In the swim line, Joel started 10 seconds before me. I jumped in and started my swim. I could tell all my extra swimming has paid off. I wasn't fast, but it felt smooth, and before I knew it the swim was over and I was headed into transition

Nothing, I am not a strong swimmer, but I have been working on it and this was good for me

T1 was just COLD. Joel was already there. I put on my cycling shoes, helmet, put my arm warmers around my wrists like bracelets so I could pull them up once my arms dried, grabbed my bike, and told Joel I'd see him out there

Nothing

The bike started with a hill, but my adrenaline was pumping so I made it up that first hill without a hitch. After that hill I was able to pull up my arm warmers and felt better with that warmth. The course continued going up and down with the hills. Since it was a sprint tri I was able to stay in the big ring and stand up and hammer to get up the hills, I don't do this on long races, but on a short race for me its fine. On the descents and flats I was able to get in a nice tuck and aero position, I felt fast! After about mile 6 I could hardly feel my feet anymore, it was so cold, but I was still able to keep my power up. I ended up having the 3rd fastest bike split out of all the women.

Nothing, I was proud of myself for doing so well with the hills, I have no hills to train on here in pancake land

T2 was rough because I couldn't feel my feet. I got my bike shoes off and struggled to get my running shoes on because my feet were so cold and numb. Managed to get the running shoes on, took the helmet off, put on the running hat and race belt. I kept my arm warmers on since it was so cold

bought toe warmers

he run started with a hill, I am glad this hill was at the very beginning, it was fairly steep, and I knew that I would be running down this hill on the way back to the finish line. As I was running up this hill I spotted Joel finishing up the bike course, so I knew he would be close behind. For the first mile I couldn't feel my feet and it felt like I was running with my feet encased in 2 ice blocks. At about the half way point of the run, the course switched to a trail run which was fun. At this point I could feel my feet so I was starting to pick up the pace. The run left the trail with about a half mile to go. Had a nice run down that hill that was at the start of the run, and made the turn into the finisher's chute

Nothing

My friend Bill was already at the finish line with his daughter. He had a good race and finished in 1:11:11. Chatted with him for awhile about the race and we waited for Joel. Joel came in finishing strong at 1:20:41. Having the right gear this time and all the training he has been doing has really paid off, he improved his time from September by over 20 minutes, and that was a flat course. I was really proud of him.We waited for our friend Paul to finish. Paul also finished strong at 1:39:56, and since this was his first tri, crossing that finish line meant he is now officially a triathlete. Great race with great friends!

I won my age group, women 25-29, which surprised me a lot because I am not a strong hill climber


The cold temperatures


Setup events always put on great races!