Though I was slightly nervous when the swim started, the warmup really did help to calm my nerves. I was feeling pretty confident after a couple of really good swims this week, and I think it showed in my swimming.

Right when my heat started, I took off, rather than being afraid to be in the mix like I was at my last OW race. I started strong and immediately tried to find some feet. Once I found the feet, my focus was just on staying with them, as The Feet were attached to a ziga-zaga, as Christiane would say. There were people swimming all around me, elbowing me, kicking me, putting their hands on my back and pushing me down, but I actually liked it! It made me feel like I was really in the race instead of just doing my own thing off to the back, trying to survive. I really enjoyed being right there in the pack.

Or close to the pack...because The Feet veered off to the left a bit, instead of heading right toward the buoy. I wasn't really sighting much and was just trusting The Brain attached to The Feet to do all the work. At some point in the first leg, I looked up to see just how far we were to the left of the buoy and made the decision to abandon the ziga-zaga and head toward the buoy. I found more feet throughout the rest of the race, but I wasn't able to get as good a draft as I did the first time.

Rounding both the first and second buoys, I used the neat back crawl trick Carolyn taught us. I found it worked really well for changing direction without losing too much momentum. When the feet I was following started to move wide of the buoy to make a big circle, I just ditched them and did my snazzy back crawl move. Worked like a charm. :)

The last leg of the swim heading back toward the beach felt really long. I was starting to feel tired I think, and my goggles had been leaking for a while, making it hard to sight. I focused on finding feet, but they came and went and got stolen by other swimmers. I discovered that, for some reason, people do not like to be drafted. I knew that people were sitting on my feet because I could feel them accidentally tap me once in a while, but I didn't mind. I was flattered, actually. But when I acidentally touched some feet, they tended to kick extra hard in an attempt to get away from me. What is that about?

Anyway, I'm not normally a foot person, but being able to focus on various feet throughout the swim was a great distraction. In fact, the mesmerizing feet may have been too distracting because I hardly sighted at all and just followed them wherever they went. This tactic probably resulted in my swimming a little farther than I would have on my own, but I was really grateful to have feet to follow, so I didn't care too much.

Sight more!

Well, my T1 is always a little long. I keep thinking I should practice them, but I'm not sure it would help. The thing is, I am always so dizzy coming out of the water that I find it incredibly hard to momentarily stand on one foot to get my wetsuit off. Then there is the putting on of the socks and shoes, whose difficulty is also increased by my lack of ambulatory stability. It's probably a good thing that I take a little time here to let my head stop spinning. I'd rather fall in transition than fall right off my bike!

Not much.

This was a tough course!!

Coming out of T1, it took me longer than usual to start feeling good on my bike, maybe because the swim was long. I came out of the water and T1 at the same time as my friend Jodi, but she took off on her bike right out of the gate, while I felt like I was hardly moving. Of course, she's also a great cyclist!

Once I got going, I felt good except for all those hills. I often found myself in my granny gear, just spinning up the hills and trying to keep my cadence high. I was elated that the swim had gone so well and knew that, even though the rest of the course would be difficult, I would definitely finish and be very proud of myself.

I had three gels on the bike: one about 15 minutes in, one at the half-way point, and one about 5k before the end (this one with caffeine). I also had 1.5 bottles of E-Load on the bike. I don't know if I really needed all three gels, but I hadn't really planned a nutrition strategy in advance, so I just kinda made it up on the fly. It seemed to work okay, and I didn't have any stomach issues. I also feel like I get a mental boost from eating a gel, so I was happy to have a few of them on the tough, hilly course.

At the 25k mark, I got really excited and said to myself, way to go! Only 5k left! WRONG! About 2 minutes later, I realized that it was indeed a 40k course and I had 15k left, not 5. Oops. I think I was so happy because my lower back was really starting to ache in the second half of the bike. Not having done as much cycle training as usual (in favor of more swimming), my body was really feeling the bike and I was ready to get off.

I consoled myself by thinking about the first time that I had tried to ride on West Saanich Road. James and I had just bought our road bikes as wedding presents for each other, and we were tired of the oceanside route (which was VERY difficult for me at the time, with King George Terrace being a source of fear and dread) and wanted to try something new. So we drove out to West Saanich Road, hoping to ride for an hour or two. However, about 15 minutes into it, I stopped and asked James to take me home. It was just too much...too many hills, too difficult, and I physically was not capable of doing it. Fast forward almost a year, and here I am, doing it! (After swimming in a lake no less.) Thinking about all of this, I almost started to cry. It was such a great feeling to know that, even though the route was still hard for me, I could do it without hesitation.

