Disaster! I went into the race feeling okay with the swim, but the water was cold and I just couldn't put my face in it. I'm not sure if it was the cold or the wetsuit, but I felt like I couldn't breathe. Once I couldn't see the bottom anymore I panicked a bit. I probably would have quit but a woman swimming nearby who was also struggling talked to me. I felt less alone at that point and decided to keep going. (Thank you Anne!) I managed to make it the distance with a combination of breast stroke, backstroke and sidestroke. It wasn't until I could see the bottom again that I finally managed some freestyle. I got passed by most of the men from the wave after ours. I was tired and feeling a bit defeated when I dragged myself out of the water. I was really surprised when the results were posted that I was not the last woman out of the water.

I need open water swim practice. I was not prepared for the mental challenge of not being able to see the bottom, nor was I prepared for the cold water. The buoys looked so far away. I guess I would do everything differently!

I didn't have a tri suit, so I had to put on my bike shorts and a shirt. I didn't want to forget anything, so I didn't rush. I was riding in my running shoes, so I put them on, along with my helmet, and walked my bike to the mounting line.

I'm sure I could transition faster, but under the circumstances I think it was okay.

I was riding my husband's hybrid, so I wasn't expecting to do well on the bike. (I'd felt bad leaving it in transition. I was afraid the cool bikes were going to make fun of it.) The first couple of miles were uphill, and it was very slow going. I had checked my watch when I first got going and knew the swim had cost me too much time to make my informal 2 hour finish goal, so now I just wanted to finish. I put it in the lowest gear and just kept pedaling. At the second water stop I asked if we ever got to go downhill, and was told "right around that turn." She was right. A few minutes later I was coasting downhill fast. I glanced at the bike computer and saw that I'd hit 27 mph. I'd never gone that fast before. It was the most fun I have ever had on a bike. I told myself that I have to get a road bike, because I want to do more of this. I had to keep it in control, because there were quite a few sharp curves, but I felt great and I was really enjoying myself. I even passed a couple of people. By the time I got back to transition the swim was out of my head and I was having fun.

Not much. Because we had so much rain this year most of my rides have been on the trainer, so I expected to struggle on the hills. With more practice on hills I could have probably cut the time, but overall I was happy with the ride.

I fumbled alittle trying to put my bike in the rack, but I was able to pull off my bike shorts and pull on my running shorts without any difficulty. I remembered to take my helmet off, too!

I could have saved a few seconds putting the bike in the rack. I'd forgotten that I could have put the front wheel in the rack this time instead of trying to turn the bike around.

I felt okay coming out of transition. I walked a couple of the uphills to keep my heart rate down. The sun came out from behind the clouds and was hot, so I took water at all the aid stations. The turnaround seemed to come pretty quick. Just as I saw the finish line I heard someone coming behind me. I didn't care who it was, I just didn't want to get passed at the end, so I sprinted to the finish.

I was only a couple of minutes off my stand-alone 5K time, so I was pretty happy with my pace. I had something left at the end, so I guess I could have gone faster. I will remember that for next time!

Hugged my husband, my kids and my mom, who were there the whole time cheering me on. I walked around a bit, cheered for Anne (from the swim) when she finished, then chatted with her and her friend. Hung around until the results got posted, got my bike from transition, then headed over to the post-race party for pizza and beer.


Since this was my first triathlon, my goal was to finish, although I was hoping to finish in under 2 hours. I could have done it if the swim hadn't been so bad. The lack of open water swimming experience was the biggest limiter.


The race was well organized and there were lots of helpful volunteers. It was a good choice for my first race, and I would definitely do it again.

I am so happy to have finished the race. There are definitely things I have to work on, but it was alot of fun and I am looking forward to my next race.