We all about drowned out there. It was almost funny. If we weren't a bunch of girls, it might have been dangerous & mean, but it was a giant social with everyone gasping for air. Here's how it went down. The wind was kickin', so there was a pretty nice chop. Everyone was so bunched up that we were all just swimming on top of each other & saying, "sorry" over & over. When we came up for air we were smacking & drowning each other & apologizing all over the place. Really, if it wasn't so funny, it would have been disheartening, because it was pretty exhausting. There wasn't a great way to get out of the pack & because we were so bunched up, I just never got into my swimming zone.

Start at the front of the pack. I'm a fairly strong swimmer & had to keep adjusting my pace to stay in position or hurt someone or get hurt. I'm just really glad I spent so much time preparing for the swim!

This went pretty well for my 1st transition. My husband said it seemed slow. I looked around & I seemed to be going about the same speed as others. As I review the T1 times, I'm about MOP, but could definitely improve here.

Run from swim to T1 faster, but I really didn't want to mess up my foot, I was very careful! Just move faster in general. I was very methodical in T1 because it was my 1st time.

This is where I could have done better. My HRM died in the water, so I didn't have HR feedback. My bike computer malfunctioned, so I didn't have speed feedback. Basically, I was going by "feel" the entire time. I've never trained this way, so I was winging it the entire time. The headwinds going up the causeways were KILLER. Just as I was gaining speed to head up the 1st causeway, I ended up behind 2 girls who must have run out of gas, because they were pedelling like turtles! Cars were coming up, so I couldn't pass at that moment & I lost momentum right before heading up the causeway. I had to really power up to get over. The next 2 were a lot better, but it took a lot out of me. There is a great straight-away before the final causeway where I could "rest" & I think if I would have my computer I wouldn't have rested so much. I caught myself cruising at one time & had to remind myself that this was a race. I probably lost about 10 minutes during that time period of just screwing around. When I got my head back, I kicked it in & finished the bike strong. I sailed up the final & biggest causeway. I actually had to question if I was doing something wrong because I was passing everyone. Coming down the causeway I couldn't even pedal in the highest gear because I was going too fast - COOL!!!! I took the turn into T2 at the bottom of the hill well & got right off the bike without problems. Overall, I loved this part of the race. I had so much fun here!!!

Make sure my computer worked! Keep my head together & not lose speed & time. Work harder to pass those chicks before that nasty bridge.

I definitely lost some time here. I decided to run with my socks after training for months to run barefoot. The new shoes just feel different on the tops of my feet & I'm not ready to commit to barefoot running in them yet. Everything went great here, but putting socks onto wet feet is a bit slow. Then, the socks got bunched up at my toes - that had to be fixed. No big deal, though: I wasn't going to be competitive anyway! This was about finishing!!

Run without socks. Take in more fluids at the end of the bike ride so I didn't have to pause for fluids in T2

O.k., I knew this part was going to suck, but seriously...it sucked great big d*$#! I started out happy & thrilled that in 3.1 miles I was going to be done. My HRM was fried, so I left it in T2. I need my HRM to tell me what's going on when I run, because I have cardiac issues. I know my pace & started jogging. Within a block I was out of breath & had to walk. I quickly got it together & restarted, but until I hit the 1 mile mark, I just wasn't feeling right. From mile 1 to mile 2 I was in a zone, which is pretty typical for me. Mile 2 to 2.5 SUCKED! I got really hot & just didn't want to run any more. I really had to keep psyching myself up. Finally, there was some good feed-back at 2.5 telling me where I was, so I cranked it up & powered through the last 1/2 mile feeling great.

Accept water at the 1.5 mile mark & pour it over my head to cool down.

Walked around with husband chatting. Stretched out. Met up with Brian & Tom from BT. Ate 1/2 bagel & drank water. Showered, iced my foot. Ate a veggie burger & drank a Corona. Took a nap.


So many things I can't even begin to list them.


I was here to finish. This was my first tri after years of being sick, so I had absolutely no expectations. I really harbored this secret desire to finish under 2 hours & somehow I did it!!!