My strategy worked out pretty well: started at the front right next to the buoy and stayed on the inside track the whole time. i was able to sprint out in the front pack and just stay there so i didnt have to worry about sighting too much. just looked up every 25m or so to make sure i was still heading for the next buoy. was able to pass some people rounding the buoys, since it seemed to get bogged down there.
I was really lucky to get next to a girl who was swimming at a good pace; we swam right next to each other the entire time. About half way through I started passing people with blue caps (the previous wave) and then, towards, the end it got pretty choppy and crowded with white (mine), blue and even red caps. i had to do some defensive driving to pass a girl with a white cap at the very end. turns out she wasnt in my ag, but it was still fun to sprint it out to the end.

weird note: the three guys that i know from Rice Water polo (my bf, my coach and another friend) doing the olympic all finished the swim in less than one minute under my time (all in the 25 minute range).

Work more on my pull so that i could save my legs a little better.

Ok, this was absolutely pathetic. i didnt even have a wetsuit to worry about. i was seriously disoriented getting out of the water and i walked quite a bit of the long haul into transition. then, a camera crew was all in my face asking me questions about how the swim went. i just sucked on this transition. i did manage to drink a lot of gatorade and get my socks, shoes, gloves, helmet and sunglasses on. technically fine, just slower than slow.

run from the swim to T1 (not walk part way). get my act together and get on the bike!!!!

Got into my pedals right away, thankfully. I am still working on being 100% comfortable on my bike, so I was v glad I didnt have any technical problems during the race. Was able to keep a good pace and pass quite a few people right away. I felt like I was flying on the downhills--the course felt so fast. A couple of hills were a bit steep and i felt like i was crawling, but i tried to keep the revolutions up and managed to recover pretty quickly.
felt pretty strong and consistent until the last loop, when my hamstrings (and the muscle right behind my knees, weird) started getting a little fatigued. backed it off a little to save some legs for the run.
my bf caught up to me at the last quarter mile of the bike (he was on his first loop of the bike since his wave started a good 45 min following mine). glad to see a familiar face, even if it was only for a minute. dismount was fine, but slow.

Learn how to drink on the bike--yep, i drank none of my gatorade. i just didnt want to risk falling or dropping my water bottle and having to go back for it. i am so uncoordinated.
I need to practice my hill climbing and also cornering/bike handling. basically, i need a lot more practice in the saddle before i can expect to improve my speed.

Ok, repeat of pitiful T1. Just really slow. I had readjust my bike three times. I drank a lot of Gatorade to make up for my poor hydration on the bike. Ate my Gu on the run out of T2.

Drink on the bike. Practice racking my bike.

Ok, but I felt zapped by the heat. It was cloudy and even a little rainy on the bike, but the sun came out in full force for the run. wonderful. Spectators must have thought I was near death. Slow, consistent shuffle--but i did not walk! yay for that. It was slow, but I am not that surprised. I just suck on the run. I am working on it.
I need to practice some bricks, to get used to the dead leg feeling. My hr hovered at about 173-175, which is not that high for me. i wanted to go faster, and i think i physically could have, i just couldnt get my legs to cooperate. it was a weird feeling. i was feeling ok, but hot, the entire time--i just could not go any faster.

Practice more bricks and practice running in the heat.

Just chilled and ate popsicles and stretched and waited for my friends to finish.


Poor practice of transitions. Poor practice running in heat and not enough running after biking.


For my first Olympic, I was very happy overall. I had a great time on the course and I exceeded my expectations. Very well organized race. I will definitely try to do this one again next year to (greatly) improve my time!