Not a bad swim. I placed myself about a third of the way back and to the left. It took me awhile to find clear water but I stayed out to the left and had my own space within the first few hundred meters. I had some trouble swimming a straight line - I kept drifting left - but it wasn't too bad. They had a ton of bouys to sight and, starting in the 7th wave, there were plenty of swim caps to follow.

It was a long swim out to the first turn bouy. It felt like we would never get there. It made the short portion across to the the second turn bouy fly by. Then we turned again and were headed for shore. And staring right into the sun. I have tinted goggles but they didn't help one bit. I couldn't see a thing. I was lost, lost, lost. I'm not very good at sighting even in the best of times. I suck at it when the sun is in my eyes. I eventually settled for breathing to the right and just trying to sight off the line of swimmers. I was still driting left but I managed to keep myself more or less on line for the finish.

I was happy to see 42 minutes coming out of the water. I felt nice and fresh and ready to run a marathon to get to transition. Seriously. It took a full minute to jog myself uphill and get to the timing mat and enter transition.

Cap and googles off during the run up from the lake. The water was 81* so no wetsuit to bother with. I got my sunglasses, helmet, and racebelt on, jammed some gels into my back pockets, shoved my feet in my shoes, and was on my way. I was shooting for 45 minutes for the swim plus T1. Right on track.

The bike is my weak spot. I don't train nearly enough to be good at it so I just did what I could do and watched all the pretty bikes piloted by pretty riders fly past. This was an uneventful and fairly boring ride. I put calories and liquids in my face and kept pedaling. The big excitement of the ride was when I succesfully grabbed a water bottle at an aid station. By about mile 45 I was ready to be off my bike. The dismount line couldn't come fast enough.

It was a little crowded at the dismount line but I managed to navigate the crowd and get back to my bike rack. Bike shoes and helmet off. Run shoes and visor on. I made a stop at the porta potty and emptied my very full bladder. Goal was bike and T2 in under 3:15. Still on target.

It was hot by the time I hit the run course. I clicked off a 8:15 first mile. I walked the first aid station and got some water and ice and got my pace under control. My stomach was roiling and I couldn't bring myself to put any sort of nutrition in my mouth. I did some math on the fly and felt if I could keep a 9:20ish pace I would still be able to finish sub-6.

I walked the second aid station but still had to limit myself to ice and water. Just the thought of a gel made me shudder. I ran on to the third aid staion and fortified myself with some cola. It helped settle the stomach and delivered some sugar and caffeine. By this point I realized the best way to go about this run was to treat it as an aid station to aid station adventure. Water at every aid station, cola at every other, and ice down the sports bra when I needed it. With this strategy, I clicked off the miles and made it to the turn around.

With the walking, my pace had settled at 9:30 to 9:40. By mile 8 I knew I was out of the running for a sub-6 but I didn't want to let up. I set my sights on getting in under 6:05 which would be 20 minutes faster than I went at Rev3 Cedar Point. By mile 10 my pace had dropped off to 10:30. It was getting harder to get the legs churning after the aid staions. I hit mile 12 and just shut down my brain, dug deep, and headed for the finish.

I knew I had one last hill to suffer then it was downhill to the finish. I put my head down and counted off my steps to keep my brain occupied. I dragged myself up the hill and finally saw the white of the chute down to the line. I turned onto the gravel road and used the downhill to propel me to the finish. I have never been so happy to be done with a race.

After getting my finishers medal and hat, I quickly sucked down some water and tried to get cooled down. I managed to choke down a banana and some potato chips but that was all the food I could stomach. I ran into some other folks from the tri club and we eventually got ourselves into the shade and next to a cooler full of beer. Mmmmm....delicious, cold carbs. We relaxed, watched the awards, and swapped war stories. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.


Considering my training volume, I am more than pleased with my results. I hovered around 7-8 hrs a week of training which is pretty minimal for this distance. Now, I'm going to relax and enjoy the rest of my summer and the rest of my tri season.