It was windy and cold, with 2' waves at least. The water was cold, but still felt warmer than the air. I had trouble sighting with the waves, and had to keep stopping to see the buoy on the first leg.

The second leg was a bit better, as we turned to the same direction as the waves.

The last leg was hard. Especially mentally. It seemed like it took forever to get to the shore. I kept having to adjust my direction as the waves would push me off course. It was cold and I was getting frustrated. Finally, I told myself to stop thinking about it and just count my strokes. I bet myself that I would be at the shore before I got to 100, and I was there before 40.

Get a slightly larger wetsuit. Practice swimming in rough conditions. Become a stronger swimmer.

Actually, my suit was stuck on my legs, not my feet. Which I attribute to it being a little bit too small. The body glide on my lower calves and ankles really helped.

Also, I was taking my time, knowing I was just training, not racing. I walked from the shore to transition, which was at least 2 minutes. I ate a Clif Shot on the way.

They were allowing folks to ride bikes in transition, so I was on the bike as soon as it was off the rack.

Get a better-fitting wet suit and practice taking it off again and again.

Get bike shoes and learn how to put them on quickly, rather than running shoes.

I think my bike split time would have placed me higher in my group because my time in T1 was so slow.

I went conservatively on the bike because it was my second outing on my new bike and I didn't want to push myself. Instead, I wanted to take it easy and get the hang of riding it.

I especially wanted to practice eating on the bike. I had a Clif Shot while in transition. At the back end of the 1st out-and-back, I stopped, pulled out my Gu, caught my breath, ate my Gu and got my mind together a little before getting back on the bike.

About 20 minutes later, I pulled out another Gu and ate it while still riding. It went well and I felt better about it.

I didn't need to drink much considering I wasn't pushing too hard, and it was cool and I was well-hydrated prior to the race. Still, I drank almost an entire bottle of sports drink.

Ride harder.

I didn't need to change my shoes. I racked my bike quickly. Pulled off my helmet, grabbed my hat and number and took off. Easy.

Learn how to get in and out of bike shoes.

Well, if I take out 12 minutes for the extra mile, I placed 5th in my division. Oh well. I'm actually happy that I ran the extra mile because it's closer to what I'll be doing next week at Wildflower (10k) and I felt good at the end of it. So, that put my mind at rest about dying on the run.

Uhhh... paid better attention to the course markings? :)

And I would have raced a little harder. As it was, I stayed below 175 the whole time.

Walk around. Pee. Pasta. Water. Cytomax.


I was training.


I love love love the TBF folks and their races are great!