Well as soon as I started swimming I was thinking...because of the fiasco and late start........wow I really am going to be the last girl in my AG out of the water. No matter I told myself. Just swim. And then the most magical thing happened. I started to catch up to the pack.....and began to pass people. Effortless swim. Zero issues. I enjoyed it. I even took the time to encourage a couple of guys who looked like they were really NOT comfortable in the water. One guy was doing the side stroke!!!

Well gee.....not lose my wetsuit top and have a diva fit and almost miss my start! That might make it better next time! I think the whole fiasco probably added a couple of minutes to the swimmy time.....but who cares?
The swim itself was easy. I had done so many open water swims of double that distance that this swim seemed short.

This was not stellar......because of the ridiculous start I did not use and Pam or bodyglide. My top got stuck on both wrists....there is aquagirl stumbling along encased in a neoprene straight jacket.....which given my earlier behavior was probably not such a bad idea!
I do believe Erica has some pictures of me trying to remove my wetsuit with my teeth,......yes, my teeth.
When I was finally free of the top i used the strippers.....awesome!
Got to my bike and had to take the time to put on my silly Injinjis.....because otherwise my toes would have fallen off. But it is sure a time waster,,,inserting one piggy at a time into those babies. I was glad I took the time afterwards though........

Not be a moron??

I was VERY happy to get on sexy girl and go for a ride. I made her PROMISE that we would not hammer.......and we did not. It was an effortless ride.
There were a couple of glitches. At the beginning of the ride i ran over someones discarded race number with an adhesive back...it got got all tangled up in my front wheel. Glad i did not crash because of it. I got off my bike......said many nasty words and got rid of it.
Then i somehow dropped a chain while going up a roller. WTF? I never drop the chain. Oh well....i fix it and get back on the bike. As I do there are a bunch of geeek helmet dudes that ask me if everything is ok.I assure them that its all good and then proceed to tell them that I have regretted not having a pee while I was down there! I could have multi- tasked! They got a ggigle out of that.
The rest of the ride was just a barrel of fun. I loved it. Chatted with lots of people....you know as I passed them!
Now.......is this TMI?? Can I put this in a RR? Very proud to say that I did NOT stop to pee. Sexy girl told me that under NO circumstances were we to stop..........so i did not. Socks would have been yellow had they not been black!!!
Drank a bottle of jet fuel an hour just as I usually do on a long ride.No problems.
I must confess, however, that at the turn around i started to develop a headache. I ignored it..but it was building. i did a really stupid thing...I popped a couple of Advils...I know I know...I can see you all shaking your heads. But I knew that I was really well hydrated, and I do not sweat, so the risk of dehydration was minimal. All you had to do was check my socks to know that I was REALLY well hydrated.

Absolutely nothing. Paced it easy. I know I am capable of riding way faster than this.......and maybe I took it too easy....but given the conditions on the run i am glad that I saved all i had in the tank......

I cannot do the fancy fly off your bike whilst your shoes are still attached, since I have road shoes with a crank. There are no tri shoes on this planet that fit my ridiculous feet. So just a boring old dismount.
Got the shoes on, put on a hat...stuffed my pockets with gel and slapped on the race belt while running.

Next time i am going to use a race belt with gel holders....one less thing to do.

Well. I did everything right up to this point. Did not hammer the bike. Nutrition and fluids spot on. Well trained for the run........but holy f*ck. it got hot. Really hot. And humid like a d*mn rain forest. It must have been at least 95F with I am sure 80% humidity.
Yes we have weather just like this in the summer.....not unusual. Except this year it has been a cool, wet season. I was NOT acclimatized for these conditions.
At the beginning of the run my right quad cramped up. OUCH. I took three Endurolytes at the very first station and kept my fingers crossed. it worked itself out thank God.
To manage the heat I did the very best i could with ice in my hat....my strip of soaking wet cloth around my neck and lots of cold sponges. There was a hockey team , the Laconia Leafs who scraped a rink and had a ton of snow for the runners! This felt really good under my hat.
I actually felt pretty good for the first 5k. Stopped to walk the aid stations to save energy for later,,,not because I felt i HAD to walk.
But soon the train came off the rails. it got hotter and I started to feel pretty cruddy. Drank a ton....took a gel as per usual every 30 minutes. Still felt hideous and soon enough I was joining the leagues of walkers. ran as much as i could......but there was walking. When it gets real hot like that its like i do not have a choice. My body just plain stops.
So I made the best of it...ran as much as i could and chatted and joked around with all the other suffering souls around me.
There was one really nice dude named Clayton. He asked me if I rode a Cervelo......yes i say....he then tells me that he has been chasing me all day! Well ya caught me on the run Clayton!!
We kept each other company and encouraged each other.Made it easier.
Finally the blessed finish line was in sight. It is a wonderful experience to run down a finish chute that is absolutely packed with spectators,,,all screaming and ringing cowbells! I blasted off and sprinted to the finish line.
It was truly magical!!!!
And guess who put on my medal??? Yup, Chrissie Wellington! She gave me a big hug, and smiled her beautiful smile. She took the time to chat with me for a few. I told her that she was a Goddess.........

I do not really know. I felt I was well trained for the run . Had run this distance countless times in training.
I would love to get to a place where my fitness level allows me to run the whole half marathon in a HIM....but i am not there yet. Thats ok . I will get there. Eventually!

Warm DOWN???? I dunno....I stopped......is that not enough?? I was tired!
Does walking to the beer tent count?


Hmmmmm.........guess my run fitness is just not there yet. It will come with time. I know these things cannot be rushed.



I would do this race again in a heartbeat. Keith's races are a blast. This course is lovely. And I would love another crack at that run.......