Absolutely my best race swim ever (I don't count the two river swims with the current). There was a bit of a current going in the right direction, if that's possible in a lake. You could see the water moving on the surface. Also, it's a point to point swim, so a bit of a draft is set up. I felt good, on point, and swam mostly straight. I made sure to get my wetsuit into place and all in all no complaints.

I swam right into the exit zone, saw the mat, stood up, and made good time out of the water.

I am surprised this wasn't slower. I ran into T quickly, but then I lost focus a little. Then I tried to leave without my bike shoes, and had to go back. I tried to dry my glasses and couldn't, so stuck them in my top. Really unnecessary.

Think about transition as I am heading there, I always struggle with focus.

This was pretty slow. I didn't really feel the rain affected my pace, although perhaps the wet pavement does slow things down for everyone. I just have a crappy power to weight ratio going this year, totally my fault. Overall I think I executed this pretty well. I passed many people, quite definitively. I knew this would be quite a bit slower than last year when I checked my watch 4 miles from transition and I was only 10 minutes from my 2011 time. Oh well, not a huge surprise.

This is a training and weight issue.

This was faster than I thought it would be. I had no trouble getting on my shoes, grabbed my hat and belt, and was off. It's kind of a big transition area, though, which is why I thought it would be slower.

This is a HUGE deal for me! I ran very confidently, even though I did push myself on the bike. Only on a few small inclines did I feel fatigued. I stopped for a few seconds at the first water stop to take a drink, but I shouldn't have bothered. It was pretty amazing, helped greatly by the overcast sky and rain. It was a drizzle when I started but rained steadily toward the end so there were puddles. I'm absolutely pleased as punch about this run!

I noticed that if I focused on counting my breaths/steps and stayed in rhythm I could maintain my pace and not overdo it. When I was listening to conversation, or once when a song got stuck in my head, I would get "off" and then need to recoup a little. I am familiar with my good rhythm so I need to keep focused on that in these shorter/faster runs, since it really helps.

Nothing!

Right away after my finish I found Bob and we decided to pack up the car. Awards wouldn't be for about 25-30 minutes. We did that and I changed in the bathroom, I was filthy from road grime! When the results were posted I saw "1/1" for my placement, so I knew I had won Athena so we'd wait for awards. They get started and it's apparent they have a data problem with my category, so they skip Athena at first. Geesh! Jerry asked if there were even any Athenas and I raised my hand. Finally he called me over and I said that the overall standings showed the 1/1, so that seemed right, and they gave me the award. I got a HUGE trophy and a gift certificate to Excel Cycle. Jerry went on for a minute about how I was "really good and surely must have won" and then after announcing my name he says "I like your shorts". What a hoot! All of the obviously Athena girls should really enter this division, but in the meantime I will happily accept the spoils.

This just solidifies my plan to stick to sprints. Winning is fun, but aside from that I just enjoyed the experience much more. Of course having the cool rainy day plays to my strengths as well.