Swimming has been my weaker sport, and though I expected a faster time, I was satisfied to finish the course. The water was pretty choppy and I sucked in water a few times.. Found a good groove and swam pretty consistently.

I felt T1 went pretty good. I didn't think I wasted much time and hustled good through it.

The hills were too much! I've only been biking again since January due to my surgery which took me off the bike for almost two years... Oy! I felt adequately trained going into it and have logged tons of quality miles...just not so much on hills which is what this course is all about.. I gave it my all, but around mile 80 my lower back started killing me (never had this problem before and not quite sure where it came from)! I couldn't seem to get any power to the pedals and had to pull over a few times to stretch out my back. This cost me MPH and time. I slowly watched 5:30 approach and at about mile 95 I realized the race was over. I waved off the SAG vehicles that came up and wanted to at least bring it in myself. Came in at 5:40, 10 minutes after the cutoff... Ugh.. My family and friends were waiting at T2 and were super-supportive.

It was fun to see my family and friends out in Verona! The spectators were a ton of fun and were all over the place cheering! It was an exciting experience!!!

Also, on the plus-side, my nutrition was spot-on!!! :-)

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Two years ago this time I was having a new neck put in. I feel like I've come a long way since then and am proud of my attempt. I'm working on a new goal and plan to work on core strength, swim technique, more time on the bike and will come through a champion in my next attempt. I loved all of my training and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! I'm blessed to have the ability to do the sport I love and will continue to grow and improve!