I decided to start in the back of the wave and start out slowly today. This worked very well for me. I quickly got into a rhythm. Unlike most races, I never wanted to quit and turn around today (so it looks like I am finally making progress on the swim). It was rough up to the first turn buoy. I was hit, kicked, and swam into a lot. Once I made the first turn, it seemed to thin out some and get better. My shoulders and lats really tired by the end and were sore when I finished.

I was conservative in this swim. I probably could have gone a little faster. But I am pretty happy with this swim.

It was a long run from the water to the transition area. My wetsuit stuck on my heels and I had trouble getting it off. I quickly sprayed on some sunscreen (but apparently not very well). But otherwise the transition went smoothly.

Get wetsuit off faster.

My plan for this ride was to do the first 20 minutes in zone 2 only drinking water. Then start taking in calories and keep HR in zone 3. I was hoping to finish the ride in 3 hours. But the wind on the course slowed me a bit. But I wanted to stick to my plan, so I ignored my speed and made sure that my HR didn't go above zone 3. I felt really good during the entire ride. Most of the time I felt like I wasn't working hard enough. A lot of people passed me in those first 20 minutes and it was hard not to pick up my pace. But I had a plan and I wanted to stick to it. I had 3.5 servings of Infinit concentrated in one bottle on my bike and my aerobottle was full of water. I got another bottle of water at each waterbottle handoff (mile 15, 30, 45). It was starting to get warm on the ride. I finished all of the Infinit and all 4 bottles of water. My water ran out a couple of miles before the next handoff each time. The last bottle only lasted 8 miles (I ran out with 3 miles to go).

It was a bit windy on the course, but I barely noticed. I noticed that my pace was slowing due to the wind. But I was not bothered by the wind, otherwise. I made it a point to practice a lot in the wind before this race, so I barely noticed the wind during the race.

About halfway through the ride, I felt a grain of sand rubbing against my foot in my shoe. It was a bit annoying, but I ignored it and went on. It ended up leaving a nice size cut in my foot just below the ankle.

My shoulders and lats were already hurting from the swim. This only got worse. I stayed aero for the entire ride, but my neck and shoulders were really bothering me at the end of the ride - I was more than ready to get off the bike at the end.

Nothing

I ran into transition, took of my bike shoes, put on my socks and sneakers, grabbed my hat, and race number and started running. I got all the way to the exit and realized I didn't have my Garmin! So I had to run back and get it. I didn't realize I forgot to spray on more sunscreen - I ended up with a pretty bad sunburn on my back & shoulders.

Not forget my Garmin! Learn to leave my shoes on the bike.

This run was bad from the start. My plan for the run was to keep my HR in zone 2 until mile 7 and then go for it. But it was so hot!! It was about 90* when I got off the bike. My HR was in zone 3 for the first mile and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it to go down. So, I decided to walk for a minute or two until my HR went down. As soon as I started running again, my stomach started to cramp and I became very nauseous. I struggled from that point on. I spent the rest of the time running until my stomach started to cramp and then I would slow to a walk again. I drank water at every aid station. I tried to get in some calories, but that always made my stomach feel worse (but I managed 1 gel and about 1/2 serving of my Infinit). I was glad I had carried something with me though. I was very disappointed with the water stations. There were just a couple of things I was counting on at the aid stations (flat coke, enduralytes, and cold towels). They didn't have any of those things!!

I didn't time my walking vs. running, but I walked at least half the time. I was definitely not the only person suffering though. Almost everyone was. Even with all of my walking, I still passed a lot of people (I even passed about 6 people in my age group).

I crossed the finish line, found my husband and as soon as I tried to talk to him my lungs seized and I had a really bad asthma attack. For a few seconds, I couldn't breath at all. Luckily, I did have my inhaler with me. So, I managed to calm down and get my breathing under control.

I had a lot of trouble getting in any calories after the race. I remained naseous for 6 hours after the race (and I had a headache for 9 hours after).


I went into this race hoping to break 6 hours. I am disappointed that I wasn't able to make that goal. I know I am capable of it - now I just need to do it!