Started off to the side and was just getting into the groove when this thought went through my head, "wow, this has been the most pleasant triathlon swim ever, no collisions or other issues with people" and then WHAM! A fist right to the temple so hard that I sucked in a ton of water and coughed up a bunch. I didn't stop swimming, though, and kept on going. I sighted a lot more often and didn't get nearly as off course as I have in the past few races.

Swim faster!
(Last year's swim was 10:10---much improvement there!!)

It was a pretty long run from the water to my bike so the time is long....I did ok getting the top of the wetsuit off but had a little bit of trouble removing the legs...finally I got my act together and was out of T1 in no time. Ran with the bike really well.

Wetsuit removal--get faster.

I've been riding this hill a lot this summer, so no part of it was suprising or shocking to me. I knew when to push it and when to ease off. I made it from bottom to top in 17 min, pretty fast, considering training it's usually 18 or 19 min. I flew down the hills and pushed the big ring on the flats. As we were heading back to the transition area after the big uphill, a guy passed me and said, "You are so swift!" That comment kept me going, that was so nice to hear, considering he'd most likely been behind me for 10 or more miles!

It was a good ride for me, I think the only thing I'd change is add more fitness and less weight!
(Last year's time 49:55, a 2 minute improvement)

Flew into T1 and back out--less than a minute, even though the timing mat was far from my bike! (Last year, T2 was 2:05, egad!)

I went out pretty fast, then intentionally slowed the pace down a bit...picked it up at the end. Passed quite a few people, was also passed a few times...but that's how it goes! I passed two guys who asked me how I was doing and I said, "can't complain!"...they were amazed and said "you are kidding, you can't complain about this??" I replied, "I choose to do this, and am having a great time!"

Maybe hold a faster pace throughout the race. Had some weird shortness of breath around 3 miles, almost like asthma, but it resolved when I got my mind focused on other stuff.

(Last year's run, 38:56, over 2 minutes' improvement!)

Saw my family cheering for me at the finish, so had some water and found them. Talked to some friends, had some coffee. By the time I got to the food table, most everything was gone.


Just me...always need to lose more weight to gain time in this race. The hills favor lightweights!!


I can foresee doing this race every year. Besides being in my own backyard, it was well-organized, had a ton of volunteers and the other racers were really nice. I missed the awards ceremony since the kids and hubby were all annoying and whining to leave....but no big deal. At least I defended my title from last year and have not been defeated as an Athena this season! I would have placed 4th in my AG, as well.... :)