Course was shortened to the Olympic distance due to "safety precautions." There were already waves out there, and I guess there was a chance that the waves would be getting higher. Honestly, what difference does 0.3 mi make, but I'm not the RD so what do I know... I really had no reaction when he made the announcement, I didn't really care either way, although of course it would have been nice to do the full 1.2 mi...

In addition, it was announced that the water was 59-60 degrees, and in an effort to get acclimated to the water before starting to swim, there was a change from a beach start to an in-the-water start. (Good, why would I want a beach start anyway? ;))

So, it was time for my wave (all females and relays) to get in. I started walking out, and the water really didn't feel as cold as I expected. I really believe this is because I was already so cold, there just wasn't that shock there.

Okay, so gun goes off. First, can I just say I actually SWAM the whole thing?! I could not believe how many people were walking and for how long. There were people walking pretty much the whole first half of the course... if not, pretty darn close... They did not get in my way as I was off to the side, but I mean, it is a "swim."

Anyway, this swim was fun!!!! With the shortened course, cold water, and choppy conditions, I had no expectations for this swim. I couldn't get into my normal rhythm of swimming bilaterally, but riding the waves was quite fun. Found myself swimming off course a bit, but no biggie. I was quite surprised I didn't swallow any water since I was often breathing on the side of the waves coming at me. Not something I would want from every tri swim, but I did not mind it on this day. :)

Given the conditions, I can't really think of anything I would change.

Included a long run up from the beach, across a main road, and to transition area. Running barefoot on the cement started hurting after awhile. Once I got to my transition spot, I just felt slow in everything I was doing. It was okay. I could have been faster I think.

Just move faster once at my spot.

Well when I started off I was thinking about how peaceful the ride was. Basically just riding through tree-lined roads. There were a few hills that I was creeping up, and then there was one major strip which was the worst because it went on for too long. On the flip side, before you climb it you also go down it really fast. I'm afraid of extremely high speeds so I had to slightly hit the brakes at one point. Otherwise, nothing too extreme on the course.

Towards the end of the ride, particularly the last 10 miles or so, it was no longer peaceful and starting to get a bit lonely. I was still seeing people now and then, but I honestly did not feel like I was in a race. I was getting a little depressed actually.

My realistic goal was 3:30, (although naturally I was hoping for better,) so I can't really complain overall. I was however on track for a 3:20 halfway, as well as 2/3 of the way, but that hill up Cooke Dam Road and the wind heading back on Monument Road (as well as it being towards the end of the ride I suppose) made me considerably slower it turns out. Oh yeah, I also took a potty break in the last third of the ride which ate up about 2 minutes of time.

Nutrition: 2 hammer gels with plenty of water at ~0:20, 1:20, 2:20, 1 gel and water at 3:00.

Need to figure out how to efficiently take in nutrition. It was taking me forever and a day each time. (like 5 min.)

Forgot to take off helmet before I left my spot, so had to run back to drop it off. (I hadn't gotten too far though.) But time is in line with my sprint transition times so I'd say it was good!
Both transitions were fastest in my age group, T2 was 4th fastest overall, so at least I was doing something right. ;)

Take helmet off first thing.
Always can be just a tad faster, but was happy about the way I was in and out, especially given my depressed state at the end of the ride.

So I started the run off the bike not feeling as though I normally do. (bad thing.) Normally I am starting off way too fast (ie feeling strong)- this time, that was not the case at all. Not only did I not feel strong, this was adding to my depressed state from the end of the bike ride. And YET AGAIN, as in pretty much EVERY tri I've done (minus one), I developed a side stitch. I did not think I went too hard in the swim and bike, but what the heck do I know?! Assuming it's a pacing issue, the side stitch was particularly annoying, because I did not even feel like I was running that fast. At one point, I literally said out loud, "I don't even feel like I'm trying at all!" as I look around, for what reason I do not know. (yes I talk to myself, there was no one around.) I started putting pressure on the side stitch with my fingers, and kept going. With the pressure there, I felt no pain and could run normally. I figured I would just run with my fingers on my side the whole time. But, after a few good minutes of pressure, I took my fingers away, and was able to run side-stitch-free! Wow, that made me so happy! From then on, I started to feel good, I found someone with a Garmin around mile 3/4 and asked what pace we were going. He said 8:30, and then I started picking up the pace. I was feeling really good at this point, and honestly thought there was the potential for a negative split. WELL. As soon as I passed the turnaround point to start the second lap of the run (mile 6ish?), my hamstring tightens up so much that it seriously hurts. I had been kind of having an odd feeling in my glutes and hamstrings as I was running, but didn't think anything of it. Well it got bad. (I should note at this point, that I do recall in the preceding days, I also had a strange feeling in this same area, not sure what the heck I did to cause it, but I didn't think anything of it- well, turns out it was a cause of problems! :() Anyway, it was really starting to hurt. I stopped to stretch it to see if it'd help, it didn't. Running just aggravated the pain, so at that point I made the decision to walk. :( It would not be worth it to me to run through the pain for potential of a severe injury. I then had like 2 hours (of walking) to think about the disappointment and sadness of the situation. I tried hard to keep it together as I continued walking, and sometimes I did not succeed. It was just really sad that I was brought to the point of not being able to run at all.

From this I learned that there are a lot of nice people in triathlon. I got lots of comments and words of encouragement, some of which made me laugh, often when I could have used it.

I do not have a clue what initially caused the irritation of the hamstrings/glutes. I noticed it starting to appear just a few days before the race. I wrote it off thinking it was just "taper madness" and I was feeling every twinge. The race sadly and obviously made it worse. I think it's serious now actually. :(

Getting the dodge out of Tawas... I was so disappointed I did not feel like sticking around for the post-race party on the beach that included Caribbean food which actually sounded good... but weather was not looking so good anyway, it started to rain shortly after I finished. (Okay, weather is just an excuse...)


Hamstring tightening up halfway through the run which was painful enough to bring me to a walk the rest of the way. :(


As for the event organization, everything from my perspective went smoothly. Only "complaint" as mentioned was the bike course became kind of lonely towards the end, but that's probably just because I was towards the back of the pack. I thought the finisher's sweatshirt was GREAT. I will definitely be wearing it. I like the gear bag as well, and will likely be using that too. Tech T is nice too.