My parents came down to the swim area with me and helped me zip up my wetsuit. I didn't know anyone there, so it was nice to have them keep me company. At one point, an older gentleman came over and asked if I'd zip up his wetsuit, so I did, and then all these other people came over and asked. I became the official wetsuit zipper upper. One was a hot tri guy, but my parents were there, so I didn't make a move :). haha (That was a joke, I wouldn't have made a move sans parents either.)

The race started like 25 minutes late and I started to feel hungry right before the swim.

I was in the 3rd wave (waves were 3 mins apart). I decided to start at the front of the pack b/c in my last two tris last season, I started in the back and I think that hurt me. Starting in the front this time was a good idea. I must've gotten a better jump than most, b/c I really didn't have that stressful a swim start. Just a little bit of kicking, but no one was swimming over me or anything.

I felt really strong during the whole swim. I did feel a little hungry too. While setting up my transition area, I ate like 1/2 a power bar. During the whole swim, I was trying to remember where I may have put it so that perhaps I could get another bite before I leave T1. I think that kept my mind off the swim. The buoys were kinda small and I had a hard time spotting them on occasion. I just followed the swimmers. I ran into a lot of people from the waves in front of me when I rounded the last buoy and started the homestretch. I hate not being in the first wave, b/c it's frustrating when you run into a wall of people in the water. I ran out of the water and caught a glimpse of my parents' faces. I could tell by looking at them that I had had a really good swim :).

Take two or three more strokes before standing up and running out of the water. Otherwise, I was really happy with the swim. Loved it!

There was a really long run from the swim exit to the timing pad, which is why I am surprised T1 took me so long. I had my goggles, cap, and top half of wetsuit off by the time I reached my transition area. I felt like I got the bottom of my wetsuit off pretty quickly. The girl next to me was having some trouble with her wetsuit, so I suggested she try doing what I do - stand on it with the foot opposite of the one you're trying to pull out of the wetsuit.

I got my helmet and sunglasses on quickly. I dried my left foot, but forgot to dry the right foot, and then slipped on my socks and shoes. I've never raced with a gel, but plan on taking two during the bike of my Oly later this month, so I figured I should practice. I didn't know where to put it (my tri suit doesn't have the little slots), so I stuck it in the pant leg of my tri suit (down at the bottom). It seemed to work. (This was a decision I had made before the race started.)

I actually ran pretty quickly with my bike and passed people out of T1. FUN! :)

Maybe stop helping other people and focus on my own transition! :) I tend to get a little chatty in there. haha

Well, unfortunately, I had forgotten to reset my cyclocomputer, so I was a little lost throughout the ride...wasn't sure what avg speed was, what my distance was, or how long I had been on there.

The first few miles were great. I was holding it steady right around 21 mph and passing lots of people. Then, we turned onto this one road and there was a headwind. I don't think it was that strong, but it reduced me to 17.5-18 mph and I just couldn't get above that no matter how hard I worked. This road lasted about 4-5 miles I guess. It was a good portion of the ride. I got passed by a few people, but less than what I had passed earlier so that was good. Then, I turned off that road and onto another one that just had a light crosswind. The wind didn't bother me, but I was having the hardest time finding a comfortable gear. I was still going rather slowly (like 18 or so) and held that for another few miles. I don't know if it was the road surface or a false flat or what. My legs felt great, but I could not find a gear that allowed me to settle back into that 20-21 mph pace. I was only passed by two people during that time - it was two females with sweet tri bikes and rockin' bodies. The second girl that passed was actually drafting off the first girl. As they were passing, I finally found my comfortable gear and was ready to pick it up. I felt weird passing them immediately after they passed me as it would be embarrasing to me if they just passed me right away again, and it would be annoying to them. So, I held back for about a minute or two and watched as the second girl continued to draft off the first. Then, I made my move and passed...they never passed me again and I held a great speed till the end.

With about 5 minutes to go, I ate my gel. The pant leg thing worked wonderfully. Unfortunately, I didn't eat the whole gel, so when I put it in my pant leg again, i put it in there upside down and I had gu running all down my leg :). oh well.

I am a little disappointed with my time, but honestly I felt as though I was giving 100% during those "slow" periods of mine, so I can't be too angry with myself.

I should have passed those two girls immediately. It may have cut like 45 seconds off my time. But, I can't say for sure.

This was a pretty good T2, and I ranked pretty highly overall.

My legs felt really heavy as I was running to my transition area with my bike. But, but the time I got my shoes on and headed out, they felt great!

Started out the run breathing very heavily. Everything else felt fine, but I was breathing really hard. It was weird, b/c I haven't breathed that hard in forever on a run. It was actually getting really annoyed and I considered slowing it down a bit so I could get my breathing on track. I decided to keep pace, though, and that was a good thing. I guess my breathing was at its normal by about the 1-mile mark.

I felt really good during the run.

Oh, at one of the water stations, a girl was standing there holding a cup and I ran by and grabbed it from her. I should've slowed down a bit, b/c when I grabbed it, water splashed up everywhere. Before I could get out an, "I'm sorry," the girl starts screaming: "Ewwww, ewww, that is so gross, oh my god, that is disgusting, I got water all over me...." Her behavior was so uncalled for that I decided she didn't deserve my apology. I mean, it was only water. It's not like it was gatorade and she was going to have juice stuck to her all day, it's not like I was handing her a cup I had been drinking out of. It was clean, fresh water that splashed on her on a warm spring day. She was a little ridiculous. I do feel bad about it, but her behavior was crazy and uneccessary. I kept running.

This was my PB for a 5K. For anyone that's been following my lots, you know that my runs have been faster during my bricks than they are when I just run, so I am not terribly surprised that I ran so fast (well, fast for me).

Run faster. I felt great when I finished and actually picked it up at the end. I probably could have run faster throughout. But I have no regrets on the run.

Chatted with the parents a little, grabbed some food, met some BTers. I didn't stretch at all, but I should have b/c I could tell during my ride today. Oh well...lessons learned.


Nothing. Physically and mentally, I was 100% I think


I really liked this race. I will probably do it again next year. It started late, but so far all the races I've down through DQ have started late, so I guess I should just come to expect that.