I didn't have any real goals for this swim, other than just to make it through. Of course, I didn't want to be super slow, but I couldn't have very high expecations. Turns out, I did just fine. I did a mix of one-armed freestyle and breaststroke (I actually was able to use my right arm some during the breaststroke portions). I would do about 30 strokes of each before switching off. It was pretty tiring, but luckily didn't last too long. I was so happy when I came out of the water at around 12:30. That was only 30 seconds slower than my first time at this race (during my first tri).

um, not have a gimp arm? ;)

T1 was pretty uneventful - I just tried to be as fast as possible.

My left foot didn't get clipped in and it slipped off the pedal, causing my butt to slam into a part of the saddle. That didn't feel very good, so I'd probably not do that again. :) And I still want to learn the flying mount.

Last year, on this bike course, I came so close to meeting a long-time goal of averaging 20 mph in a race (I hit 19.9). This year, I was woefully undertrained on the bike - I was only able to start riding again 3 weeks prior to the race, and I lost most of my bike fitness. On my training rides, I would average 14-16 mph usually, and would really struggle on the hills. So I was dreading this bike in some regard, but also looking forward to seeing what I could pull off with as little preparation as I had. My plan was to get in the big ring and just hammer my little legs off! I ended up doing ok - I did a lot of passing climbing up the small hills because a lot of the women weren't pushing them. But I also got passed quite a bit by women who started after me. I was very happy to see my friend Byron (aka geezerjock) out on the course, although he didn't recognize me on my road bike at first. Thanks for yelling at me with the bullhorn - I needed all the cheering I could get!

Nothing - I really pushed myself, and ended up with a 18.5 mph average, which was great because my big goal for the bike was to try to average 18 mph or better.

Boy, I was FAST in T2! I think it helped that my bike rack was close to the bike entrance, so I didn't have to run with it very far.

nothing

My plan for this run was to just hang on after hammering the bike, and that's what I did. I tried to pace myself and keep it comfortable, but I also wanted to run a 9:00 pace or better. I picked a couple girls that looked strong to try to pace off of. I also remembered to avoid the nasty HEED at the aid stations this year. It was a pretty uneventful run overall.

I probably could have pushed more on this part. I need to do some speedwork to get faster on the run.

Just got some water, did a little stretching, and found my friends. (Dave wasn't there - he was in the city, doing his first road race, which, incidentally, he placed 16th out of ~50 in :) ). I also looked for my three friends who were doing their first triathlons that day, and got to cheer them in. That was great!


hmmmm... being out of shape because of certain loose dogs early in the season comes to mind....


I really enjoy this race - it is a great venue, with a great RD, great volunteers, great support, I could go on and on... They also had Chris Cakes pancakes post-race! yum! I am very glad that I did this race!