I had not practiced in a wet suit all season and did not expect this race to be wet suit legal, so I did not bring my wet suit to the race. I started second guessing that decision when I saw how many people were wearing wet suits. I hate cold water.

Got in the water and realized it wasn't that cold. I knew I would warm up as soon as I started swimming. I started to the right and toward the front. I knew I would be passed, but I don't like starting and having a bunch of feet in my face. I had not put in the swim training I should have and didn't swim near as much as I had last year, so I told myself to just swim my race and not worry about everyone else. I tried to draft off as many feet as I could as I headed to the first turn buoy.

Made the turn and started heading to the second turn buoy. During this stretch, I noticed I was being passed by some men from the waves behind me. I tried not to let it get to me mentally as I always get passed from someone in the wave behind me. I just tried to stay close to the buoys.

Rounded the second turn and headed to the finish. It was here where I started looking for other hot pink caps. I saw a few, but figured I was at the back of the pack. Oh well. Got a little off to the right and had to come back in. Swam all the way until my stroke hit the ground, then stood up to get out of the water.

As I was running up the hill I glanced at my watch and was very surprised at the time. Didn't think about the course being short at that point and just thought maybe I had gotten caught up in the draft pretty well. Regardless, I'm very happy with my time. Last year's time was 48:13, so even if the course would have been the right distance, I probably would have beaten my time from last year.

I was glad I didn't wear the wetsuit as I think I may have gotten too hot.

Swim more. Swimming is the hardest discipline for me to train for just because of the fact that I have to drive somewhere to do it. It takes a lot more time that just the time it takes to swim and when I'm time crunched, it's the first to go. I need to look into some master's programs or taking a good swim clinic (where I can get video taped, etc).

Took the goggles and swim cap off on the way up the hill and grabbed a cup of water. Ran to my spot and then sat down to wash my feet off and get my shoes on. My feet were real dirty, so I'm glad I took the time to clean them off a little. Put my bike shoes on, then gloves, glasses and helment. Grabbed the bike and off I went. I was a little worried that my cleats would get so muddy I'd have a hard time clipping in, but I was fine.

Even though this wasn't the fastest transition, I am satisfied with it. For the shorter distances, I don't worry about my feet, etc. but I have gotten cuts before and didn't want to deal with something in my shoe during the bike or run at this distance.

Got on the bike and felt good heading out. I knew I didn't want to go out too strong in the beginning, but it was congested and I wanted to try to get away from some of that. Did great heading to the first aid station and was about 19mph. Wasn't sure I could hold that the whole way, so I tried to get in my zone and do my race and not worry about anyone else.

I did get frustrated at one point as I saw two people (one male, one female) riding next to each other and somewhat blocking the passing lane. They were riding and chatting and seemed more like they were in a pay ride than a triathlon. So I sped ahead to get away from that.

Had to stop at the second aid station for a quick potty break. I don't know why I always have to stop and pee during a long bike. I can make it a whole marathon without stopping, but can't make it on the bike. And I don't think I drink too much as I don't drink near as much as others say they do. Probably only lost a couple of minutes here and then I was off again.

Started really slowing down the last 10-15 miles. I have not had any really long rides on my tri bike since I got it, so my neck started hurting and I couldn't stay in aero as much as I wanted at the end. The wind also got me in some places, but everyone else had to deal with the same thing.

Ride more. I did a century ride in June, so I had great bike fitness earlier in the year, but the summer was extremely busy and my training suffered.

When I got off the bike, my legs weren't ready to run, so I walked a few feet before jogging back to the rack. Helmet and gloves off, shoes and socks off, new socks and running shoes on and off I went.

I decided to take the time to change socks here because I run in socks that help support the arch and provide extra cushion under the balls of my feet.

Practice cycling in the same socks I run in so that I don't have to change again. Or, just learn to ride and run without socks :)

I knew with the heat I probably wouldn't run the whole course, but my legs felt good, so I thought I'd run the flats and downhills and walk the uphills. This strategy worked really well on the first lap. I took gatorade or water at almost every aid station and grabbed sponges as well. Last year, the water I threw on my head ran down into my shoes and I had wet feet for the run. This year, when I got sponges, I bent over and only got the water on my head.

I slowed a little on the second lap, but realized by the nine mile mark that I could possibly break the 7 hour mark and that became my new goal. I would run for 200 steps, walk for 100 or some variation of that just to keep myself moving. Had to stop for a potty break, which was unusual, but it had to be done.

I was very happy when I was up Quadzilla for the second time and knew I was getting close. As I rounded the turn to the finishers chute, I picked up the pace and crossed the finish line at a slow run.

Practice with salt tablets or electrolytes. I have never used them in any race or marathon, but I think I need to when the heat is a factor. I know they were on the course, but I didn't want to experiment during the race.

Crossed the finish line, got my water bottle, towel and medal, got my chip taken off and sat in the first chair I could find. The heat was catching up to me. I have been known to almost pass out from heat just walking around six-flags and I knew that feeling, so I had to sit. I sat in that chair by the photographer for a good 15-20 minutes until I felt like I was ok.

After I got up, I headed to the Team in Training tent for a little bit (I didn't train with them for this race, but I am very involved with the program because my brother-in-law in a lymphoma survivor, so I know a lot of the people). After that I went to the BT tent to say hi to Mike, but still wasn't feeling great, so I went to the food tent and got a coke. That did the trick. Then I went back to transition and got comfy while waiting for my friend to finish.


Not enough training. Need to experiment with other forms of nutrition in the heat.


Overall, I was very happy with this race. All times improved over last year's times (except T1, which was only a few seconds slower) and I beat last year's time by over 30 minutes.

I think Keith and Endorfun put on a great race and will definitely do this race again. The volunteers are great and there is always support on the course for those of us at the back.