My swim is still all about survival, so I am actually pretty happy with this performance. I had no panic issues at all, and there were a few moments that I thought "maybe I should try a little harder...this is a race". But I was able to talk myself down, thankfully, and I finished with exerting very little effort on that swim. I was overtaken by the orange cap group (you know who you are - M35-39) who were quite a bit more aggressive, so there was a bit of leg grabbing and such, but I was fine. I actually liked the contact from the other swimmers, because it meant that I wasn't too far off course. The few times I found myself alone, I would stop to look around pretty sure I had swum off into no-mans land.

Nothing. I'm hopeful that in races to come I will have my panic issues worked out so I can actually start 'racing' the swim.

This may seem slow, but I was pretty happy with this time. When I stood up in the water one of the volunteers took my hand, steadied me, and unzipped my wetsuit for me. He then pushed me up the hill where a wetsuit stripper just manhandled me to get my suit off. They were awesome!! I cannot thank all the volunteers enough! I must have looked like I was in a daze because the stripper took my hand, laid me on the ground and said "just lay there, I'll do everything else." That gave me the giggles, of course, and it took me a minute to get back up. When my suit came off, so did my timing chip (even with a safety pin), but it was easy to get back on.

A good portion of T1 was on grass, and there were so many thorns in my feet by the time I got to my bike, I had to pick them out before getting on my socks and shoes, and then it took some time to get all my cold weather gear on. I chatted with another age grouper while we got dressed, and just took my time. The hardest part was carrying my bike out of transition. There were so many thorns and so many flat tires on this course, just from the transition area, that the race officials strongly encouraged you to carry your bike to the mount line.

Nothing

I really took it easy on the bike. My garmin was running, but I had it on the setting where I only saw the actually time, so I didn't know what my pace was. Being from Mississippi, I just don't train on hills, so I decided that with the chest cold and the lack of hill training, I would take it easy.

That meant I was able to really take in some great moments. At about mile 30 (I think) there was a mom with her two daughters feeding their horses. I'll never forget that image; it was really beautiful. The worst part of the course was between miles 50-56. There were times that it was impossible to pass the person in front of you, and also at that point there was a pretty brutal headwind.

Overall I was happy with the bike. The first hour was painful because of the cold, and my body was shivering pretty bad, but when the sun came out it warmed up nicely.

Nothing

This was definitely the worst part of my race. I guess it's not too bad if the worst part of your race is transition, so I'm not complaining!!

So...I get off my bike, feeling pretty good, and I start trotting down my row toward my gear bag. I know DH is already gone, since he passed me on mile 10 of the bike, but I still want to see his bike, and in my mind his bike should come before my bag. Somehow I had this all wrong in my head!! I run a bit further than I think I should, past DH's bike, to the end of the row. Then I realize 'the numbers are going up, not down.' So I run back the other way. Now I'm a bit frantic and end up running to the other end of the row (still lugging my bike along). Then I realize I have passed my gear bag again! I stop for a couple seconds look around at the spectators who are watching me in awe, take a couple of deep breaths, and think to myself 'please don't let anyone be filming this!' Eventually I found my bag, and in my frantic state of mind, left my inhaler in my bike jersey.

Not worry about DH. Ever since I became a mom, I feel like I have to keep tabs on everyone. I just wanted to see his bike to make sure that he was OK, and had gotten off the bike safely.

I had a pretty good run, overall. I didn't even look at my watch until the last couple of miles. The first loop went very well, and I drank water, gatorade, or coke at the aid stations. I chewed two stinger chomps every half hour or so throughout the entire race.

The second lap went well, also, but I was starting to get tired making my second round. Just before I started my third lap I saw my kids and in-laws, gave some high fives, and smiled for the next couple of miles. I felt kind of silly, because I couldn't stop smiling and laughing...until about mile 10. My chest had been getting pretty tight, and I was very aware that I did not have my inhaler. At the water stop near mile 10 I stopped to walk a couple step to drink my water, and instantly felt like I was drowning. My chest was tightening up, and I knew that if I stopped I would likely suffer a pretty bad asthma attack. So, I decided that I would push through to the end, and deal with it there. The last 2 miles were tough, but I relished the finish with a big smile on my face. I gave high fives to anyone willing, and danced and cheered, I'm sure making a fool of myself. It was a beautiful finish for me!!

Remember my inhaler

I was sad that I couldn't stay around the finish when I was done. DH had finished about 5 minutes before I crossed the line, and he whisked me to my gear bag, which was very close to the finish, to retrieve my inhaler. I spent about 10 minutes coughing, gagging, and wheezing (and spitting...which my father-in-law caught on video)!


Let me take a minute to talk about racing with a chest cold. I have heard, like most of you, if your illness is above the neck: race, if below the neck: don't race. I cannot stress this enough. I went in to this race knowing it was not a wise decision, but I didn't have the will power to just say no. I am now suffering from severe bronchitis with fevers/chills, etc, and am on antibiotics. I can barely speak, and I have suffered more in the three days since the race than I did during the race. DH asked me at 4am this morning as I coughed and gagged on the side of the bed "was it worth it?" I won't answer that...but think about this before racing with a chest cold.

Obviously the things mentioned in my race report limited my performace, but I would like to use this section to say what enhanced my performance, also!

My training was very solid going in to this race, and I believe that really helped carry me past any obstacles I had to deal with. I had rehearsed the race in my head, and I felt very comfortable with my race plan (DH joked that my plan was 'I don't have a plan' that was the genius of it). It was really nice going in without expectations.

My BT support group made this race so much better!! I thought about the Mys-tri Tour throughout the race, and others on BT that have been so encouraging to me. Their strenghts, their struggles, just everything. It's so nice to know in an individual sport like triathlon, that there are so many people with you along the way!


I was really impressed with this race. I hear people complain a bit about the road conditions, and, while they are not good, there is nothing the race director can do about that, and they are rideable. The volunteers were FANTASTIC, and I never felt like I was on my own without support anywhere on that course.