This swim was the one and only lake swim I have ever had that felt great. I panicked a tiny bit at the start for about 5 seconds and then got it together. Had great breathing, great navigation, drafted off another swimmer for a long time - it was a super swim and I was so excited when I came out of the water and saw my time that I didn't even care how I did in the bike and run! There was only one problem during the whole swim and that was that my right goggle was leaking. I was doing a pretty good job of ignoring it during the swim but during transition I started to realize that it was really bothering me and that I probably had something in my eye.

Not one thing. I think having the *right* wetsuit really helped.

41/119 in my AG which is not too bad but felt really slow. My eye was a problem. I rubbed it for a while and tried to decide what to do because it hurt like a mother you-know-what. Finally decided to just suck it up and get on the bike.

Nothing, I think the only limiter was my eye injury.

Again, the only problem was my eye. It was really stinging and I knew I had scratched the cornea, having done this before and knowing the feeling. I rubbed and rubbed it which I know made it worse. Several times my vision was blurry which of course could be a problem but I just ignored it. I kept wondering if I should quit and go to the medical tent, but it was going so well I did not want to stop!

Again ... lost some time wondering what to do about my eye and trying to rinse it out with water. Now it was really starting to be painful.

The run was so very painful. My eye was getting worse by the minute and I really wanted to quit. What stopped me from quitting was that I realized I might break three hours if I kept going! I probably could have run faster if it weren't for the pain. And I actually did stop at the port-a-pot (have never done that in a race but I looked at my watch, saw I was probably going to make it in under 3 hours, and there was no line so I just went for it - much more comfortable for the rest of the run too!).

Not have gotten a corneal abrasion to begin with!

Went directly to the medical tent. They sent me to the ER. My eye was in such bad shape by that time that I don't know how I got there without crashing the car. At the ER, I saw a PA who gave me anesthetic drops - sure, they worked great for 20 minutes and wore off on the drive home, then it was like a boulder in my eye - I am not exaggerating - and I again don't know how I made it home. I spent the rest of the day in bed - it took a few hours before I even felt okay enough to get up and get my dirty race clothes off and take a shower (my husband was very understanding and sympathetic but I can't believe he let me lie in bed in those clothes all afternoon, LOL). The next morning I was even worse ... so I went to see my own eye dr. Barry had to drive me because I could barely see at all by this point. It turns out, the idiot PA at the ER had not checked under my eyelid, so there was some matter from the lake (who knows?) still in my eye. The doctor said it looked like someone had taken sandpaper to the cornea ... it was scratched over 90% of the surface of it. Luckily, within a week it was healed, although the first few days were not fun and I only got through them with sleep and Percoset.


Um ... a serious eye injury ... LOL ...