First and foremost, swimming is my easiest event but I hate to train for it. So, the first lesson I learned is that I need to train harder so I can kick ass!!

Second, boy I have to pee when I hit cold water. I peed 5 times in my wetsuit...which was kinda grossing me out but it was warm so it was all good :)

Third, I stopped my watch at the end of the swim and it was 34 minutes. However, there was a ladder to climb up and I was 5th in line to get up the ladder...so that took some time. Then the run to the timing mat (down a pier, around a turn, and through the grass took me a while). Bottom line, I need haul ass during the run portion of the swim.

Fourth, I tried to think about bull sharks being in the water to make me swim faster (in honor of Stake and his irrational fears)...but my rational brain took over and realized that they cannot get into spring-fed lakes with no access points to the ocean.

I never pushed myself on this swim. I took it easy and just cruised. I did not kick and was never labored in my breathing. Next time, I need to push harder. I can easily swim sub 1:30s so I need to stop being scared.

And I need to learn to haul ass on the run part of the swim.

Ummmm.... I need serious help here! I like to chat with folks and Christian was right there so I just kept chatting with him until he said "Honey, you have been in T1 for 6 minutes!"

I pulled on cycling shorts on top of my tri shorts to pad my hinney, which proved to be a good idea with a goofy intermediate outcome. You see, my bike shorts are kinda big and I did not pull the padding up tight. So when I tried to get onto my bike at the mount line, my bike shorts got caught on my bike seat and I could not get up onto the seat! I dropped back down, hit the top tube with my lady part, did a goofy one-legged pedal, one-legged walk thingy to get out of the traffic lane and then finally got it all figured out.

I swear I have performance anxiety related to the bike!!

Talk less.
Practice more.
Not get stuck on the seat and pedal/walk like a spaz!!!

Where do I start??? Biking is definitely not my forte!

First, I am a total spaz on the bike. I am never comfortable and I wobble all over the place. Plus, I like to sight-see while riding, which is not a good idea when there is a body on a small piece of metal, with teensy tires, hurtling down asphault! So, with that background knowledge, here are my comments:

I have only had one long ride of 30 miles outside and that was last summer. So, in short, I need to train on the bike outside more often :)

I had aerobars put on my road bike...but I am too chicken to use them. So I rode all 56 miles upright...which led to sore shoulders and neck.

I wore a Camelback, which might look goofy, but it prevented me from having me pull out water bottles and trying to re-cage them....because I just cannot do that :)

I passed a lot of people, including a bad-ass girl on a tricked-out tri bike with a disc wheel. That was cool :)

I had to make a turn around in a cul-de-sac on Over Lyon Rd. Now, Christian and I drove this course the day before and I knew how loose the pebbles were and how dangerous this turn would be for a spaz like me. So, as I come into the turn, I slow way down and start to carefully navigate the turn. Well, I take the turn a little too wide and end up riding off the road, through the sand, and narrowly escaped a close encounter with a friendly mailbox!

And to end this exciting ride, I had to dismount the damn bike, which is always a challenge for me! As I was coming into the TA, I slowed down again and yelled at the girl behind me: "Speed up and pass me because I really suck at dismounting and I will take us both out!" She obliged and of course, true to my pattern, I un-clipped my right leg and tried to put it down. Now, the road was cambered and I choose to plant the leg on the lower side of the road--BIG MISTAKE!! Imagine if you will a girl on a bike that is slightly too tall for her, trying to stop and land a foot on ground that is sloping away from her. As you can easily picture, I fail to make contact with the road, fall onto my top tube and further hurt my poor lady part, and then, in VERY SLOW MOTION, completely wiped out. The entire gallery of cheering fans gasp in unison, while I quickly unclip the left leg, jump up, and proclaim "I am OK, it happens all of the time." Meanwhile, Christian is near the TA and I yell to him "Did you get a picture of that because it would be great to post?" Of course, he did not....so alas, you only get the mental image!!

Ride more.
Learn to ride in aero.
Try to fall less.
Buy a new bike.

Good T2 because I was so happy to be off that damn bike!!

Be faster!!!

Err...this was not good! The first four miles rocked and I was around 38 minutes at mile 4. Then at mile 5, my right ITB flared and I thought I was done. I had to walk for about 6 minutes to try to get the pain in check. I decided I was going to finish the HIM if I had to walk the last 8 miles!!!

So, I did run/walk (3:1) for a while. Then I had to walk miles 10, 11, and 12 because of the cambered road surface. But, in the end, I finished and was not sore at all the next day (except for the ITB) because I did not push it :)

Not have ITBS.
Take in a gel or some calories on the run.

Kissed Christian, smiled and chatted a lot, found WakeMan and ate some food :)


Not training enough!!! Injuries and general spastic-ness! Being 15 lbs overweight :)


I loved this race! It was absolutely fantastic! I cannot wait to do another HIM!!!! WOO HOO!!!!