They were starting the swim by 4 waves (Men 0-29, Women 0-29, Men 30+, Women 30+) but also by time trial, 3 swimmers every 10 seconds. The race director announced that any "stud" swimmers, including ladies could start in the first wave. I took advantage of that and was probably the 4th or 5th group of 3 to go, so no jostling, just nice open water to swim in. My hands hit a couple of rocks under the water, and I fell trying to exit when I stepped on a large slippery rock that I couldn't see underwater. Swim time included the run from the swim exit up to transition. I think the swim may have been longer than 400 meters, this was a slow time for me and I didn't feel I was swimming that slow!

Female ranking: 23/117

Warmed up! I could really feel it in my quads, had to really concentrate on not kicking so much. I felt like I went out too fast, but settled in by the turnaround. Never felt like I got my smooth rhythm going.

Had a good run up to transition... T1 time probably was a little longer than it normally would be since I had covered up my handlebars with a trash bag to keep my Garmin and my glasses/helmet dry. I also took a few seconds to ditch the sunglasses, with the rain, it was obvious I wouldn't need them.

AG 1/4
OA 72/279

Not cover up my handlebars with a trash bag, and decide earlier not to wear the sunglasses.

Worst part was there was light rain the entire ride and the roads were wet. There were quite a few wipe outs, luckily not me! I was able to ride pretty much normally, but slowed WAY down on the sharp turns. Twice I felt my back tire wanting to slip as I braked, but as soon as I let up on the brakes I was fine. Kept my cadence up, but my legs were tired... even after 2 days of rest. I could really feel them the first few miles and even ate a couple of Shot Blox early on. I felt much better by the turnaround. I had a few young guys pass me right at the beginning, then I held my own and passed a few people along the way. A few more speedy people passed me right before we made it back to the dismount area.

Female ranking: 18/117

Warm up the legs a little more! I also should have eaten my Gu as I was finishing up the ride, I needed it on the run... I was happy with my performance considering the road conditions.

I'm still having a hard time getting my running shoes on while standing up! I think I could really cut down my times if I could sit on a *gasp* bucket or milk crate!

AG: 1/4
OA: 91/279

Nothing, pretty good T2.

I felt good running out of transition, and then I hit the hill... short, steep, ugh. Ran as much as I could, but heart was racing, so I walked up most of the rest and then settled into a good pace for the rest. I didn't have my Garmin, but I think I actually got faster as the run progressed. They had no mile markers along the route, which may have been good, I just kept plodding along. Quite a few young guys passed me because I started with them for the swim. At one point I was all alone! Finally I reached the downhill back towards the finish and I had to hold back so I didn't get running too fast! I was able to sprint a little over the finish line. Other than walking a small amount of the hill at the beginning I ran the whole thing...

Female ranking: 75/117

Wear the Garmin? I probably could have sped up my pace a bit if I had that info on my wrist. Need to keep working on the run AND the bike... oh, and eat a Gu/Shot Blox BEFORE I finish up the bike, even if tummy is saying no!

None... used the bathroom, waited for Tammy to come back from the bike and head out on the run and cheered her into the finish. Packed up my stuff and took it to the car when we got the okay to take bikes out, then waited for awards, Stood in line for some yummy kielbasa wraps!


I've been putting in some training volume the past few weeks and I don't think I had enough recovery... seems to take me longer to recover from hard training these days, so even though I had 2 rest days before the race, my legs still felt fatigued. I'm still not happy with where my bike fitness is, and as always, never satisfied with the run... I really want to be able to run UNDER 10:00 miles in a race! The rain was also a big issue on the bike.


I really enjoyed this race and would definitely recommend it... I hope to do it again next year with hopefully better weather! And run faster... I lost 1st place due to the run, I was 1st AG in everything EXCEPT the run, argh! I missed 1st by 01:17!