- Had goggle issues (water leaking in) for much of the swim, causing me to slow and stop several times for adjustment. Also didn’t properly defog lenses. Next time will use training (bigger) goggles that I know seal well vs. “race” (smaller) goggles that occasionally don’t sit quite right.
- The warm-up swim from swim exit to swim start was a good idea and got me comfortable in the waer, although I apparently didn’t notice or take sufficient action on the goggle issues.
- Still need to work on my swim efficiency and kicking. No progress since Litchfield Hills last year (2:22 pace). 3 Sprints with wetsuit earlier in the year had paces 2:04-2:18.
- Not seeing the up-river turn-around buoy (around the river bend) was a little disconcerting, not being able to visualize how far I had to go until I reached the bend and was almost there. Similar issue down-river as the bridge was tough to spot in the glare of the sun. However, the line of white buoys was very comforting, and I didn’t have to sight forward, just kept an eye on the buoy line. Stayed a little too close at times, knocking a couple buoys with my stroke.
- I was coming out of the water just as the horn was going off for the first Sprint wave. I decided the horn must be for me and the other 2 ladies scrambling out at the back of the pack. Yay us!


Use better goggles, and de-fog properly. Need to work on my swim pace and stroke efficiency, but this is not new news.3

- Short run (~0.05 mi) from river bank to transition.
- Pretty efficient top wetsuit removal while exiting the water, jogging up to transition.
- Felt a little disoriented/dizzy while stripping off the rest of the suit in transition. I completed my transition deliberately, aka slowly. Placed my wetsuit in the trash bag, wiped my feet a couple of times, made sure my gloves were on. Impacted T1 time.


Don't worry about wetsuit. Consider not using bike gloves.

- Overall was pleased with completing each loop within the 30 min I had allocated.
- Nutrition plan worked well overall…honey gels are awesome. The nutrition bar I had packed was too dry, and fell out of my new pouch twice, so I think I was destined not to eat it. Relied on gels and shot block type stuff, and I think that was fine.
- Hydration - paced my electrolyte trying to drink 1/4 of the bottle per lap, and just about finished it; tried to drink as much water as possible and swap in the bottle exchange each lap. I felt pretty well hydrated and really had to pee by the end of the bike, so used the porta potty in T2. First time I have had to do that in a race.

Don't try a new nutrition box on race day. Don't pick up sh*t that falls out. Don't drink quite as much water.
- Hills – the hills were tough, but I got in low gear early and just slogged through them. I rode the whole time, never had to dismount on the hills. The first hill out of transition I was able to stay mostly straight on the side. The hill following the bridge I had to zig zag a bit in the first switch back which was the steepest part, but the the grade softened a bit and I was able to stay to the side and go up, though slow.
- Overall speed – I was not aggressive enough on the flats to keep my speed up, I relaxed a bit recovering from the hills and didn’t take as much advantage of the flats to benefit the average speed. I completed the bike under my prediction, but I was *hoping* to beat it by a little more.

- Other than needing to use the porta potty, the T2 was pretty smooth.

Nothing

- The run was tough. I was a little spent from the bike hills, and it was hot. I managed to keep “running” (slogging) up the first hill out of transition, and settled into a good pace when the course flattened out. I managed paces of 11:54, 11:52 and 11:21 in the first 3 miles. Then I got to the bridge, and in the shade of the bridge I slowed to a walk to gather myself and prep for the hill. I started back into a jog as I exited the bridge, but the momentum had gone…after a few yards of the steep hill I decided I was better off walking the hill and conserving my energy for a faster pace post-hill. After cresting the hill, I alternated walking and jogging but never got into a good rhythm. My lower back (right side) was hurting a bit, I felt like my core muscles weren’t engaged enough and tried to suck in my gut. I had a gel or two, but hadn’t really planned out my run nutrition so didn’t force myself to stick to a plan. I had a palm water bottle and drank when I needed and refilled at most of the water stops. I let them spray me and used wet sponges.

Plan nutrition and stick to it.
Pace myself in the early part of the run to conserve some energy.
Do more core work during training.

Since I was the last of my TTNE training group to finish, I had a big cheering section waiting for me at the finish. Nice! I was spent but able to talk and share race stories.

Totally forgot to stretch after, need to be more diligent about that.


Overall Result: Prediction: 3:58:24 (roll up of individual predictions) Actual: 3:56:18
Comments:
- Had an Overall goal of completing in under 4 hours, stretch goal of finishing by noon with 8:04 start. Just made it (give or take 18 sec.). Conclusion: my predictions are pretty good and my goals are achievable (self-fulfilling prophecy?:). But these paces are not going to cut it in a half or full iron distance.