(Weather @ 6:53am 57F-N5-Dew55F-Hum93%-Clear)

Ran into the lake and dived right in. It was hard to really get in a groove in the pack. I tried to stay to the side but ended up not really being on course so I veered back into the pack. Once I calmed myself down and got my breathing regular, especially the breathing out part, I was all right. We all got more spread out so that I was able to just relax and swim. I kept reminding myself that "Slow and steady, wins MY race". The water was calm so it truly was a nice swim. I was able to sight every 10th stroke or so and kept on course after the first turn.

About 200 yards from the finish a long tri competitor swam over me. The long tri folks had to do 2 laps of the swim so I was getting lapped. No biggie, I let the nice man go ahead of me and started to swim faster. I thought that I might as well get all I could out of my arms because they wouldn't be any great asset for the bike or run.

I swam until my hands touched the bottom 3 times, got up and waded out of the water. I had survived the swim! I was pleased to see that I had finished the swim in 20 minutes just like I anticipated.

The swim course looked really far out there so it was kind of intimidating, but once I got out there it wasn't so bad. My swimming has totally improved but is still slow. Still, slow swimming is better than drowning any day!

Nothing!

I got my wetsuit unzipped and sleeves off as I ran into transition. I realized that I had never really run right after swimming so it was a strange sensation. I had my cap and goggles off before I got to my bike. With all the advice to have a brightly colored towel to find your spot quickly is all good and everything, but when you have all your stuff laying on it, the effect isn’t all that. Anyway, my suit came off no problem (thank you Body Glide!). I was surprised at how quickly I seemed to get my helmet and bike shoes on because I before I knew it I was running out with my bike. The transition area was on the grass so running out to the bike mount line wasn’t too difficult with the bike shoes on (no tap/clomp). I got my bike out to the pavement. Stopped. Mounted and was on my way.

(Weather @ 7:53am 61F-NE6-Dew57F-Hum87%-Clear)

I had done the bike course before so there were no surprises. I was a bit winded at the start of the bike. Probably just adrenaline, but it surprised me. I was also going a bit too fast for what I wanted my pace to be so I spun a little bit and settled into a nice rhythm. The first half the course was mildly uphill with a number of rolling hills, the last half had more rollers, but some nice descents. I did find myself somewhat slowed by one stretch in the middle. I’m not sure what happened there-I think my legs decided that they needed a snooze. I was able to coast into the biggest climb up the dam and get into my granny gear without loosing a beat. I didn’t want to burn out my legs on this climb. Luckily, we had ridden this darn hill many times before (just last Thursday, in fact) so I had a good idea how well I could handle it. I picked it up for the homestretch and glided on in. I tried to stretch my hams on the last flat to get them ready for the run.

I managed to pass some of the beginner wave people – mostly on mountain bikes. Halfway through, I was passed by some of the long course men and a couple of women. It was nice to be in the middle of the pack like that instead of way in the back. Towards the end, some of the short tri men passed me – I think that they started a full 10 minutes after we did. Because we all started in waves, we aren’t really racing head to head so it was important to remember to race MY race.

I had Gatorade in one bottle and water in the other. I took a gel early in the ride. I didn’t finish my Gatorade because halfway through I felt like I needed to pee. I was actually thinking about how to manage that when I got back to the transition. I thought about the stories that I heard about people peeing on their bikes and thought that I was competitive but not THAT competitive. Luckily, the feeling passed.

Reset my odometer when I racked my bike (doh!)

I came into T2 ready to go. I racked my back. Sat down to put on my running shoes. A guy from COTT was asking me how I was doing and I remember telling him “fabulous!” Then I grabbed my number and took off.

Nothing!

(Weather @ 8:53am 65F-NE8-Dew58F-Hum78%-Clear)

I was running so fast just to get out away from the transition that I thought that maybe I had mastered the brick. Not so. After I got onto the straightaway, I was winded again. My legs weren’t in bad shape at all, my HR was just off the charts. Again, I slowed and relaxed and was on my way. The first half mile was along the beach and then it veering onto another half mile of trail. Then it was back on a winding road for an out and back. No big hills. Nothing complicated. I got some Gatorade from one aid station. I stopped at another to retie my shoelaces – they have this way of feeling too loose sometimes. I bared down for the final stretch, sprinted into the finish chute and crossed the line. They had a finish banner for everyone to run through. It was kinda funny because afterwards everyone was saying that they thought that they had won.

I am now a triathlete!

7 and a half minute pace?!! I don't think so. Talking with others after the race, we came to the comclusion that the run was definitely not 3 miles. But hey, like I'm gonna ask them to re-measure it!

Nothing!

I walked around for a bit, had a blue icy & an energy drink and chatted with some people. The grin on my face never ended.

Went to Waffle House for breakfast. Walked around the Franklin Park Conservatory. Had pizza for lunch. Nap later in the day. Feeling happy and proud all day long!


I really don’t think that I could have done anything differently. I reached my goal of finishing in less than two hours. My equipment worked well. I didn’t have any aches or pains. I felt fine the whole time. No complaints at all. I did it!

Now I know that I can do this triathlon thing and can work on getting faster in all sports.


Excellent organization. Accomodating to every level!

A bunch of people that I have been training with were volunteering (or racing) so it was nice to see familiar faces everywhere.

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