We all jump in the water and make our way to the cement bridge leg right behind the start line. The gun goes off, and we hang for probably 1 min, then take off. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I started getting beat up and run over about 10 min in. But still less than I thought. For the first time in my life, in the biggest race in my life, I was calm and didn't freak-out on the swim. Why? I don't know. But I was all Zen n shit about it. I ALWAYS have nerves about the water, and the people, and my breathing is always out of control at the start, etc... None of that. I was cool as a cucumber. I just swam the entire time, never stopped, never had to mess with my goggles, felt great the whole time. Now mind you, I am NOT fast. But for me to not have freak-out issues is HUGE!!!! I can't even tell you. AND what is funny is that the day before I made a last min decision to buy new goggles. The little ones I bought a few weeks ago did not work. I just cannot handle the in the eye socket ones. During the practice swim on Thursday my big Aqua Sphere Mask goggles leaked. So Saturday I bought the next size down called the Vista. I suctioned them onto my face at the expo and thought they felt good. I went with my gut and bought them. Then Saturday night there I was kneeling in my bathtub, face down with the goggles on, turning my head and face out of the water to mimic swimming and breathing to see if they leaked. No leakage. I bit the bullet and decided to go with them on race day. Best. Decision. Ever! NO fog and NO leakage. They were awesome!!! Ok..back to the swim. As I rounded the very last turn I started kicking to get some blood going down to my feet. The water temp was actually perfect. In the wetsuit your body was the perfect temp, and your feet, face and hands were a bit cold, but really not too bad. Once out of the water it only took me 3 seconds to stop wobbling and be right again, so I was happy with that. Strippers had me out of my suit super fast, and I ran the whole way to T1.

Learn how to swim faster

Wow. I really thought not many people would be in the changing tent by the time I got my slow butt out of the water, but the changing tent was PACKED! Barely even room to stand. Had to just find a tiny spot in-between people. Couldn't even sit down. Women all around me were violently shaking as they could not get warm. Luckily my layer of body fat kept me warm! Had to get my jog bra and stuff on without assistance from a volunteer as they were all busy. This is hard to do when you are wet!!! Trying to get the grass off your feet and get dressed when you can't sit down was not fun. I would have liked T1 to be faster than this, but I think due to the congestion I did the best I could to get dressed and get out of there.

Not sure. Would help if the changing tent was bigger for sure!

Got on the bike and felt great. Was running off adrenaline for the first loop I think, and the wind was blowing, but was in a favorable direction. My first loop was fast (for me). Then as we u-turned to start lap 2 it was like hitting a wall of wind. Major suckage. Loop two was probably the hardest. Wind died down a bit on loop 3, but I was just moving slower then and Rick and I basically rode together from the end of loop 1 on. We stopped more times than I wanted, but most stops seemed like a good idea at the time, so we just went with it. Talked with Rick a lot as we illegally rode side by side for bits at a time, and on my last climb up the hill I talked at length to this older guy from Wisconsin. It took our mind off things for a while. I was able to drink all my Infinite, but did not eat all the fig newtons I planned on. I was kind of hungry, but my stomach was getting a little funky, so didn't quite know what to do. Was happy to get off the bike. Freaken wind! Took my shoes off right there and ran in my socks through T2.

I was greeted right away by a volunteer who said she would help me. This was awesome! She led me to a chair, and helped get all my stuff out of the bag, and told me to just start a pile of stuff to go back in the bag, and when I was done she would put it in the bag and take it away. I got something in my eye on loop 2 of the bike, so I was using my T2 eye drops to try to flush it out. I tried 3 different times to flush it out with no luck. I let the lady next to me borrow my eye drops as well as let her have my second little toothbrush thingy I had packed. (They came in packs of 2). She thought that thing was the best thing ever and thanked me many times. T2 was quicker because it wasn't so crowded. Could have been faster if I wasn't messing with my eye for so long.

Maybe wear my more goggle like sun glasses on the bike to try to keep crap from flying into them. Then I wouldn't be trying to rinse my eyes out in T2.

Wow. With the first step out of the changing tent my pecs HURT! Like real pain with every step I took when my pecs would "bounce." I know...this seems funny...she's talking about her boobs. But no...I am talking about my pec muscles!!! I guess it was from the long swim in the wetsuit and then perhaps aero for so long that made my whole front sore to the touch. But the bouncing, painful pecs was NOTHING I had ever dealt with before. This pain was with me during the whole run, but did ease up a bit a few miles in. It was the freakiest feeling! ANYWAY. I ran the first probably 5-6 miles. My goal was to jog the whole thing. Then my GI issues started. From then on it was just a struggle to determine when my gut would let me run and when it would not. I visited the potty 9 times. Since I was walking more than I wanted, I could tell the balls of my feet were getting sore, and could easily start blistering so toward the end of loop 2 I stopped at special needs and got my mole skin out. I had already cut them into two pads the size I would need, and just slapped them on. These were life savers!!! Feet felt great the rest of the way!! I also grabbed my long sleeved shirt as it was cooling down, and on the north side of the lake it was really cold! It was SO AWESOME on the run to see all my friends along the way, and have them walk and talk with you!! Even the spectators you didn't know were awesome as they would read your name off your bib and cheer for you. During loop 3 I was figuring out that I would not make my 14:30 goal time. So I was wondering if I could make 15:00 then? I really didn't think I could, but I kept going, and as I got within 2 miles of the finish, I thought if I can run right now, and really run, I might be able to make it. So I tried to run, and my stomach actually let me!!! Not 5 min earlier I tried to run and it did not. So I was very happy my stomach was cooperating. I ran, forcing myself to pick up the pace no matter how much it hurt. I kept checking my watch not knowing how close it was to the official time, but knew it was close. As I rounded the corner at the split where you either go straight for another loop, or hang a left to finish, I started really pushing it. By the time I was on Rio Salado I was sprinting and in full on GRRRRR mode. I round the final corner and I am searching for the clock. I finally see it and it says 15:00:23. DAMN! So close. At that point I let up a bit and start to high-5 people along the chute. I was finally done.

Be able to run

I hung out with Rick a bit who finished 2 min in front of me, and we took some pics. Kim was volunteering and assisted me with my stuff. I just wanted to sit down and eat french fries!!! I talked with friends and got to see my son, etc.. and FINALLY got to eat some fries. Best. Fries. Ever. If you would have asked me right then if I would do another IM, I would have told you NO! But, the next day the thoughts of "next time I am going to....." start to pop-up. Damn endurance crap. Sucks you in, doesn't it?
Jen and Josh helped me get all my stuff and helped me to my car. It was a nice ending to a great day. BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE ESCKTC PEEPS FOR BEING OUT THERE CHEERING US ON!!!! Meant more than you know!


Awesome race. Well organized. My only complaint if I had one was when I went to Run Special needs the volunteers were all high school girls, formed in a gaggle all giggling and talking in a circle, and I had to shout my number 3 times before they realized they were actually there to do a job. OH...and the food at the athlete's dinner was horrible.