WOW. that was so difficult. i didn't realize how choppy and windy it was that morning until i started swimming. i stayed to the outside at the start (left, same side as buoy) and ran into the water. jeremy stayed w/ me until right before the wave started, it helped me stay calm. i wasnt as nervous as i had been during my first tris, but there were definitely some butterflies. I ran out until i couldn't really touch anymore. i had seen other girls start to swim, then realize it was too shallow and run again. i knew i didnt want to do that. after the right turn to the swim straight away, i stayed on the far left of the course. i'm not sure how i got there, but i was not around anyone which was great. i tend not to worry about other people or getting kicked, but it was good to be alone regardless. I normally don't use my legs, but given the bad conditions I did what I could not to drown. I saw some people getting their wetsuits stripped off by volunteers while still in the water. This is what I did. I didn't want to have to run through to the transition point w/ it on. This helped SOOO much.

Not a lot. More open water swims in all different weather conditions. Take off wetsuit ASAP. Noticed while swimming that my wetsuit strap was in my armpit basically the whole swim. MAJOR CHAFFING = ouch! Don't do that again.

Didn't know where my chamois butt cream was. I realized I didn't remember setting it out before the swim, but the transition area was closed. I had to look through my bag quick, but I found it....thank god. After the swim I was very short of breath while running to the transition area I thought, how can I finish this? I have nothing left. The swim killed me. But I kept going, I ran when I could to the transition, others walked. I went through the motions to get on to the bike where I knew I could try to relax and breathe.

make sure butt cream is out. Calm down!! Relish in the fact that the swim is over and you have a long bike to relax on. Socks on bike? Maybe try a ride w/o them or leave shoes clipped in? just some thoughts as I saw other girls do it.

It took me about 20 miles to get comfortable. I know that seems ridiculous, but my legs were not right. I don't know if they were still tired from previous workouts, but I remember thinking, WTF? When I rode in Madison, yes, it was hard but my legs felt great, this was not the case in Racine. The bike is my most difficult event. We have a love/hate relationship. This was my second long ride with my aero bars and I love them. I was not able to stay in aero position as much as I like. My butt and legs were sore. Despite not feeling 100%, I kept going. The mile markers kept coming, 20, 30, 40, and I was getting excited to get off the bike. Jeremy caught up and passed me, but it was a good morale boost. It seems like I get passed by the entire race every time I ride, but I just keep going. It inspired me to see older athletes (you can see their age on their calves). A rode behind a 70 y/o guy and a 67 y/o woman (who of course had the ironman tat) and thought how amazing it would be to do this at their age. The nutrition plan seemed to work. I had 2 bottles of water and 2 bottles of preform. I had 3 gu gels. I was so sick of gu at this point. I never got out of the saddle. KEEP SPINNING. I also figured out I could do the bike in under 4 hours, then under 3 and a half hours. I wanted to beat 3:30 and I kept that time in mind. I saw my mom almost at the end of the bike, closer to the transition area, this was great! No dad, who I later learned couldn't come cause of my grandma.

Tape gu to bike frame properly, I almost lost them all. My legs were weak, butt hurt. Taper further away from race day maybe? Don't pay attention to the people already running. You will get there too, it's not a competition with them, but yourself.

In and out real fast! Bike shoes off, running shoes on w/o tying laces, just slipped feet in. Grabbed visor. didn't fix hair and booked it. I used my racing belt, had 3 more gu gels in the zip pocket. Armpit was really raw and hurting. I tried to smear glide in armpit, but wouldn't stick cause I was too sweaty. I also grabbed some sunscreen from a volunteer, not a great idea as I was too sweaty. I saw my mom and Becky leaving transition, great to see some familiar faces.

What to bring for chaffing armpit? Vasoline? Wno knows, again try not to swim w/ wetsuit strap in armpit.

First few miles were great and probably too fast. The Garmin said I was doing 8:45-9:20 min/miles. That's too fast to start, not to worry cause it sure didn't last. The Racine run course has some hills which were cruel, but I refused to walk them. I stuck to the walking every aid station. I used to think this was a bad idea (like in Pleasant Prairie) but I looked forward to each one. I could feel my knees thanking me with each passing mile when they got a short break. My stomach scared me. It was not feeling normal at all. I was bloated and thought I was going to puke. I did not want to drink anything. I ate 1 gu and knew that another was NOT an option. I was offically gu'd out. I didn't want to eat anything, but knew I had too. This is where I fell in live w/ oranges. I knew I needed sugar/calories so I grabbed 2 oranges slices at every aid station and squeezed them in my mouth. I also alternated between water and preform at every aid station, even if i only drank a sip, it was better than nothing. People had hoses and sprayed the runners, god bless them. They also had sponges that I squeezed on my head, so much for running in dry shoes. Jeremy and I passed each other a few times while running, last time was a "finish this" type comment and I kinda figured out I was going to. The night before I was worried about getting to mile 9 and how I would be feeling. The hardest for me were mile 4-5-6 cause my stomach felt unstable. I was to happy to see mile 9!! That meant 4 more to go, what's 4 miles? I only stopped running at the aid stations. I kept my head down and just tried to find a racing rhythm. Someone wrote "you got this" on the sidewalk on the way to the zoo. I repeated that in my head over and over. I few times on the second loop, I got emotional and almost started to cry. I didn't cry for 2 reasons; #1 I had no extra fluid to make tears, and #2 it made me feel like I was having an asthma attack so I kept the emotions at bay. Heading back toward the finish line, I saw people that were just starting their second loop. After completing the first loop, I realized I was going to finish in under 7 hours (I told everyone before that my goals were not to die and to maybe finish in 8 hrs). I saw my time and realized if I pushed myself I could posibly do this in under 6:30, so that is what I tried to do. I was doing ok for me and the finish line kept getting closer. As it approached I continued to pick up the pace and crossed it with a big fat smile. I had been wanting to be there for over a year. My cuboid dysfunction never crossed my mind once during my race. I had a set a goal for myself and achieved it. My mom, jeremy, and becky met me after I finished. I could barely walk. We got some food and talked about the race. It was an experience I will never forget. It was so great that I just might sign up for Madison next year. I did it in under 6:30, 6:26 actually, which still amazes me.

Oranges! Maybe skip Gu gels all together on the run. The racing belt was good. WAlk every aid station, this saved my and my knees.

My body basically shut down and I was scared to sit. I walked around a bit and ate a sandwich. I attempted to stretch.


I really like the distance. I want to do a full, but I think this distance will have me coming back lots of times in the future