Good swim. Not as fast as I was hoping for, and I don't have an explanation for that, except that it was a 50m pool rather than a 25m pool. Maybe I get more off my push offs than I think. In any case, I did fine. Adequately well. I passed quite a few people. One guy passed me. I tried to draft off of him, but he was just out of range. For a while, I thought I was going to pass him back, but he stayed just in front of me the whole swim. Climbed out at the ladder.

I just need to keep practicing. I really didn't delay at any of the walls. I dove under the line markers well, got good push off. Free style the whole way. Breathing was relaxed. I was calm and focused.

Long run from the pool, through Salt City Splash, into the parking lot where transition was. That run just seemed to take forever.

I struggled a little getting my shoes on, but they eventually slipped on, and I was off. We had been advised not to run with our bikes in the transition area, and I did see some people walking with them, but I just couldn't do it. I didn't sprint, but I did jog with my bike to the mount line.

I probably didn't go quite hard enough on the bike. But it was my best leg, ranking wise. The problem with the 2.1 mile loop x 5 is that you do a lot of passing. Once the pups were on the road, I had to be very careful. One little girl was riding clear to the left -- other people were on the right. It was tricky. If I had better bike fitness, I might have gained enough time to podium. The two women who beat me in this leg rode 18.3 and 17.6 mph.

Passed Ben on my final lap, just before the turn off to the transition area. He looked good -- working hard.

I was shaky off the bike -- took a few seconds to change my shoes.

Ben caught me at the beginning of the run -- I didn't know he was also on his last loop of the bike. We ran together for a while -- he stopped to walk a couple times and then caught back up with me.

I took the first mile pretty easy, too easy. I picked up the pace in the second mile, and then I tried to give it all I had on the last mile, but I should have pushed harder. I think I could have. Still, this is now my fastest 5k.

Not much to do differently. Just keep running.

Ate a banana and a couple mini cupcakes. Boy, they were good. Had some ART done on my right hip. She really worked the bursa. Ouch.


I need more training and more time.

The overall female winner did this in 1:06:06

First in my age group: 1:09:56 (3rd female overall)
Second in my age group: 1:15:22
Third in my age group: 1:15:27
Fourth (me!!!): 1:19:03 -- Where can I pick up four minutes (I'm not even going to hope for ten minutes)? One in transition; one (maybe two) on the swim; three on the bike; and maybe I can squeeze one more minute out of the run.

Such diversity in this age grouping -- we had the third fastest female overall and the very last finisher.