I consider the swim a strength and was telling my husband before the race that the distance was only half of what I swam in my race last year. He joked that since I'm generally a good swimmer, maybe I should do the swim distance twice. This turn out to be prophetic! I have no idea what happened, but I got very disoriented, directionally, at the last buoy. I went the wrong direction and then I could not figure out the right way to go! So, I spent some very productive time essentially swimming in a circle, until the wave behind me came though and I swam in with that wave. My poor husband on the shore was worried when he didn't see me come in with the other "orange caps" in my wave.

Well, I'll be spending some time working on sighting before my next race!

Very nice quick transition. I was not going to let my swim goof-up ruin my focus.

Well, I'm still not speedy on the bike, but this was a big improvement for me over last year. It was my first race with a real road bike, clipless pedals, and racing along car traffic. As a beginning cycler I just wanted to feel comfortable and confident on the course with my bike, gear properly, and maintain a nice 85-90 cadence. Mission accomplished!

Still need to work on getting more drinking in on the bike.

Very nice transition for me!

Nothing.

The cross-country course was challenging for me. I am very protective of my joints and tendons so I ran slowly and carefully - I did not want to turn an ankle or twist a knee. I don't run trails anymore so I am just not adapted to this type of running. I felt really great on the pavement sections though. I was actually surprised my overall pace wasn't slower given how cautious I was.

Really, not much. I could have probably pushed a bit more at the end, but I'll save that for my next race.

Just did some walking around, followed by my stretching routine.


Aside from goofing up on the swim, I was happy with my performance here. This is my first race of the season, and I really saw it as a "just get out there" kind of race.


This is only my second race, so I'm not sure how qualified I am to rate it. My only gripe was the lack of restroom facilities and resulting long lines. People in line were getting nervous that they were going to miss their wave start (I was in the last women's wave so it was not a problem for me). I would have liked a second drink station on the run, but that's because I'm still not so great and drinking and riding. The volunteers were very friendly.