I lost site of the first buoy right off the bat- nevermind I usually tend to veer to the left anyway, but the sun was glaring right into where the buoys were lined up, uggh. If I was a faster swimmer and able to stay with the pack, that would've helped, but alas, sharkbait over here is twice as slow as everyone. I was fine once I got back on course, but good grief, I lost a lot of time in the first few hundred meters. I got out of the water right as the last sprinter was finishing.

Find the buoy? I don't know. Once I realized the sun was in line with the buoys, i just "followed the light", LOL.

I stopped at the bathroom and took my suit off there- suit of course got stuck on clunky timing chip. Easy to find my bike when everyone else's were gone! This was my first Olympic race and given that I usually have to pee during a sprint, I figured I'd better get it out of my system right away while the bathroom was right there.

Didn't know what to expect here in terms of performace as I hadn't ridden this distance in well over a year. Course had more rolling hills than I thought it would and while the first 25k felt fine, I started slowing down on the remainder of the course. I was the only one out there for most of the second loop so I just enjoyed my little solo bike ride through the beautiful park. This was the first time using a bento box which was nice- no fumbling with pockets, which worked out well since I put a long sleeved shirt on over my jersey in T1.

I forgot to raise my bike seat after the Chicago Tri and I felt like I was losing a lot of power because of that. My right hip started getting kind of upset during the last half, and I don't know if that's a bike fit issue or a training/body issue.

Felt silly pulling into transition with everyone else who'd finished already waiting for me to show up so they could get their stuff. Grabbed my hat, race belt & bottle and headed out.

T2 IS MY BEST EVENT.

This run made me happy. I kind of liked that, again, I was pretty much the only one out there for the majority of the run (although everyone I passed on the way out told me good job, super friendly race!) It was beauitful and peaceful, a huge change from the runs I'm used to in the city! The trail provided just enough turns and hills to be interesting but not terribly challenging. I stuck to my 10 min run/2 min walk plan except on the meanest hill which I walked up. Took a wrong turn towards the end (little footpath leading down to the lake) but that only cost me a few seconds. One of the nice volunteers found me and ran with me on the last 1/4 mile as they thought no one was left out there and torn down most of the course signage for the last portion. She ran me to the finish line which was super sweet- and there were plenty of people there to cheer for me :)

Nothing. The run is my most confident leg of the race.

Light stretching, nothing fancy. Took a walk to the grocery store and did some foam rolling once I got home.


Poor sighting on the swim, lack of training on the bike.


Really nice group of people putting on this race. Thanks to the sag vehicle that escorted me on the last loop of the bike (and then got out and cheered as I passed) and all the volunteers who stood out in the woods while I was the last one finishing up.