There was quite a bit of body contact during the first 200yds or so, especially considering we had a large starting area. I think the people that started to my right started swimming into me. I was annoyed with people trying to swim OVER me so I hung back for a few strokes to let a few chicks duke it out ahead of me (instead of on top of me).

For once I SWAM STRAIGHT! The first length followed the power lines so it made for very easy sighting. It took me until the first turn to get comfortable but then I was able to focus on my hip rotation, dropping my head more and having a hard,full pull underwater. Overall I was pleased with the swim. Even though it wasn't fast I never felt anxious or tired and even started to catch back up to my wave pack on the last stretch. That's a first for me. Standing up for the exit was difficult b/c the bottom was very disturbed from the previous waves and your feet sank into all kinds of holes very quickly.

Due to the good hip rotation I didn't do too much kicking, more of a 3 kick rhythem just for balance. Maybe using my legs more would help with the speed but overall I was gland to see the improvements in form I've been working in the pool stayed with me in open water.

I heard the announcer say this was the longest transition run in the series and I believe it! The timing mat was as close to the water as it could have been so that made for a pretty accurate swim time and unfortunately a long accurate T1 time as well. I took an extra few seconds to wipe down my feet to remove all the dirt and grass. Decided to ride sockless and I didn't want stones in my feet.

Nothing. It was adequate without wasting time.

I had a fabulous ride! I'm so excited! Luckily I remembered to gear down on the ride into the race that morning so I was in the correct gear for the start (first for me). The race organizers put sheets of plywood over the speed bumps at the park enterance/exits. I guess they helped but I was kind of launched off them going 18mph. Doug likes to think he is on his mountain bike and bunny hopped them :) I couldn't believe my eyes when I passed a lady with the same pink tires as me on the way out! I joked with her that I thought I was the only one with pink tires.

I train on these roads all the time. There were LOTS of people on the course and that occasionally became a problem. Passing people who can't hold a line is tricky when there are people in front and behind you as well as people trying to pass you while you are passing someone else. But it all worked out.

My legs had tons of power in them and I attacked the entire time. I passed lots of people and was very pleased the only people that passed me had aero wheels and were guys. I was very proud of my climbing performance. At the bottom of the hills I would gear down into my climbing gear and was always passed by the pack I was riding with at the time. But without fail, I passed all of them before we reached the top and was able to gear back up and take off once we reached the top! It amazes me how many people with $7000 worth of bike and gear don't know how to use it properly. I was passing people that I honestly had no business passsing. Therefore I've decided I like being a roadie when it comes to my bike handling skills. It has really paid off.

The turn off of Friendship had a long climb and then the last hill going up Hwy 55 was a nice challenge. I was pleased we had an entire lane of the highway to use. The return after 55 was very fast -lots of rolling downhills. I hit max speeds of 38mph no matter how aero I got (think I need better wheels to go faster - wouldn't that be nice :)).

I knew about 10 minutes into the ride that I needed water instead of the cytomax I was drinking. After a while I decided to stop drinking all together and wait for the water on the run. I knew my stomach was starting to turn from the lack of water and pushing so hard on the bike, but I decided that easing up on the bike wasn't going to help my run. So I made the decision to sacrifice the start of my run for a really great bike ride. I attribute this decision to the recent discussions in my mentor group about nutrition absorption on the bike and water intake. Thanks guys, it worked!

The road back into the park and transistion was tight. There were 4 lanes created with cones: RUN out/in and BIKE out/in. I almost bit it on one cone that was out of line cuz I was looking for friends going out on the run :) My bad.

I heard a guy went over his handlebars at the dismount and broke his wrist and arm. They said you could hear the bones snap! Ouch!

Nothing, it was great!

Didn't run as fast as when I left T1. The legs were still recovering from the ride. Going sockless helped remove the grass from the swim so putting the socks on for the run was easier.

nothing

Like I said from the bike, I knew this was going to be slow going at first, but I also knew exactly what I had to do to recover. I shuffled along to start with as I put on my race belt, reset my Garmin for the run, put my hat on, etc. Then I focused on watching the riders come in to help distract me. Once we turned into the woods I said to myself, "keep running the best you can to the first water station." and luckily the water was right around the corner. I walked from there to fully drink my water and help settle my stomach. Poured the remaining water on my head to cool down. That was mile 1 (11:50 pace) Then I did a run/walk combo to the next water station. At the half way point I started to feel better (second mile pace was 11:07) so I was running more, walking less. I saw Katie behind me at the turn around point and decided no more walking. By that time I was feeling much better and ran it in. (Last mile was a 10:00 pace) I felt fine by mile 3 and sprinted it in. If the distance were 10K it would have been perfect. Oh well.



Just keep working on my running.

Drank more water and cheered in the rest of my friends.


Lack of workouts in the past 2 weeks and lack of water on the bike.


Too many racers for this venue. I'm glad they moved it from Crabtree, but they should have capped it at 700. The race results were not posted after the race - don't know why. There was good food for the racers afterwards. Great race for all levels of athletes and I will be back next year.