I don't really know what happened, but I started the swim off really poorly. I got a bit freaked out for some reason, then I was having a hard time breathing and kept swallowing water. I had to do a few breast strokes in the beginning just to calm myself down. Then I had to do some major self-talking to say, "You can do this. You have done this before. Just swim. It's no big deal. Why are you freaking yourself out? Just calm down and swim." Eventually, after I rounded the first buoy, I was better. The rest of the swim was better but I kept crashing into people. I was definitely slow though. At the end, there was a ton of seaweed and I got a couple mouthfulls. The last 50 yards or so seemed to drag on for a while. Overall, not my best swim. Don't really know why I got freaked in the beginning.

I think I should spend a bit more time warming up in the water and swimming around. Also check out the course first and don't look at how far out the buoys are just before the gun goes off to start!

Don't have much to say about the transitions. I'm just not at the point where I care too much about being super-speedy during transitions. I'd rather make sure I have everything I need. But I still have an adrenaline rush, so I feel like I went through it pretty quickly.

put on my windbreaker and put a kleenex in my pocket.

Started off the bike much better this time - my chain didn't fall off and I felt good going up the first hill. Mostly flat course with a couple of little hills. No big deal. No major construction this time though. The ride was freezing cold and I really wish I had my windbreaker. Why oh why did I leave it at the transition? Felt a bit sluggish, but then I saw quite a few girls really struggling on mountain bikes. I encouraged them and felt for them. All these roadies were whizzing past me. At least I have slicks on my MTB but I do think it slows me down some. Just not sure how much. It would be interesting to try the course again with a road bike and clipless. Run ended faster than I thought again. My Bike Computer said 10.6 miles, though it was supposed to be 11. Who knows. Nice ride. Went by fast. I didn't eat the Gu this time (even though I used masking tape to ensure easy removal!)

Wear my windbreaker. Try a road bike.

It's nice to not have clipless - eliminates a change of shoes. A bit confused about where to start the run.

My goal is to run the whole time and I did. Nice. But, I had water gurgling in my stomach the whole time which was not the most pleasant experience. Run went by slighly faster than usual. The quotes were fun to read. The only part that dragged was the end when I could see the finish but we had to loop around to get there. I felt good on the hills - both uphill and downhill (I just let myself go). Not a bad run.

I don't know if I ate too much yesterday or didn't drink enough water, but if there is a trick to prevent the gurgling stomach syndrome, that would be nice.

I don't really know. I didn't "feel" as good during this race. I think I was just tired from a rough week. Plus my training hasn't been quite as intense as before. Plus I think I had the second-race blues. The first race was great because I had all this energy and adrenaline and excitement. But this race I was just kind of there. Last time I was all nervous the night before and couldn't sleep and was having dreams that I forgot my bike, missed the start, or my helmet didn't pass "inspection." Today, I woke up at 5:00 and thought, "Oh, I'm doing a triathlon today." Much different than before. Plus, I didn't eat the best this week and I think my body could feel it. It was still a lot of fun and I really enjoy racing. I was just surprised at how different I felt compared to my first tri just last month.


I really enjoy being part of See Jane Run events. The See Jane Tri was great and it is a really neat company. It was impressive to see so many hard-core women out there. More than one 39-year-old passed me! It was fun, and nice to do with Paulette and Diana volunteering. I wish it wasn't the end of the season. Now what am I going to train for? Also, although I felt really sluggish and slow compared to these other super-star women, I actually finished about 7 minutes faster than my last race - and this was 100 yards longer for the swim. Interesting.