At some point close to the end of the ride, a spectator sitting on his front porch asked me why the bike traffic was going both directions on the road. I wanted to point out to him that, as I was participating in the race and using all of my energy to ride my bike up the hill in front of his property with an elevated heart rate, it wasn't really the best time for a question and answer session. But, instead, I quickly informed him that it was an out-and-back course and went on my way.

About 5-10k from the end, a kind volunteer cheered for me as I crested a hill, saying, "That's the last hill! It's all easy now!" Yeah, right. Don't get me wrong -- I love volunteers. They are amazing. But please, people, do not lie to me! It was in fact hilly all the way to the bike dismount line, where I gingerly teetered off my bike and hobbled into T2.

In the future I will be more prepared by doing lots of hill workouts, but this time swimming really was the most important thing for me to work on.

This was a relatively quick transition, although I didn't really hurry. I kind of feel like I earn the transitions and don't rush through them too much. Maybe not a great racing philosophy, but it makes me happy to be able to take a mental break from all the rushing.

Nothing. Except maybe not-rush a little faster. ;)

Coming out of T2, I was hurting a bit and couldn't believe I still had to run 10k. But triathlon really changes your perspective about things, I find, and 10k starts to seem like not such a big deal after all...

My dear friend Hazel had positioned herself just around the first corner of the trail and was equipped with baby rattles, bells, and a wide array of other noise makers. I was in a bit of a daze starting the run, and was definitely not expecting to see her there, so when she screamed and rattled and chimed as I rounded the bend, I nearly fell into the bushes. Once I regained my composure, I really enjoyed the cheering, especially the "You're way ahead, Kristi! Way ahead!" I stumbled off, giggling to myself about how classically "Hazel" that all was.

The run was mostly solitary and uneventful. I started to feel good after about 3k, and at the aid station at the second mile, I took my caffeinated Clif Shot that I had been clutching for dear life. Since I had been holding it in my hand, it had become unpleasantly warm but had also thinned out and was easier to swallow. I will have to remember this little trick for those cold winter rides when the gels are barely chewable. In fact, just stuff the gels down your pants while you ride for a quick warm-up (or cool-down, depending on your frame of reference). Other than that, I just had little sips of water at every aid station.

There were plenty of other people using the trail for other purposes, so I found myself dodging dogs and toddlers and Sunday morning exercisers. In the last kilmometer, I plodded past Lori Bowden, going the other direction on the trail with Tyson in the stroller. She gave me a little cheer and said, "Almost there!" That was some good motivation, let me tell you.

Somewhere in the last hundred meters, I had to run through a little patch of gravel. I was hardly picking up my feet at all by this point, and I stumbled and crashed right into the gravel. No real injuries were sustained, but it did make my outfit dirty moments before I was to have my picture taken at the finish line.

Speaking of the finish line, I was approaching it at exactly the same time as another woman, who looked young and potentially in my age group. That, coupled with the fact that I really wanted my own finish picture, gave me the energy to kick a little at the end and beat her through the chute. It turns out that she was not, in fact, in my age group. But I beat her anyway. I did at one point on the run pass a woman who WAS in my age group, and looked like she was about to puke. I gave her a little cheer but secretly reveled in the thought that maybe I wasn't going to be dead last.

Coming up to the finish line, I encountered the best cheering section of all time. That is one of the great things about being so slow -- all your friends are already there to cheer for you at the finish!! A wonderful volunteer handed me the best cold bottle of water I've ever had. I found my sweet hubby and friends for a quick chat, and then went off on a banana-finding mission.

I could have perhaps pushed it a bit harder on the run, but it would have hurt a lot.

After getting some more water and munching on some fruit, James and I hung out with Tri Club people and watched the awards ceremony. So many of our people placed!! It was so fun to cheer for everyone, although sitting on the ground for that long was rather painful.

After the awards, we went home (not without stopping at A&W for french fries, though) and I called my parents and told them how I conquered the swim. They were proud, but they didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. I honestly think they don't really understand what this triathlon thing is all about. If they did, they would probably check me into an institution.


As usual, I could have trained harder and more consistently. But I'm pretty sure I will be able to write that for every race I ever do. So forget that. Nothing limited me. It was a great day, and I accomplished everything I wanted to. :)


This was a challenging but fun race. It was incredibly well organized and there were tons of people from the Tri Club doing it, which always makes it fun. It was a great warm-up for the Apple in a few weeks, and I hope we get to do it again next year. I will always remember it as the race where I conquered the lake and the weeds and the fish and the algae and the beer cans.