Worst. Swim. Ever. I may have said that about other swims in the past but this time I mean it. Not an ounce of hyperbole.

I'm not really sure what happened. The water was calm and I was feeling pretty relaxed at the start but once I got in the water I never got into a groove. It felt kind of sloshy out there - for lack of a better term. It seemed no matter which side I turned to breath water was hitting me in the face. It was the oddest sensation. And no matter how hard I tried I couldn't seem to stay on course. I was always getting pushed to the left on the way out and the right on the way back. It actually made me feel like the course itself was crooked.

Needless to say, I spent the entire swim feeling discombobualted. I was beyond surprised to look at my watch when I was getting out of the water and see 43 minutes. I was certain, as much breaststroke as I ended up doing, that I would be in the 50 minute range. I remain convinced that the swim course was shorter than 1.2 miles.

I was still a little out of it in T1. I struggled to get my suit over my heels. I got my helmet, shoes, and sunglasses on and headed for the bike out only to have to turn around and head back for nutrition. Far from brilliant.

I knew I was undertrained for the bike segment so my goal was to take it nice and easy - just a Sunday spin. I was expecting about a 3:30 ride and that is exactly what I got. It was a pretty uneventful ride. I just stuck to my plan, enjoyed the scenery, and watched all the other bikes pass me by. There were spectators out all along the course and it was nice to get a cheer as I rode by. I even got Tour de France worthy encouragement. There was a group of what appeared to be college age kids with cowbells and such. One of the guys ran next to me for a few steps and shouted at the top of his lungs as I went by. Good chance they had been drinking the morning away.

I have never been so happy to see a porta-potty. Sweet relief.

I really wanted to put in a sub-2 HM. I thought I had riden smartly and still had the legs to get it done. The first few miles zoomed by. I took a short walk break at the first aid station to get down a gu and some water and I was off again. The crowd support was great along the whole length of the course. It seemed every time I needed a boost a spectator would give me a smile and a shout and I was back to feeling good. I got to see the male and female pros come roaring by on their first lap of the marathon. It was a huge boost to have the opportunity to see such amazing athletes out on the course.

I continued running along and was feeling really great until about the 10 mile mark and then my legs started to betray me. By mile 12 my left leg was on fire from hip to toe. By mile 13 I was going on sheer will power - my leg didn't want to bend anymore. It was hard to watch the 2 hour mark roll by before I could get to the finish line. I really had to dig deep to keep running. It was such a relief to pass under the banners that I almost let a tear leak out. Luckily I was able to suck it up continue down the finishing chute without ruining my hardass reputation.

This ended up being easier than I expected while still being one of the hardest things I've ever done. I learned a lot about myself as a triathlete and as a person. I learned that I'm stubborn as a mule and sometimes that's a good thing. I learned that being a girls still sucks. (Dear uterus, Seriously?? You couldn't have waited 12 more hours?) I learned that I really like the HIM distance and I would like to actually train to race the next one. I learned that I miss The Dude's support when he can't travel with me. I learned that a little bit of heart and a dash of willpower will carry you more miles than you might expect. And most importantly I learned, once the sun sets in Sandusky, don't ever, ever, ever ride in the front car of a roller coaster unless you want to eat lots and lots of bugs.