Took the start easy as I've been quite wretchedly sick since Tuesday PM and just starting to feel better. My breathing wasn't quite right and in this situation I need to take my time to get going and avoid contact. Not a big field so it went fine and I was able to pick up pace later. Just cold.....kept hoping I'd hit a pocket of warm water but we were 500m out on very deep, turbulent water and all the incoming swells were super cold. Supposedly 24 but felt colder and probably was out 500m as we were much of race. Wished I had my mini wetsuit. I'd planned on taking the swim easy but it was so cold I had to swim at race effort to stay warm. My lungs weren't up to it so I stopped four or five times to do breaststroke or tread water and catch my breath for maybe 15 seconds. Just seemed to go on forever.

Not get sick the week before the race. Given my ability to breathe today, I did everything I could and managed to finish the race safely--happy with that.

Very long run into the transition zone. I had a bit of vertigo and was so chilled that I was cramping, so it was kind of a jog- walk-stumble. I think I drove the people behind me nuts. Mentally in a fog. Ran to wrong row in transition, didn't want to run around, so just went under the rack and over to my bike. Transition not that fast but the best I could do given how hard I was shivering. This was a very long transition area and most times were in the 3 to 3:30 range, but 5:46 is pretty bad!

Enter a race with warmer water? Get fatter? I did what I could given my physical condition today. I think still being a bit sick made me more sensitive to the cold water. I lost my AG mainly due to this transition. But I was really in bad shape--pretty close to hypothermia if not already there-- and don't think I could have gone faster under the circumstances. I was aware I was losing lots of time but couldn't do anything about it--hands numb and muscles just wouldn't obey me.

More than six minutes faster than last year on exactly the same course, so pretty happy with my bike leg. Biking more seems to have paid off! This leg was less affected by conditions (cold on swim, heat on run) as temps were still moderate and I started deeply chilled from the swim anyhow. I was able to keep a steady pace most of the time and except for hills and going into headwinds about 30-31 kph average. I was shivering hard for almost the first 15 km until the second climb, then finally got warm!

Maybe take in more calories. I had two gels and a banana. Had an energy bar on board but just didn't feel like eating it. Afraid I might start coughing if it scratched my throat. I had another gel for the run but didn't take it due to heat--two gels and a banana was a bit minimal for a race that took almost four hours!

Honestly can't remember it much. Felt very wobbly running in with the bike but felt better running out. Definitely better than T1, average time for race.

Not sure.

Just really, really, really hot. Legs felt okay but I couldn't get breathing right for most of first lap, so not as aggressive with pace as I would have been otherwise. By the second lap my breathing felt better but the heat (91 at end, high humidity) really started to wear on me (and, clearly, everyone else--no one passed me, lots of people walking). By the last 2 km just felt like I would melt if this race didn't finish pretty soon. Did all I could with drinks, sponges, etc. but it was still a trial,

Not get sick before races. Thought about using my inhaler but I didn't want to stop-- afraid I wouldn't be able to get started again! Probably should have taken the gel at km 6 but by then it was miserably hot and the thought of it made me nauseous. I did have sports drink with some calories, though, at almost every water stop.

Absolutely nothing. I was exhausted and overheated and the finish area was blazing hot sand. Flopped down for a few minutes and checked in with buddies who'd done the relay, got a short massage, looked at the offered food (hot buffet), felt like I was going to puke, rescued bikey from transition and wheeled him back across what seemed to be the Sahara desert (the soles of my bare feet actually got burned!) and decided what I really wanted was to go eat inside. Breakfast had ended about 20 minutes before but sweet-talked the staff into letting me hit the cereal, fruit, and cold cuts, which were still out on the buffet. Pros were there, already showered and changed, finishing up breakfast! Admired male pros. That plus tropical fruit hit the spot! Later, about 20 minutes of leisurely swimming in the resort's lazy river.


Definitely, being sick. Cold with both sinus and chest symptoms, strictly speaking should not have raced, but felt I was over the worst of it. Due to asthma, had to be very cautious on the swim and not able to run as aggressively as usual. By the last lap of the run I simply had no juice left! I did what I could given the body I had today.

This race was one of the hardest I've done, mentally speaking, not knowing how my body would react to each event and also got quite miserably hypothermic on the swim--another few degrees colder and I might have had to drop out as would have been too cold to control the bike.

I was surprised that my swim was actually quite strong--one of the fastest non-pro women and well up in a fast field. Bike was measurably faster than last year, which was what I wanted to see. And run was what it was. I know I can run faster when healthy!


It's only the second year of this race (I did the du last year) but it has definitely improved since last year. Tough swim in cold, rough water--Definitely not for beginners. The bike course was very scenic and much better marked than last year. Run course well designed--you can't do anything about the heat! It's still a fairly small event but hopefully will attract more people in the future. At this point it's one of only two tris in country (the other is X Terra style) so would like to see it grow. More locals this year and even a couple of relay teams from the nearby univisity, so maybe tri is taking off here!