This was my first swim start where we were on shore, running into the water, actually ankle deep, so I stayed far to the R and middle of the pack. The group wasn't too huge so it wasn't crazy like some of the other waves. I would have hated being in the 25-29 AG!!! I just kept it good and steady, tried not to get hit or hit others (manners, ha!) and stayed consistent with breathing and cadence....since I have a 1-mile swim next Saturday I was trying to just stay in a good groove that felt like I could go and go.

Nothing! The warm up really helped.

Dork that I am....tugged and tugged for too long on what I thought was the bottom of my wetsuit but it was my timechip strap that I was wearing for the first time (neoprene). OK, next time, don't pull on that! I also had trouble getting my helmet on since my ponytail was too high up on my head! Braids next week, I think!

Be faster.

I know this course so well and I think I rode it to the best of my ability today. Passed a few peeps and only had the guys on their super fast bikes pass me.....so I guess that's good! Drank water and gel on the uphills.

Two complaints about the bike course: on some sharp, blind corners, they didn't have cones separating the incoming and outgoing riders, making it a little scary at times...and the side of the road had a lot of gravel and glass in places. You'd think with 900 racers, someone would ante up for a street sweeper the day before!

Ride more!!

The bike next to my spot had fallen over so I had to mess with that until I decided just to lean my bike on the rack. Other than that, not a bad T2.

I didn't push too hard, just tried to stay in a comfortable zone, thinking ahead to the 10k at the end of next week's race....however, at about 1/2 mile before the finish, I realized that I was being passed by the local TV guy John Curley (who I recently accosted and made get into a photo with Lynne and I).....he is doing a charity thing called "beat John Curley" where if you beat him you are entered to win $ to charity that he donates, or something like that. We chatted a bit and then he started egging me on and telling me to hurry and go faster faster faster and stay ahead of him. He "let" me beat him over the line. It was fun, since he was probably the biggest local "celebrity" in the race, so I got to be a part of the fanfare. He gave me a big hug and took some pix with me. Very funny!

Nothing...run was good, I didn't want to go too fast due to the uneven ground. The one thing that was annoying was that there were multiple races going on at the same time, which is what AA Sports does, and why I don't like their races so much....and they had started the 5k not long before I set out on the run, making huge clumps of walkers and groups of people talking and not paying attention to the people coming up behind them on the narrow trails. I had to holler out a few times for people to get out of my way! I did pass some friends who were running, which was nice, though.

Nothing--headed directly to the kids' tri area to find my son who was going to do his first triathlon. He rocked it and did sooooo great!


Saving myself for next weekend's Olympic tri, my A race.


Fun race---lots of food afterward--bbq, cookies, choc milk...although I was busy with the kids and didn't really eat. Still, it's nice to know it was there! I had a great time seeing friends, racing as a LUNA Chix team for the first time, and watching my son create a positive memory and increase his self esteem. The weather was absolutely perfect. There were 3 eagles catching fish at the swim start. Fun fun race!