I had a REALLY bad swim day, which I guess is understandable since it was my first OWS. I tried to start on the outside and towards the back so I wouldn't be hit or kicked at all. The current was pushing me off course a little, and the buoys were on our right, and I breathe to my left, so sighting was really hard. I got kicked at one point too, right when I was resting, so it knocked me underneath the water and really threw me off my groove. That was about 200m in, and really affected me. I backstroked for a little while after that, and then got back to it. I think the swim was a little longer, but it all seemed long to me at that point!

OH, and funny story, it was so windy that the last Oly buoy got unhitched and floated wayyyyy out into the middle of the lake. So their distance got shortened. I said ours should have been shortened too. It was only fair! haha

I need to train more on the swim anyway, since I've been slacking on that the last couple months. But I also want to OWS a lot more because it's a totally different experience than being in the pool, where I can average like 1m45s. I also will try to avoid kickers!

The transition area was grassy, so I had sand AND grass stuck to my feet, which was awesome for putting on socks. I couldn't get my race number to stick to my helmet earlier, so I had to put on my race number belt in this transition, which ended up taking a lot longer than it should have! My hands were a bit shaky, I guess. My shoes were a little wet, too, but not awful. I didn't feel like I was in transition for almost 2 minutes though...

I was planning on putting on a running shirt over my zoot swim top in this transition, but since everything was soaking wet from the rain, I just wore it in the swim. It made no difference whether I wore a wet top for the whole race or tried to put on a wet top in transition!

Be faster! I think it might be quicker to keep my race belt clipped, too, and then just step into it. Other than that, I did everything else like I was supposed to, so it just comes down to speed.

The mount line was in the grass still, which I thought was weird, so I ran an extra 20 or so yards to get on the pavement because it was too wet to consider mounting on the grass. I slipped my pedal at first and almost felt, but got into it okay and took off.

I had a gel right when I got on the bike because I knew I would need a little extra kick. I had to really urge myself until that kicked in. I kept talking to myself for the first mile or so, and I think some people thought I was crazy! After that though, I really started cruising, and I passed a lot of people. There was a segment that the wind was BRUTAL and right in my face, and I was only able to average like 15mph, but I was still passing people, so I felt okay with it. Then the rest of the time, I was able to average 19+, even 20-22 for some segments that were flatter. There weren't many hills, but I was usually between 15-16mph up those. I was aiming for over 18mph average, and I really thought I did well enough to average over 19, so the windy section must have been longer than I thought.

There were a lot of turns on the course, which I slowed down on a lot since it was wet. I tried to avoid puddles, too, but the last mile or so was AWFUL. Wet and really rocky. My butt hurt from that section.

There were some people who were obviously drafting, and then there were some groups that were riding side by side talking. I didn't really mind, but I was frustrated because I had to go around them. Some girl drafted off me for a while after I passed her, which made me want to push it even harder for the last couple miles because I knew she shouldn't be able to keep up with me. One guy decided for some reason he wanted to try to pass me on the right, even though I was riding on the shoulder, and I was trying to get farther over, so I almost ran into him hard. It made me remember to ALWAYS warn someone when I'm coming up behind them!!!

I only got passed by a couple of women on this course, so I was really happy with my ride. Jorge's plan has done me well for the last few weeks! I still want to be faster though!

Practice more hills in training (crazy, right?). I need to just get outside more on the bike and get used to being in that position for that long. I also want to get better overall balance because I'm still uncomfortable reaching down to get my water bottle too often! I was way too dehydrated.

I almost fell off the bike on the dismount because it was right around a corner and awkwardly placed. I barely got my left foot unclipped in time. I didn't try to put my feet on top of my shoes because, again, I have bad balance on the bike anyway. Then there was a HUGE puddle right there that my legs just weren't strong enough to jump over, so I had to step in it, and gross, got wet. My legs were pretty jello-y, so my run to the transition was slow. My thumb had gone numb on the bike (not unusual for me) so tying my shoes was very difficult. It already takes me a long time to tie shoes! I almost forgot to take my helmet off, which would have been quite embarassing! But since I already had my race number on, and I had my headband on my wrist, the only thing that took time was tying shoes.

I need speedlaces. And better balance. That's it!

My legs were total jello from the beginning, so I knew my run was going to be rough. My goal was to not stop at all, which didn't happen. I stopped once RIGHT out of transition to stretch. Then I had to stop about a half a mile later to (gross) blow some snot rockets because I was soooo congested. Then I had to stop again at the turn around because the darn woman ahead of me took BOTH cups of water the volunteer was holding, so I had to wait to get one! Darn her...

HOWEVER, even though I stopped, none of them were for more than like 10 seconds each, which I was proud of, and all of those stops were literally in the first half-mile. It was nice having all the people encouraging me because I needed it! I got passed by quite a few people, but I was hurting pretty bad.

Part of the course was around road construction though, so I got thrown off when I accidently stepped in a big mud hole that came out of nowhere! After that, I just made sure I kept my pace so I could finish without stopping.

With about a quarter-mile left, I heard Ryan cheering for me, which was an AWESOME feeling! He ran with me on the side of the course for as long as he could with Nadie, and he told her to speak so it sounded like she was cheering for me too! He just kept telling me to push it, so I was able to push pretty hard for that last bit until I crossed the finish line!!!

Then, I wanted to pass out! The poor woman at the finish line had to take my chip off my leg because I just couldn't bend down that far and guarantee I could get back up!

BRICK MORE!!! I'd never really practiced a brick, so I was totally unprepared for that feeling in my legs.

We got our time tickets, I drank like 3 cups of water immediately, and I celebrated with Nadie and Ryan! I went over to my transition space to grab my meal ticket, and we chowed down. They had quite the array of yummy food, and I was starving! We rested for a while, and then went to put our bikes on the car, then went to watch awards since Ryan got 3rd in his AG! I was very proud of him! I just hope I'll be there someday...


My own limitations were the biggest problem. I can't blame too many uncontrollable events for my time! I just need to push myself more in my training, and I think I'll be much better next tri.


I had a ton of fun for my first tri! My goal was under 1:40, which I accomplished, just not by much! I can't wait to improve though.

I think the race was great, too. It really is the perfect first tri for anyone!