Swimmers were supposed to go off every 20 seconds, but as some suspected, they shortened that by quite a bit -- every 10 seconds or so. I ended up in the water at about 7:30. Just never hit my stride. I finished the first 100m, grabbed the wall to duck under the buoys and there was a crowd of about six swimmers coming my way in a pack. I decided I did not want to get into that mix or make all of them pass me, so I held back and let them go first. Did another 100m and noticed the guy in front of me was doing the breast stroke, so I thought, "Why not?" So I did 50m of breaststroke another 50 of freestyle another 50 of breaststroke and then finished with freestyle. (That all should add up to 400m.) I was so thankful to be out of the pool. It was miserable. I could never get into a proper rhythm with my breathing or my stroke. Is it possible to like OWS better than pool swimming? Because I think I do. Even though the sun was out, I remember the swim as being dark and not scary, just not friendly. Hopped out of the pool and ran to the bike.

I just need to keep working on the swim. For my whole life I have told myself "I'm just not a swimmer." I need to change that, be more positive, and work at it. I'm planning on lessons this fall, so I'm hoping next summer my swim will not frustrate me so much. I still have another 500m OWS over Labor Day, and I will manage. I know it will be better.

I didn't have socks to fuss with, and I was so thankful to be out of the water and onto the bike. After I crossed the mount line, it did take me a few seconds to get my cleats in, but then I was off.

I just need to move faster. This really should take less than a minute.

This was a pretty good ride for me. I could have pushed harder, I think, but I just don't have the muscle power yet. I was pushing my little hybrid bike just about as fast as it could go, especially up the hills, and I passed a good number of people. I was also passed by a few, including someone in my age group. It kind of ticked me off. I saw her letter, and muttered under my breath, "Go ahead. I will cook you on the run!" I tried to keep her in my sight as well as I could. The train worked to my advantage in that. We both got stuck at the same train, so she had to work harder to get the lead back over me.

The whole train debacle didn't bother me that much. I saw it coming, and muttered, "Really???" It was a huge freight train, and I was prepared to sit there for 20 minutes (as can sometimes happen). Fortunately, it was clipping along, so it delayed us maybe 5, at the most.

At one point cruising down Rock Road (downhill), there was a "Your Speed is. . ." machine, and my speed was 24. Okay, it was downhill, but I was also pedaling as hard as I could, too.

I kept the chain on the large ring for most of the ride, even on some of the hills. There were one or two hills where I had to go to the middle ring and that really pissed me off, so I berated myself as a wimp and got back up to the large ring as quickly as possible.

The course had five major turns -- I decided to drink a little water at each turn (just before or just after). I ended up drinking maybe 8 ozs of water, but I decided that since it wasn't that hot out, I would be fine. I knew I would get water just outside the transition area and again at miles 1 and 2 on the run, so I didn't over drink on the bike. At the El Dorado Tri I ended up needing to pee near the end of the bike ride, so I over did the water. I didn't want to make that same mistake.

Just need to ride more. I get no hill practice at all where I live, and I'm still always surprised that these Kansas routes have as many hills as they have. The 34 miles I rode in the West Texas hill country did help me on this ride, however. None of the grades were as bad as the grades on that route, and I had gotten a chance to practice downshifting and gaining more speed going down hill, which helped me. I also used my cleats for the first time, and I need to practice more with those. I'm not sure I'm getting full range of motion advantage with them all of the time.

Couldn't find my spot, overshot it, had to go back, and someone had racked their bike in my spot (We didn't have assigned spots). I silently cursed them and then forgave them because I knew they were in a hurry. I racked next to theirs, thinking maybe I was in their spot and not taking another spot, but it's possible that someone later on cursed me.

Why does it take me 2 minutes to take off one pair of shoes and put on another pair? Seriously. Even when I practice this, it takes me 2 minutes. I could try to take my cycling shoes off on the bike, I guess, but I'm a little nervous about that trick.

Move faster. Just effing move faster.

Of course I was all wobbly have the bike because I had pushed it pretty hard, for me. Got through the first water station, drinking one cup of water and dumping another down my back/head. It was freezing! But after the initial shock wore off, it felt great. (Did the same thing at miles 1 and 2.)

Got my legs under me at about half to three/quarter mile in. I need to give a shout out to the male runner who was coming in as I was heading out. He was high fiving everyone and telling us all how awesome we were. I know he was doing it for everyone, but it really lifted my spirits. I picked up the pace.

Hit the first water station and that's right about where the loop around the park started. I felt fantastic, so I really kicked it. I would pass someone, then pick out the next person in front of me and say, "You're next." Then I'd pass that person and move on to the next.

I won't lie. I was passed by a couple people, too, but they were these young, tall 20-something guys who must have sucked at swimming, because they were speedy fast on their feet.

I can't remember at what point I passed the woman in my age group that had been ahead of me on the bike. I think it was before mile one. She was running, but I could tell she was hurting. She started walking just before I passed her. I knew then that I was not going to be last in my age group. :-) There was no way she was going to catch me. My run was nearly 10 minutes faster than hers.

A couple times on the loop around the lake, I was hurting a little and my body wanted to slow down, but I just told myself to hush and run faster; and I ran faster. I was in control of my race and my pace, and that felt great.

Where I am right now, I couldn't be happier with this run. I do know, however, that if I want to podium with the ladies running in my age group, I need to take another five minutes off my run. If in another year or two, I could take a minute or two off my 1 mile time, I could be competitive in the run.

Standing in line for 30 minutes with people, waiting for your swim, you get to know people. 173 or so grabbed me right after I finished and wanted to chat about the race, but I was spent. All I could think about was grabbing a banana and some orange juice. I tried to be civil and coherent and listen well, but I just didn't have it in me yet. Walked over to the transition area to get my phone and call my family because I'd finished about 30 minutes before I had expected to, so they missed the whole thing, but transition wasn't open yet. So I stretched on the pool deck, and 169 or 170 saw me. We were able to talk for a while, coherently.

After I retrieved my bike and gear and called the family, I signed up for my first post-race massage/stretch. It really made a difference, and I will likely do that again.


Can't say age because the other women in my age group are AWESOME. So, I'll just say time. I need to run more, and after today, I am encouraged to run more.

I've got one more season with this hybrid. I LOVE my bike, even if the LBS guy in San Antonio called it "garage sale fodder" to my face. This bike has served me pretty well and is a comfortable bike, but once I get my body in better shape, I know I will need to move on. I'm only going to be able to go so fast on this bike, so if I want to be more competitive, I need to be closer to 20mph than 15mph.

I've come to peace with my swimming ability. I will have patience with myself, but I will not be satisfied until I can get a decent time for my swim. I can do it sometimes in practice, so one day I will be able to do it in a race, as well.


Train issue. Racers were promised that trains were being held for us, which I wondered about. Turned out, they were not, and a bunch of us got stuck waiting for a freight train.