Brrr... We started 3 minutes after the men, and had to wade out to the middle of the river. There wasn't too much current, and we could still stand at the start with water up to my chest. I was the last one wading in and kept bobbing under the water trying to get myself to be able to breathe out underwater when the horn sounded. But I was able to just put my head down and start swimming at that point with a minimum of drama. I was further out in the middle of the river than a lot of people, but just kept swimming. I could see people giving up and walking with the current, but I didn't really notice it until I caught a big group at the turn buoy.

I sight every 8 strokes usually, so I would swim my 8 strokes and look up.."Oh good, there's the turn buoy," swim another 8 strokes, look up and "Oh good, there's the turn buoy," then swim another 8 strokes... I wasn't making much headway! I was able to very s-l-o-w-l-y swim through the big crowd who were all struggling to make those last few yards to the buoy then finally finally make the turn. It was hilarious - I felt like I was in an EndlessPool!

When I finally made the turn, I couldn't see a buoy straight across the river, but I knew with the current I'd better aim for shore if I was going to make the next one. I swam straight-ish, but the current took me down to the next turn. After that turn I must have been going a fair bit faster with the current, but I couldn't really tell.

The water was so shallow during most of the swim that I scraped my fingers on the bottom and had to be careful not to hit the bigger rocks. Nearer the end it got really murky but I knew it was time to stand up when my hand dug into the bottom. Ewwww....

Overall it was a good swim. Once I got started I didn't feel cold, but I was glad to have my squid lid today!

Nothing.

Well, I obviously wasn't in a hurry. Mason was in transition when I got there, and we helped each other out. He was trying to put a dry shirt on (ha!) and I couldn't get my armwarmers over my wet hands. Between the two of us we both finally made it out of there!

I put on a vest and armwarmers and was glad to have them. Brrr...

Nothing on this day. If I was out there to really race I would've moved a lot faster. I walked and jogged in, then walked and jogged out with my bike...no hurry. But I did enjoy it.

I guess I should just expect the first 10 miles or so of a race to feel icky. I really didn't feel great on the way out, I just didn't have the uphills in me today. It wasn't bad, just not quite as good as I hoped. I did pass a few people out there which was a bit of a surprise. Again, I was mostly out there to have fun today.

I wore my vest zipped up to my chin and my arm warmers the whole way. I was worried about being able to shift because my hands were cold, but they warmed up. My feet stayed numb the whole time. If they had been dry it would have been fine, but other than that it was a comfortable ride.

I did push a bit on this ride - after all, it IS a race! It was a good effort for this distance.

I get a kick out of the people you end up playing leapfrog with. Some people are great, some just don't have a sense of humor at all. Me, I'd prefer to enjoy my time out there. Overall it was a fun ride.

Nothing except to do some more bike training before hand. My bike volume has been low.

I didn't have as much to do, and no one to talk to, so this went a bit faster. :)

I felt like I was forgetting something. Oh yeah, I left my gel in the car. Great. Grabbed a package of bloks off my bike so I'd have something and was ready to go.

Nothing.

Huh. What to say? I really liked the course, it was two winding loops on really nice trails and you got a chance to see a lot of the other runners that way. Team Blaze was out in force, and it was a blast to cheer on and be cheered by my buddies.

I could tell I was tired, but just mostly kept the legs going. I had to walk when I ate those silly bloks, they are just too hard to chew when I'm running. And yes, I CAN walk and chew gum...

My feet were numb for the first mile or so, then finally warmed up enough to feel the rocks on the trail. Ow!

I caught up with my brother about halfway through, and it was a big lift to see him out there as always.

A little bit from the end I saw another friend up ahead and didn't think I could catch her, and right about then my favorite leap-frog guy from the bike caught me and passed me so I tried to keep him in sight too. I was able to catch my buddy right at the end, but while I kept pace with the leap-frog guy, he just turned it on and ran away over the last half-mile or so. It was good for me to try to push the pace a little. I'm happy with the run.

Nothing.

Walked over to watch the rest of the finishers, ate some food, drank some water, then got a massage! We have a team massage therapist who donates post-race massages...what a nice way to end the day!


Less than ideal training but mostly lack of sleep. Oh, and the usual 20 pounds or so that I wish would magically drop off.


This was a fun race and good season-ender. The water is COLD, so I would definitely go with long sleeves and a neoprene cap. Be ready for a grind on the out leg of the bike, and be ready to enjoy the return trip. I loved the trail run course, but I do like to run on trails.

This was the inaugural race, and other than an issue with the timing chips and ages it seemed to go very smooth.

I would recommend this race, but not if you have doubts about the swim. The current can be a bit of a spirit-breaker if you're not ready for it.

Definitely a fun day.