Good Swim. I suffered a separated shoulder back in July when I fell off my bike.....swimming has been tough ever since. I have had to stop the swim training.....so this was a good swim for me. I mixed breast stroke and freestyle to minimize shoulder pain, worked well. I could have drafted a bit better but all things considered...good swim.

Nothing.

What was I doing for this long? It always seems a lot shorter when you're doing it.....other than that transition went pretty well. I didn't forget any equipment but I forgot to dry my feet off like I did in the last tri......so I took off with soaking wet feet sloshing around in my bike shoes.....no blisters but annoying nonetheless.

remember to dry off my feet! I managed to dry my face off....when I really didn't need to.....how about the feet next time?

This was my fastest ride on the bike course so far......did well. The hills are really mentally challenging for me...I panic sometimes when I see them. I have really improved and it felt like quite the accomplishment after I finished. Mount Albert was not a mountain anymore when I finished with it.....in June I could not even hope to get up it without stopping. I had no trouble during the race! I also maximized some of the descents with a maximum speed of 30.5 mph.......

Gear shifting was really smooth. My husband (jimbo), the best jockstrap ever, cleaned my chain the day before and lubed it up, so on race day it shifted effortlessly...Thanks! I'm also really appreciate of all his tips and coaching along the way. I've never been a bike rider and hadn't ridden a bike in 10 years when I started training this year. He has helped me with clipless pedals, shifting and getting used to a road bike....I couldn't have done it without you!

Not let myself get so worried about hills. The hills are manageable.

Good transition. Yankz laces worked well, ran out of transition with visor and race belt in hand. Put them on as I ran out.

Nothing....good transition.

Run was tough. Running is my weakest discipline by far. I knew this going in and after the tough bike course, my legs felt very heavy and my shins hurt. I have to do a walk/run combo and it was hard to work the running in the first half. After that I ran well to the finish.....I always seem to be able to run more in the second half.

I loved the water stations...I saw the village people with the YMCA song being played as I went passed...I wondered though whether the village people had a fireman....I don't think so...but it was funny anyway! The next station had a hawaii theme and was also very energetic....a dj helped encourage us up the big climb and it was much appreciated!

Work on running conditioning. I need to lose more weight and work on running for longer periods of time. I am hoping that as I lose more weight, I will be able to pick up the pace and it will get easier.

Walked around park, ate some food and relaxed. Got my picture taken at the Ryka tent.


Nothing...I did pretty well and I beat my goal of 3:00 hours...by finishing in 2:51:53...so I'm happy with that. I hope to only get faster from here. I am now officially hooked and I'm proud of all that I've accomplished since January. I've lost a ton of weight and feel in better shape then I have been in a long time. I'm also much more confident in my physical abilities.....


This was the first Iron Girl Columbia triathlon and it was a great race and event. Everyone from the race director, volunteers and participants were very supportive and enthuisiastic. I loved getting a finisher's medal at the end.......it was a great race for a long journey of training.

Thanks again to my jockstrap, team manager and full time support staff....James(jimbo), you're the best!

Thanks to all the volunteers for making it a great race.

Thanks to BT for all the support, tips and encouragement along the way...this site is the best!

I'm definitely doing this race again next year!