What a wake up call this was in many ways. I came into this feeling pretty comfortable with my skills in the water based on the pool work that I've done over the summer. Over confidence was the first problem. Second, no matter how nice and warm the summer has been, this is still Maine, and the water is going to be cold! I decided not to use my wetsuit, hoping any time I lost with speed would be make up in transition. The water seemed cold when I went out to test it but I thought I would stay warm with the exertion of swimming. The chattering teeth before the pre race talk should have been my big warning sign. Anyway, I was in the first heat, and just after taking off, the combination of cold, and extcitement got my heart jacking so fast I couldnt breathe fast enough!! Then the anxiety set in and I couldnt tolerate having my face in the water for more that a stroke or two and couldnt get into a rhythm, so I was forced to breast stroke and side stroke for the entire swim. The worst part, was when the next wave, which started 3 minutes after me, started to pass me. I finished just before the wave after that reached me (started 6 minutes after I did)

I need more open water training before the next race. I will wear a wetsuit whenever allowed, no matter how warm the water may seem.

I was determined to make up as much time lost on the swim here and didnt worry much about how the exertion would affect my ability to run. Luckily, the first 4 miles were flat which allowed me to get into a good rhythm. The hill at mile 4 was a killer, 10% grade and 100% pain, but luckily it is only .25 miles long and was over in relatively short time. Around mile 7, I passed on guy, then he passed me and another guy in the next mile. From there on out, the three of us continually fought eachother back and forth to the end. This definately helped my overall time, plus it prevented me from getting stuck at a train stop around mile 11. We saw the barriers lower and the red lights flash as we approached about 200 yards. Luckily, the train was slow moving and significant distance away, so we "snuck" across the tracks and continued along the course.

bring different drink. I researched home made sports drinks last week and decided to give it a try. I didn't taste test the batch which was a BIG mistake much and it turned out to be way too sweet and salted. I may be a little spoiled from all the delicious lemon-lime Gatorade ive consumed this summer, but this stuff was truly horrid. My mouth was so dry from the salt and sugar and the drink was just too sweet to tolerate so I only took in about 10 oz during the ride.

Some difficulty getting my running shoes tied.

I will look into elastic shoe laces to improve this time.

I was rather pleasantly surprised that I didn't suffer too much from ther "rubber legs syndrome" (RLS) after pushing the bike as much as I did.

Nothing really. Maybe try to push it a little harder.

Drank some water, ate fruit, cookies. Met up with a couple of BTers: Jackemy and Huskyboy. Evaluated the race and picked up some good pointers.


That swim is still haunting me. I really need to get comfortable in open water. The pool training is great and I couldn"t feel more comfortable in that environment, but the open water is alot different and I just need more exposure to it to gain some confidence, plus get used to the wetsuit.