This was my first swim with the wetsuit and I was a little nervous about that. I also haven't been swimming much, which isn't THAT bad. I wasn't all that worried about it but also didn't want it to completely wipe me out. I got off to an ok start and got in the clear pretty quickly. I was actually really relaxed in the water. Hugged the rope pretty well the whole way. In hindsight, I should have pushed a little more and not been quite SO relaxed since I felt really good coming out of the water.

Not be scared to push it a little more on the swim?

First thing was to get the wetsuit off. It didn't go badly at first (better than when I ripped it trying it on 3 days before the race). But the darn thing got stuck on my feet and I was just not coordinated enought to get it off my first leg. And my legs were slippery from the Body Glide which didn't help! The extra time gave me time to eat a chewy granola bar though, so that's a good thing.

Just need more practice getting the wetsuit off.

I'm having trouble crtiquing my ride... I felt good going up the monster hill and actually started passing people. This always surprises me since I am usually at the beginning of the pack out of the water. I saw Kevin and the kids just as I was getting to the top of the hill which was awesome. Honestly, I just kept riding along and before I knew it, it was time to make the turn to Sheldrake. That hill back up was a little worse than I remember from last year but not all that bad. The road back down into the park is really getting into bad shape. I was afraid to go too fast down the hills becasuse I didn't want to come across one of those pothills too quickly and lose control. I did hold back a little on the ride, knowing that I still needed to survive the run.

If my run is always going to suck, I should just have a kick a$$ bike ride next year. Why hold back?

This is where it all hit the fan. I knew it was going to be bad, being unprepared for the run and having a sore foot/ankle. I started running out of transition and it actually felt ok. I thought for a minute that this was a good sign, that the run was starting off better than last year. By the time I got to mile 2, I was just done. The only thing that held me together in mile 3 was getting to run past all our kids and get high fives. At least I was still a hero in their eyes! The run out for the second loop almost made me cry as I watched others finishing (ok, fine... some of them were sprinters... but still they were DONE). By mile 4 my ankel was throbbing and for the last 2 I didn't even care how long it took me. I just wanted to finish. And then I FINALLY did!

Um... run more. not be injured.

Chug water. Get some ice cream! Then head back to to house to shower and head to vacation.


Lack of running really killed me this year.


This really is the best race ever. I'm thinking of doing the Sprint again next year though so maybe I can actually smile at the end of it again. I'm guessing come December though, I'll have forgotten enough to sign up for the Long again.