Waded smack in the middle 75 yards or so from the bouy line. Guy next to me commented on how now would be a good time to request gospel music because he was in need of a prayer. I laughed and told him it was going to be okay. By far the coolest start. The cannon went off, I hit my watch and I was off. In the first 200 yards I got clocked in the jaw. Yeah, Mike Tyson was swimming next to me. My mouth is still sore chewing and yes my bell got rung but after this the swim was awesome. I nailed the turn bouys and the swim was over sooner than I expected.

Not get punched in the face.

I took my time here, usually I have speedy transitions but I wanted to get some of the water off and make sure I had plenty of sun protection. Put my tri top on shoved stuff in my pockets and I was off

Wear Tri top under my wetsuit. I wasn't as cold as I expected coming out of the water.

Headed out on the bike and my meds fell out of my pocket. I pulled over and a volunteer ran up with them, the crowd around me saw it all happen and went wild, I practically kissed the volunteer and I was off. I headed off all super charged. I kept a fast average until I hit the beeline and then felt the wind. Grr ... I wasn't happy about it but I remembered what my coaches had told us "only worry about things you can change, " I couldn't change the wind so I pushed on. I reached the turn around at a faster pace than I expected (even with the wind) and looked forward to the tailwind and raced back into town at 30 MPH on the steeper downhill section. Lap one was finished faster than I expected but my HR was in the zone I was planning so I kept the pace up. I took it easy on lap 2, slowed the pace down, stopped for the bathroom and special needs. I should have taken in more salt and salty snacks but nothing sounded good (mistake 1). I should have forced myself but water was tasting better than anything else. I started lap 3 and noticed far fewer racers on the course.I was heading back up the beeline and a guy pulled up to pass me, he was so sweet, saying that I was "amazing" on the course and riding really well. What sweet words coming from someone who was blowing me away on the pass. Thanks! It made the 3rd lap fly by. The wind had shifted on the 3rd lap and a tailwind pushed me up the beeline but I fought more than I would have liked coming into T2. I was pleased to finish under 6:40 (I was planning a 6:30 - 7:15 bike split). I've been working on the bike and it has paid off. I was happy to be finished with the bike and looking forward to the marathon.

Get more salt into my system. Biggest mistake of the day.

I could have done this faster but a sit down and a change of socks was needed. My volunteer not only brought me a cup of water to gulp down 2 thermolytes she ran my long sleeved shirt to my special needs bag because I had put it in the wrong place that morning. I can't thank her enough. Total race karma and she'll kick butt next year at IMAZ.

Move fasterQ

Ugg ... I'll be honest, I'm not happy with how the run went but I am happy with how I was able to problem solve and get to the finish. I ran out of T2 and saw my cheerleaders and was feeling good. My Ironman wrist band felt tight and I reached down to adjust it and noticed that it was tight. Too little salt and too much water. I was feeling tired and walked at the first aid station to get gatorade and another thermolyte down. The first lap I tried to get the last down but the swelling wouldn't go down and I was starting to feel confusion and fatigue set it (way beyond normal IM). Come lap 2 aid station volunteers kept asking me if I was okay, damn, I need to get some serious salt down or I'm going to have bigger problems than finishing. I popped more thermolytes and in a matter of 20 minutes I was feeling better. The fatigue went away but with it came a huge time killer. Time to pee out all the water, I was forced to stop at every port-o-potty for close to 10 miles. I easily lost 15 minutes with all my stops. I ran into Dolores coming out of my first, we ran for a while together. She looked strong and was rockin it.

I continued along the course and saw 5 or 6 guys with shirts that said "Schmitz doesn't quit" I laughed and told them I loved their shirts. The then started to chant "Jessica doesn't quit" and I made it up the hill I was climbing. You guys rocked.

I started the last loop and was feeling great (still hitting the port-o-potty) but I felt like I had new legs. I saw Dolores again and we ran together for a little. By my last loop there were a lot of people walking and in a very dark place. I passed a two guys who were in a bad mental place and they were playing off each other, I did not want to be in that situation. I ran the last 6 miles and it hurt but when I realized that I could finish in under 14 hours I was motivated to go hard. 2 miles from the finish when my legs were trashed I met Brooke. She told me that she had been following me for the last 4 miles and that she wanted to finish in under 14. We ran the last 2 together, she was great and we were both all smiles. We made the final turn to the finish line and it was so cool. The music, people and the energy were amazing. I hit the finish line with a smile and great pacing on the swim and bike ... almost all of my goals for the day. Jessica from Escondido California, "You are an Ironman!"

Get more salt in on the bike

Got my medal, shirt, hat and picture, then I saw my family. My mom came over and gave me a big hug and I was a blithering idiot. Charlie came over and gave me a big hug then I was off to get some water and pizza. I put my name down on the massage list and talked to another racer while we waited. The massage (more of a stretch) was wonderful. I gathered my stuff and manufactured a skirt and top out of my mylar blanket because I couldn't stop shivering (it was an awesome look). We loaded the truck and then we were off to In-N-Out for a burger (best burger ever) and then off to bed.


Salt. I made a huge mistake with my salt and lost good time because of it. I know exactly what I would do next time. More salt and no protein in my sports drink. I think I could cut time off my race and go faster but I'm pleased with my first race. It was a great race and I never hit the wall and wanted to stop.


This was a great race, well organized and the volunteers were amazing. I would do this race again. I'll be taking 2010 off because of school but will be back to IM again in the future. I learned a lot during this race and am proud that I problem solved to get myself to the finish line.

Thanks to my coaches at UCSD Masters and Multisports.com for getting me to the starting line prepared mentally and physically.

Thanks to my husband Charlie for putting up with long workouts and being my long run partner. He pushed me to do this race and I thank him for his support.

Thanks to my BT mentor group, Kathy and Judi are great leaders and I can't thank you two enough.