Started out well. OWS practice definitely helped. The swim to the first buoy was good but after that I was being blown off course. I went to sighting every 8 instead of 12 and felt like my sighting was strong but still ended up going pretty wide. DH said was happening to others too. Maybe those of us who weren't in the lead pack.

Also the water was choppy, had some trouble getting a good breath after the first buoy.

I don't know, maybe try to practice in choppy water. Not really use to that.

Long time was a combination of a long run up from the beach, taking of a wetsuit standing in sand, helping a first timer, and dealing with getting a bike off of a rack that was too high. All of the bikes were dangling so it was hard to remove the bike without hitting others and I had a large bag where I would normally stand to try to keep my bike from twisting in the wind.

After the run through the sand to the mount line I hopped on and realized i'd forgotten to leave my bike in an easy gear (I'd had it on the big ring to look cool on the bike rack)

Remeber to change my gears, maybe handle the bag differently. So much that went wrong today was due to fluke circumstances which are difficult to plan/prepare/train for.

The bike started going down a decline on very rough/patched roads, off to a fairly good start other than the rough road. After the turn-around the work started. It was a 1700 foot climb over 12 miles. That would probably have been a nice ride save for the sustained 25 mph winds. By the summit of the 12 miles I was so tired of hills!

I'd planned to take in some nutrition on the bike. I ate two/fourths of a honey stinger waffle while going down hill. I'd planned to take in more but once I started dealing with the wind my stomach didn't want to eat any more.

I started having trouble breathing too. For the first six miles or so of the climb I was tired but feeling like I could finish strong. By the time I got to the top I was looking forward to the downhill but concerned about having anything in the tank for a 6.8 mile run.

The down hill rocked! I tucked in, grabbed a big gear and headed down with the wind at my back. GPS would have been fun to see the speed difference between the uphill (5 mph at times) and down (max on cyclocomputer is 37!)

While cruising downhill I felt "validated" I felt like although it had been tough I had finished the 12 mile climb in the wind! I thought I'm no longer a poser!

Again, it was a fluke race. I train on hills and I train in the wind but 12 miles uphill into those winds is hard to train for! Maybe simulate it on the drainer, but hopefully I won't deal with this often!

By this time I was mentally and physically exhausted. That coupled with trying to get my bike back on the too-high rack and I thought I was going to throw in the towell. I hit my head on the skewer of the next bike and just about lost it. I almost cried in transition! My DH and adult son were there (one benefit of a small transition area) and they told me to relax and just start out easy. So I did.

?

I started slow and walked more than I'd care to admit. It would have been a pretty run save for the prior events. The first water station was about a mile in but felt closer to 3. I knew going in that the run was Xterra but wasn't expecting it to be quite so mountain-goat-esque. My exhasted legs and troubled breathing were not conducive for this running.

My DH and son came around the lake to cheer me on at about the 2 mile spot. On the first lap I was trying to convince myself to just quit and verbalized this to my son. Told him I didn't deserve the finisher medal anyway. My son knows me too well. He told me I don't quit. Back to the run/walk. The validation feeling from the bike had turned to a walk of shame.

The first time on the dam I hooked up with 24 year old Amanda. We hung together until about the last mile. I had nothing more and Amanda wanted to run. I did run part of the dam and, of course, I ran the last half mile or so.

Oh where to begin...

I train in the heat. I live in the desert! But today it was desert 1, tj 0.

I couldn't go easier on the bike to save something for the legs, so?

I hobbled to a cooler to sit down and my DH brought me a water and a gatorade.


Heat, wind, need to train "tougher"


There were almost no volunteers on the bike course. There was one at the turn to the main road, one at the lower turn and one at the upper turn, not even one at the turnaround, just a sign. Probably not a big deal as it was a straight shot. They advertised an aid station on the bike which was not there, after that climb some people probably could have used it.

The TriUtah people were wonderful and I would gladly do another one of their races, but probably not this one! Might consider the sprint because my son wants to do the Xterra sport next year.

A grueling day to be sure.