I was by the water, standing and chatting with my parents and brother before the race started. The first wave went off, and I headed closer to the water. I was tightening my goggles because they felt a little loose, and the strap snapped. They had already called my wave in the water!!! I threw the goggles at my family, and sprinted up to the transition area to grab my spare pair. THANK GOD I had a spare pair in my bag! I get up to transition, and one of the volunteers tells me that I can't go into transition because the timing mats are already activated. I plead with her and she finally lets me by. I grab my spare pair of goggles with shakey hands, and I sprint back to the water. Had enough time to get my goggles on, get in the water and catch my breath for a few seconds before my wave went off.

Maybe the sprinting did me some good. I broke out early and felt really strong. My wave was comprised of all females and males 45 to 55 years old. It was an aggressive wave and as a result, I got knocked around quite a bit. I even experienced swimming over someone partially. It was unintentional, and I felt really bad about it, but the turns were so crowded. There were people all around me.

Before you know it, I am turning the last buoy and heading for the shore. I still feel great and think I'm in a pretty good position. I get out of the water and head onto land with my family running along side of me. My mom informs me that I'm the second female out of the water. As soon as I get my goggles and cap off, and pull my wet suit as far off as it would go, I stopped and stripped the rest off. I think one or two women passed me, but I made up time in transition because I already had my suit off.

Nothing. I'm so glad that I had a spare pair of goggles in my transition bag (which, BTW, Tim got me a new TYR transition bag for my birthday and it is effing awesome! So roomy, there is a wet bag for postrace, and compartments for T1 and T2 and shoes).

For the first time, my wet suit slipped right off. It got caught on my timing chip a tiny bit, but I was so pleased with how quick it came off. Finished the transition run with my wet suit in hand, and once I got to my area, I dropped the suit and picked up my sunglasses/helmet. Wiped off my feet as I'm putting them on. Bent over to put on my shoes and got them strapped up. Grabbed my bike off of the rack and went out.

Nada. Just practice getting faster.

The curse of Tim's wheels followed me into this race. He graciously let me borrow his HED 60 wheel set since he wasn't racing. The curse of the wheels goes something like this: the first time Tim rode on his wheels (I think he's had them for about 1-2 months) was great. The second time, he ran over a raccoon. The third time was during the Tri/Du the Wildwoods Race. He wiped out making a turn where there was wet ground. Broke his wrist and had some nasty road rash. The fourth time was this race. Here is what happened:

I exit transition area and notice that I'm right behind Johnny King-Marino, a fellow High Road Cycles teammate and an awesome triathlete. I clip in and get going, feeling really great that I could possibly be headed to placing in the top overall females. I get into the right gear and pass two men right off the bat. Get up to speed and settle in. The course is gently rolling hills, and it feels good to be riding!

After about 2 miles, there is really no bike traffic around me except for one man right behind me. He speeds up and passes me. I drop back the legal 15 feet and follow him. We're coming up on a section of road where you can either go straight or turn right. There is a rent-a-cop sitting in a truck, in a driveway, on the left side of the street. There are no arrows on the road designating either to go straight or turn. The man in front of me turns, and I follow. After about .5 miles, I'm thinking this has to be wrong. There are no cones. There are no lines painted on the road. There are no other bikers besides me and this guy in front of me. Regardless, I keep going, thinking that perhaps I am just being a little over paranoid. But, .5 miles later — when I am at the dismount line — I know that I shouldn't have turned. I hustle back on my bike and head for the wrong turn. I had a lot of ground to make up.

When I get back to the place where I deviated from the course, I yell at the rent-a-cop, "You need to do a better job, man. You just cost me a great finish." He should have been standing on the right side of the road, waving us straight. I'm not putting all of the blame on him. I mean, I should not have blindly followed the man in front of me. It was my fault for making a wrong turn. But, I was just so pissed because I wish that intersection would have been better marked. All of the other turns or straight sections had rent-a-cops blocking the wrong ways and waving you in the right direction.

Regardless of the shaky start, I decided to stick strong and do what I could do to finish the race strong. The course was a lot hillier than I expected, but in a good way. I tried to enjoy the ride as much as possible, but the whole time, in the back of my head, I wonder "What if" I hadn't made that wrong turn?

Drive or ride the course ahead of time, do not just assume that because there is someone in front of me, they are going the right way.

Uneventful T2. I get off the bike, after having some difficulty getting my feet out of the shoes and on top of them again, and am yelling to my family that I went 2.25 miles out of the way. They already knew, I guess Tim saw me when I goot to the dismount the first time and relayed the message. Anyway, I fly into transition and opt for no socks to save myself some time. I grabbed my race belt and ran out.

Practice getting my feet out of the shoes and on top of them.

I felt really strong on the run. Started off at a great pace and was able to maintain that during the run. The out section was downhill, so that helped my momentum tremendously. I powered by a good 5 people right off the bat, and as I was, I was trying to count the number of women who were on their way back to finsh the race. It was about .5 miles in that I saw the first woman. Then, the second and the third. UGH. That could have been me!!!

Anyway, I make it to the first aid station and I'm still feeling really great. I grab a cup, take 3 gulps as I'm running and then hand the cup off. Head up a short incline and then the decline. Before you know it, I am at the turnaround. Mind you, there is no timing mat and no one at the turn around to make sure you run to the cone. Of course, I still make the correct turn and check my watch. 11:13. Awesome! I keep my momentum strong. It's all uphill on the way back. Hit the aid station and again take some water. This time, one gulp and I'm done. I keep running and see the transition area up ahead. I pick up the pace and have a great strong finish.

Nada. I had an awesome run!

Grab a Gatorade and head to my awaiting fans (hehe). My mom, dad, brother, sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, 3 friends and Tim were there. It was great having a big crowd.


Ummmm making a wrong turn.


Well, of course you know I'm pissed because of my finish. I added an extra 7+ minutes to my time. I think I could have possibly brought home some overall female hardward or been really really close if I didn't make such a silly mistake!