Most definetly not my best swim. I found a rhythm, but it was pretty slow. On the second lap, the sprint wave joined us and it turned into a huge mess. Backstroke, breaststroke, frogstroke, doggiepaddle: you name it, they swam it. I just kept my head down and tried to hold my line.

Not sure. I think it's time for some interval training in the pool. Basically, I have one speed. The endurance is there, just not the speed.

As usual, I took way too much time. Had to reset the bike computer. And get my hair in the helmet. And get the shoes on. And the watch.

Hustle.

Straight out of T1, I was in too big a gear (thanks bike repair dude!). Had to sort that out. I ate a gel within the first 3 miles, but drinking was difficult with all the bumps. Around mile 5, I got boxed in really bad and nearly wrecked as I caught about a foot of air over a huge bump. After that I learned to stay in the middle of the lane, not the right side. The rest of the course was fairly uneventful. Lots of teeth-rattling bumps and intersections. Good news- I passed a lot of people. This was also my first try at riding sockless and it went fine. I think I'll keep doing that.

Nothing really. I think I did the best I could given the road conditions.

Getting a bit faster. Jeremy was waiting for me and I just propped my bike up, knowing that he would take care of it for me. Thanks, hon! Putting socks on dry feet is much better. From now on, socks are for T2.

Not much. Pretty good T2.

Let the suffering begin! As I started out, my knee felt good. I haven't run on it much at all since HOTL; only one long run in 3 weeks. I kept making deals with myself about walking along the way. Walk break at mile one. OK, no mile markers. Walk break at 22 min. OK, how about 25 min? No, the second lap is just ahead. Jeremy picked my up and ran with me on the second lap. I finally took that walk break at 43 minutes. We kept chugging along and didn't see many people. Another walk break at 58 min and then it was time for the finish. I saw a couple people that I could reel in and did catch them. I think I sprinted a little early, but I was able to hold it pretty well.

Nothing really. This was my best run this season. I've got a lot of work to do on my running, but this was good for where I'm at now. I'm sure that having Jeremy along for the second lap was a huge help. Thanks again, hon!

As I crossed the finish, I stopped for the kids to grab my chip. They seemed fairly clueless as to what they were supposed to do. After they figured it out, I searched for some water. Not much left. And food. Not much there either.


I really didn't come into this race with a good competitive spirit. Just kind of ho-hum. My swim needs speed work. The bike was pretty good. I hung on for the run, even though it started to hurt. Once this knee heals, I need speed work on the run too. Right now I have one speed, slow.


I don't think we'll do this one again. The organization wasn't awful, but the lack of water on the run and at the finish was a problem. Although there were tons of volunteers, many didn't have a clue what was going on. And the bike course was crap. That was the deciding factor.