My whole heat started standing on the beach and ran into the water when the horn sounded. I thought this kind of start might be difficult, but it was actually kind of fun because of all the splashing and dolphin diving at the beginning. There was also a really cool sensation right at the beginning of being pulled along by all of the swimmers in front of me since we were all in one big pack. The heats were organized by age group and not swim time, and most of the women in my age group are quite a bit faster than I am. I didn't go out fast enough to catch a draft on the first loop, but in retrospect, I'm not sure how possible that would have been given how much faster the other swimmers seemed to be. Eventually, as the heat spread out, I was able to find some other slow swimmers and catch a bit of a draft, but not for very long. The swimmers I was drafting from were really not any faster than me, so I drafted just to take a break, and then swam on my own when I wanted to go a bit faster.

The first loop went really smoothly. I was a bit worried about sighting and navigation because of the way the course was set up in a circle, but it wasn't really a problem because I sighted a lot. I tried to swim as close to the buoy line as possible and round the buoys by using the backstroke technique. I love doing that. ;) Running around the buoy on the beach wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be, except that running on a beach in a wetsuit really spikes the heck out of your heart rate!! I did see Carolyn on the beach at the buoy and it was great to hear her cheering. I made it back into the water just fine, though, and got to do some more splashing.

Speaking of splashing, at about the time I was starting my first loop, they released the hounds. That is to say that the last heat (M25-35) took off from the beach, and quickly caught up to me. I actually felt them coming before I saw them if you can believe it, because the water started to rock as if a boat had gone past somewhere out in the middle of the lake. At this point, I started to get pommeled. Those men are aggressive! Once, when I turned to breath, I got a mouthful of water from a guy swimming past me, so I had to stop for a minute and hang onto a kayak until I stopped choking on the lake. The good news is that this didn't freak me out, probably because it has happened so much in training. The man in the kayak asked me if I was resting or dropping out. I thought, are you crazy?? I'm not dropping out because I drank some lake water!

The second loop felt pretty slow, but it was enjoyable. I remembered to start taking my wetsuit off as soon as I came out of the water and began the seemingly mile-long jog to transition. (It was probably around 50m but still...it felt long in a wetsuit!)

Try harder to catch a draft.

I had a great transition spot, but it was at the other end from the swim entrance, so it was a bit of a hike to my transition area from the water. I didn't hurry too much through this transition because I was a little dizzy, but I don't think it was particularly slow.

Nothing.

As usual, I felt a little slow starting the bike. It always takes me a while to start feeling warmed up after the swim and get my legs going. The course, which was supposed to be nearly pancake flat, was changed due to some construction, and as a result we had one rather large hill to climb near the beginning of each loop.

The first time up the hill was probably the hardest because I wasn't feeling very warm yet. Admittedly, climbing is not one of my strengths, and people were passing me left and right as we climbed. But about mid-way up the hill on the first loop, I realized that I was hanging with a rather fit-looking man and he wasn't dropping me. I was overcome with happiness at my ability to stay with a guy on a hill, and patted myself on the back. My feeling of accomplishment vanished, however, when I looked down and saw that this man only had one leg!! Ah well, I will have to ride a lot of hills in the off season.

The first time up the hill really helped me warm up quickly, and I felt great for the first 20k or so. After about 20k, biking starts to hurt, probably because I haven't done many long training rides. It wasn't too bad...just a little bit of aching in my back, but I think I just need more time in the saddle to get used to staying in that position for a long time. I'm confident that Ironman training will be the cure.

James' parents were sitting along the road near the end of the bike loop, just before the transition area. It was so fun to see them each time I passed on the bike and have them cheer for me.

As usual, I probably could have pushed it a bit more near the end instead of backing off so much to get ready for transition, but overall it was a comfortable and solid bike for me.

A relaxed transition, nothing too interesting

Nothing

By the time I got to the run, it was pretty hot out, and keeping cool was definitely the biggest challenge. Coming from Texas and being used to running in crazy heat, I never thought heat would be an issue for me. But I have definitely acclimated to Victoria's cooler temperatures. It wasn't until the second loop, when my hip was starting to hurt and my feet felt hot and swollen, that I realized I could dump water on myself at the aid stations. Once I did that a couple of times, I felt much better, and I wish I had thought about doing it from the beginning.

The run, as usual, was quite slow, especially the second loop. In fact, I was going so slow that I was able to get a hug from James' mom without slowing down! Without a specific time goal, though, I was happy to just keep going and enjoy myself. It's a nice feeling to be able to race with a smile on.

I'm looking forward to some marathon training this fall and lots of cycling next year. I think the combination of a stronger, more confident run and a more efficient bike will really improve my run times.

Start cooling off earlier. I really think I could have been a tiny bit faster had I figured that out sooner.

I found James and his parents waiting for me at the finish line and had some water and a banana. Believe it or not, fluids were kind of hard to find at the finish of the race, which seemed crazy given the temperature. We grabbed out stuff and headed straight home, where James' mom made us a delicious pizza before we had to drive back to Victoria. I wish someone would make us lunch after every race!!

The drive home was uncomfortable, as we sat for hours in the car (and hours waiting at the ferry terminal) and got nice and stiff. I'm looking forward to lots of yoga this fall and winter, as I've noticed serious changes in my flexibility over the course of the season.


Lack of strategy for dealing with heat


This was my goal race and final race of the season. I guess for me, a "goal race" simply means I made it through the whole season and completed it. So much has happened since January of this year, when James and I signed up for a triathlon clinic. We've both really come a long way, and I'm very proud of both of us.

This race was extremely well organized. I have decided that I really like the Olympic distance, and maybe after Ironman next year I will focus on this distance for a while. Unless I catch the Ironman bug, that is!