I started off in a sprint to pull away from the other girls next to me. I then settled into a steady pace and sighted pretty well. I thought the swim went okay, but I didn't feel very fast. I had thoughts of Alcatraz, wondering how I was going to make it 1.5 miles in 50 degree water, when I'm getting a little tired after 300 meters. Not good to think about during the race.

As I was running up to transition, I tried to get my wetsuit stripped down to my waste. Well, I couldn't get the left sleeve off my wrist. It was stuck over my watch and just wouldn't budge. After struggling with it the whole run up to T1, I finally got it off when I was next to my bike. So I pulled it down to my ankles and tried using my feet to step out of the wetsuit as I put on my sunglasses and helmet. Well, I dropped my helmet and struggled with my wetsuit. So, I ended up pulling it off my heels and then put on my helmet.
I grabbed my bike and headed out of T1. When I crossed the mount line, I slipped off the bike pedal and struggled to get clipped in.
This T1 was awful. You'd think this was my first race by the way everything was going wrong. Ugh. Definitely need to practice with the wetsuit more.

Everything. More tri slide on the wetsuit.

They didn't post our bike and transition splits, so the time is a guess. I started the bike off okay. I saw a few women ahead of me and I was able to pass 2 or 3 within the first 3 miles. I knew that Sarah and Lauren weren't too far ahead, and I could see an All3 girl far up on the road. So I knew I wasn't too far back from one of them. I thought it was Sarah. Throughout the bike, I felt okay cardio wise, but my legs were just so sore from all of the strength exercises I've been doing for my hips. The doctor has me doing heavy weights with low reps, so it's really put a strain on my hamstrings and quads. I knew this wasn't going to be a good bike. But I was okay with that because I was really worried about saving some strength for the run. I was dreading the run because I didn't know what my knees and hips would feel like.
Around mile 8, I got stuck behind a stupid truck that wouldn't drive around the cyclists in front and to the right of him, but he was going too slow for me to draft behind. There were cars coming from the other direction, so I couldn't pass him on the left. I slowed and rode behind him for a minute until the left side finally cleared. I passed him on the left, very frustrated that he wouldn't speed up or let cyclists have more room on the right.
Once I got to the stop sign for the final mile, I knew it was a fast ride back to the park, so I just hammered it trying to make up as much time as I could. I saw the All3 girl getting closer, so I used that to give me a target. I made up a lot of ground and was only 10 seconds behind her entering T2.

I think I could have pushed harder on the bike. I was too worried about my legs for the run. I need to quit thinking that I need to 'save' energy for the run during a sprint race.

I had a good flying dismount and saw that the All3 girl in front of me was Lauren, not Sarah. I quickly took off my helmet and sunglasses as I ran to my spot in transition. I racked my bike, slid on my shoes, put my knee strap on, grabbed my visor and helmet, and ran out.

Nothing

I ran out of transition only a few seconds behind Lauren. I felt pretty good and just hoped by body would hold up. I passed by Steve and Rudy cheering and began to get focused on my run. When we left the grass and hit the pavement, I decided it was time to kick it in and surge past Lauren. I made the pass and settled into a 6:30 pace. As I headed around the lake, I saw another All3 girl ahead. I was pretty sure it was Laura Sopheia. I thought if I could keep near her, I'd have a good run. As I approached the fork after the lake, I started to see the guys heading in towards the finish. Saw Dan who had his 'race face' on and I laughed. It was great seeing so many guys as I was running. I hit the gravel, then the main road with Laura only a few seconds ahead. I actually felt good until I hit the first hill. My hips were on fire. My glutes were so sore that I felt like I had no strength to power me up the hills like I normally do. I just hoped I could hold onto that pace without my knee giving out. I actually didn't feel any knee pain at all. It was just my hips and glutes screaming at me. I sucked it up and just tried to keep up a steady pace. Soon after mile 1, I made the pass on Laura. Then I saw Melissa way up ahead. I can usually catch her in the first mile, so I was doubting if I had enough real estate to catch her. I began to think about last year's race when I was in a similar position with Catherine Meihofer and I was able to out sprint her to the finish line. I wanted to beat Melissa, but I didn't want it to come down to a sprint. Because that's what hurts my hips the most. So, I steadily decreased the gap between us and decided to use the downhill to catch her. I flew down the hill with a fast cadence and was able to make up most of the space to end up right behind Melissa. I ran past her and just tried to hold on til the finish. I made the turn off the gravel and towards the last stretch near the lake. Saw Steve up ahead smiling and cheering me in. Heard Chuck cheering and passed by Dan as I hit the hill to the finish. Dan was yelling at me to close the gap of the guy in front of me. I tried but I just didn't have the strength to run much harder up the hill. I finished strong and was happy that my body survived the run without having to walk. I was very surprised to see my run time because I felt like I ran so much slower than that. Amazing what competition and a few 'carrots' in front of you will do.

Nothing

Immediately went over to Dr. Sadri's tent and got my hips and knee worked on.


My left knee was hurting badly before the race, but luckily the knee strap prevented pain on the run. My hips and glutes hurt and my legs were so sore from the strength training. So, that definitely held me back on the bike and the run. I also had issues in transition with my wetsuit. I guess it's good to start the season off with this race to work out kinks before Alcatraz next week.