changing the gait for a little bit really helped.

Hit the turnaround and I might have kind of danced around the traffic cone. :) Checked my watch and it's under 10 minutes - I'd estimated this would take 25 minutes total, so I'm once again very happy. Volunteer tells me I just have to retrace my steps. "Retrace my steps? I barely remember my name much less how I got out here!" "It's OK, just follow everyone else!" Headed on back, still walking occasionally (and I think I may have been walking as fast as I was running.) but generally having a great time. Passed the motorcycle safety class and briefly wondered if getting a ride would be considered unauthorized assistance.

Came into the last stretch and a couple gals are yelling to me that I've just got a 100 yard dash left. "I...I don't think I have a dash left in me! I do still have forward motion, though!" "It's OK, we'll cheer for you anyway!" I'm still running and really want to speed up and finish, but I just can't make my legs do it - so I'm thinking, "Hey, at least I've left it all on the course." Get around the very last turn and I'm hearing "50 yards!" and there is a photographer there, and I start laughing again cause I know I look AWFUL and I may have made a goofy face to boot. Then somehow, I really do NOT know how, I managed to speed up and finish strong and smiling.


Can't really think of anything.

Tried to get the pull-tab thing off the bottom of my race number for the volunteer and could not do it... She pulled it off and said, "That's the hardest part for everyone!" Stumbled over to the grass and sat down and thought again about puking, but then realized I was surrounded by small children and decided it would be very bad form and probably make them never want to attempt a tri. So, I sipped on my Gatorade and cheered for folks coming in and eventually made my way back to transition and found the other gals I'd started with and found that they'd had a great time and said they'd be back next year. (It was their first tri.)



Given my training levels and the fact that this is the first tri I've done in 2 years, I feel like I did great. I'd initially estimated my time to be 1:32 and pulled out a 1:16 - not too bad! The goggle issue didn't help, but it certainly didn't destroy me, either.


A really fun race, great for first-timers or anyone else for that matter. Would recommend it, talked to a couple first timers who said they would be back next year.