I think that next time I am racing in the rain, I will swim in a swimsuit or athletic bra rather than my race gear. I NEVER dried out. It would have been nice to put something dry on for the bike.

took a little time here to put on some extra clothes.

I should have checked my tires. It would have saved me a lot of time and trouble.

Ummm... This wasn't so good. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get any speed up until about 1.4 miles out I heard the tell tale "flap flap flap" that signaled a flat tire. I was cold and wet and so it took me longer to change the tire than I would have liked, but I got it done. Then, for some reason, my 3 CO2 cartriges all exploded in the pump and sent the air shooting out the bottom instead of the top. Yikes! Now what? I can't ride the remaining 10 miles on a tire with no air. So, I decided I would walk back. I was close to tears as I already had a DNF at SGIM this year and wasn't wanting another one. I figured I would walk the 1.4 miles back and if there were still bikers coming out on the course, I would pump up the tire with a floor pump and then head out to do the run. I got about a mile back when bike support caught me and pumped up my tire. I was then able to turn around and double my previous pace over the same ground. I finished last in my age group, but at least I finished.

Check my tires before heading out on the bike. I had filled them up just before the swim. Apparently something was wrong with the tube.

I did just fine here. I need to do some speed training,but at least I was moving and my shoes can't get a flat.

mechanical difficulties, being sick all week, being a lazy butt and not doing my speedwork.


I am a little picky because I am a race director, but it was good. There were a few minor traffic flow issues that I saw that could have been corrected, but overall, it was a great race. I would like the county to fix the potholes on that bike course. It was ridiculous!