The water was wonderful. It was warmer in the water than it was out. The swim start was a little hard. The sun was directly over the bouys and it was hard to see them. I think I was all over the place but I couldn't tell. I just followed everybody else. After the first turn it was better.

I was very happy with my swim. Although it took me longer than I thought, I felt very comfortable - even when I was being overtaken and bumped around by the wave behind me, I didn't panic.

This was absoultely my best swim ever. I'm so proud of myself for overcoming my fear of the water.

At times I would catch myself swimming with very poor form - not extending and reaching ahead. I have to work on improving form throughout the swim.

T1 was okay. Everything with smoothly but I had to sit down to take off my wetsuit. I didn't wear my bike shorts under my wetsuit because they have such heavy padding. They stuck to my legs a little because I was still wet.

I have trouble running with my bike. I walked quickly and mounted okay.

I forgot to eat my gel before I left T1. I am such a dork when it comes to eating anything on my bike. It took some time for me to get the first gel down - I had to ride a little slower while I was eating eat.

Wear bike shorts under wetsuit. Run w/my bike. Eat a gel BEFORE I get on my bike.

I kept telling myself that this race was just a training session for IM Canada. I regulated my pace well but at times it was a little harder than I expected. My crotch was killing me by mile 40. I have to figure out how to manage this??? I felt like my legs lacked power on some portiions of the ride. I have to figure out what the problem is with that.

I forgot to get gel at the first 2 stations. Luckily I had a Powerbar in my bento box to tide me over.

I dropped my chain in the middle of a hill!!! It took me forever to get it back on.

Overall, I had a blast on the bike. It's a great course and I loved the downhills. I'm usually wimpy about going fast downhill but I got up to 40 mph!!! I felt like a little kid out playing on by bike.

Find the right bike shorts to manage crotch pain. Work on Changing gears more smoothly. I think that's why my chain dropped.

Make sure I get gel at every station!!

I felt like a had a good transition. It seemed quick but I'm not sure. I had to sit down to put my shoes on.

Loosen my laces more to make it easier to get shoes on.

Running is my biggest challenge. I just have a mental block about everything related to running. I felt great all the way around the first loop but I kept taking walking breaks. When I started running again I would run too fast then too slowly. The second loop started out really hard. Kurt was there too motivate me. That was really special and meant a lot to me!! Two of my friends also showed up - Lori and Laura - they pushed me and cheered me on.

I wanted to simulate my IM pace so I kept telling myself not to push too hard. Overall, I think my run was okay. If I can do the same thing at IM I'll be okay.

I did have a problem holding down the Gatorade and Clif Shots. I'm used to red Gatorade and Power Gel. I thought I was going to hurl a couple of times but I didn't. I had to dilute the Gatorade w/water and only eat half a pack of Clif shot at a time.

To stay cool I put ice down my running top and sucked on a mouthfull of ice for as long as it would last. Thank God they had ice!!!!! It really helped a lot!

I wouldn't take so many walking breaks and I would control my pace better.

Maybe I'll take my own gel if its different that what I'm used to or find out what they will have on the course and experiment with it before the race.

After getting to the finish line (finally!) I walked around a little and found some shade. My hamstrings and calves were popping and threatening to pull so I stretched them out really good.


The heat on the run was limiting. My mentality about running played a big factor. I need to work on it.


This was a good race. Very organized with great volunteers. I was shooting for 6.5 to 7 hours to finish. I'll take 7:05! This was meant to be a training session and it served me well. It gave me added confidence that I CAN finish a full IM.