This was so much fun! I'm not a strong swimmer by any means, plus I have heard several stories about people getting kicked in the face and hyperventilating during OWSs. Needless to say, I was nervous. Even though my stroke and breathing more or less went to hell with all those people around me, the time seemed to fly by. Much better than swimming in that lake by myself as I had in practice.

Spend more time working on my swimming technique overall so I can begin to focus on speed and distance rather than just getting by.

I'm so glad I practiced this beforehand! Almost everything went completely smooth except...

...getting my bike jersey on was a pain. I watched the how to do a transition video on this site before my race, and I laughed at how much the man struggled with his bike jersey in the "Don't" section. I thought it was just the video being melodramatic, but when it came time for me to do the same, I realized it wasn't at all.

The adrenaline of the race helped give me that extra push I needed. It was one of my fastest (if not THE fastest) rides ever.

More speed work, and own a bike. :]

I walked the first hill this time because I figured my run pace would be the same, if not slower than my walk. I'll practice running hills next time around so I can beat the walkers. :]

My legs felt like Jell-o after the first and second stages, and I thought for sure that I'd be lucky to finish within 30 minutes. Guess what? I PRed! Guess all that training paid off!

I ate a maybe 1/4 a pack of the caffeinated Gu during the first mile, thinking it would whip me out of my sluggish feeling pace. All it really did was leave a funny taste in my mouth. I'll skip it next time.

Just walked around a bit.


It was my first Tri ever, so probably just lack of training and practice.


That's it...I'm hooked! Sign me up for another!
Also, my hot pink tri shorts enhanced the whole experience. I'm sure of it!