Most of the women in my wave were fighting over being in the back at the start. I was feeling incredibly calm, so I said "What the hell" I started in the middle front of the pack. The gun went off and from the start I felt comfortable and relaxed. I quickly settled in my groove and picked up the bouys for sighting. Found a couple of feet to draft off of, but ended up passing them. Rounded the first buoy easily and headed into the long stretch. Didn't find anyone to draft off of here, but just kept doing my thing. I was really pleased at how in tune mentally I was at this point. Sighting was the best I've ever done. Everything felt just right. Rounded the last turn and brought it in home. I had to do a double take when I looked at my watch coming out of the water. 15 mins and change??? Sweet!!!

Not a thing! Keep improving my stroke and time.

It was a long run from the beach, up the stairs and into transition. Had my wetsuit stripped and most of the way off by the time I got to my bike. Just got the darn thing caught on my heel. Once the suit was off, I was like lightning moving through the rest of transition. Mental practice played a big, big part in this.

Not much. More body glide on the heels.

From the get go, my legs felt dead. I seriously considered getting off my bike at one point to see if my back brakes were dragging. (They needed adjustment after my trip to GA) The course was rolling to hilly for the majority of the race and my legs were not cooperating. I've climbed a lot harder hills here in NOVA riding with the BT crew and not dragged arse like this. The end of the course was two pretty tough hills. I passed 8 men on the last hill. That felt pretty good considering how crappy I thought I was doing.

Get more sleep the night before... should've performed better.

Legs felt like jelly getting off the bike. I did manage to run through transitions with my bike. Racked without problems and got my shoes and race belt on pretty fast. Headed out with my legs still feeling like jelly.

Need to get stretchy laces on my shoes, yankz or something.

After struggling on the bike and that last hill, I knew going into the run not to expect great things. A definite disappointment. The course was rolling hills for the entire stretch, some portions shaded and some in full sun. I was definitely feeling the burn on a couple of those uphills. Slowed my pace up accordingly and was able to sprint it out the last 1/4 mile to the finish. Got another shout out from the announcer dude on a strong finish. Made me smile.

I haven't done any significant hill training lately. Probably limited me a little.

Walked over to the picnic areas to get some food. Grabbed a 1/2 banana, water and a PB&J sandwich. You know... I really appreciate the folks who make the PB & J and PB & honey sandwiches. I love those! I always think about the people spending their time making them. Can you imagine making a 100 PB&J sandwiches? Found a bench, ate my goods and cooled off.


Lack of sleep, stress, lack of hill training on the run.


My goals coming into the race were: 1. Have another good OWS experience to set me up for a good showing at Patriot's. 2. Move through both transitions on auto-pilot and improve times. GOALS ACCOMPLISHED! My best swim time and transition time yet. I couldn't be more excited about my swim this time around.

Set-up, as usual, does a great job at organization, support and after race goodies. My only complaint today was that due to being in the last starting wave and hence towards the rear of the finishers... all of the aid stations were out of Gatorade/HammerHeed. They only offered water. Not much to complain about on a sprint though. One of the most beautiful courses I've been on and will definitely consider this one again next year.