I was shooting for a 30 minute swim and I was a little slower than I expected. I didn't get overly tired and breathing was ok. I swam a little bit off course a couple of times.

Try to draft a little bit more.

I need a little practice with transitions. Could've easily shaved two minutes or more off my overall time which would have moved me up 7 places in my AG and 35 in the overall!

Practice, practice, practice.

I felt good on the bike. I was a little slow to get going because I ran barefoot out of transition with my shoes on the pedals and by the time I got out of T1 there was a lot of dirt/mud/rocks on my feet so I had to wipe them off before I mounted the bike. Once I got going I felt good. Going over the first street bridge for the first time was when I noticed the incredible crowd support that comes out for this race. It was absolutely incredible. The course was very fun and fast. I enjoyed hammering, especially on the downhill on Congress and Cesar Chavez. I guess the only problem I had was that I ran out drink by the end of the third lap. Maybe that affected my run a little bit. My frame only fits one bottle cage, so maybe I need to get the bottle that is mounted on the aerobars. I saw one on the course that someone had dropped, maybe I should've stopped to pick it up! :)

Not much. Maybe go faster! Probably run with shoes on out of T1?

Same story with the dirt and mud. Wiped my feet off on my towel and put socks on.

Do everything FASTER!

First couple of miles were good and I kept a steady pace around 8 min/mi (My 10K PR is 7.2 pace). By this time it was very hot and humid, and suddenly I started overheating and feeling crappy. I started pouring water on my head and at one point I even put some ice inside my hat and in my jersey to try and keep my core temperature down. At this point it was hard to sustain 9.5 min/mi pace. I started walking through the aid stations making sure I drank enough water and let those girls with the water guns give me a good soak! I saw Dennis a couple of times, Aaron, David, Celeste, Colleen and Polly out on the course. I saw Desiree Ficker a couple of times cheering people on and when I passed by I almost stopped to declare my love for her! ;)

Stop and declare my love to her!!!

Met with the other BTers below the red tent and hung out, tried to stretch a little. We saw Desiree again and we all took a picture with her.


Probably the heat.


Overall organization and support was great. I liked the race a lot. Maybe waves could start a little earlier so it doesn't get too hot outside for those who start on the later waves.

Had lots of fun and will surely be back next year!