Just sort of stayed in my own little world with this swim. Didn't really pay any attention to anyone else.

Swim a little faster. Always a little faster.

I know how poorly I do when I'm cold so although I usually don't even wear socks when the run is this short, I had my warmest socks there and I just plopped my butt down on the ground, dried off my feet and got those nice toasty socks on and then my shoes.

The air was cool but I felt warm from the swim, so I opted not to put on the long sleeved shirt, figuring I'd get even warmer on the run. BIG mistake, but more on that later.

Nothing. Transition was a little slow, but I definitely wanted the socks on and I'm not good at putting them on standing up.

This was where the fun began. It took only about 1/4 mile to realize what a bad decision it was to go wtihout the long sleeve shirt and gloves. My body started out warm from the exertion of the swim, but I still had wet hair and tri clothes. I was getting cccooold! By the end of the first loop my fingers were red and my thighs were getting numb. The upside of this was that I couldn't feel my muscles getting tired, so I don't think I slowed down. With about 1/2 mile to go I happened to run by a man just leaving his house for the morning. He looked at me with my wet hair, wet tri bra and shorts like I was nuts! (Imagine that!) I just looked at him and said, "I KNOW! You don't have to tell me I'm nuts!" he just smiled.

During the run I passed three guys, but finally within the last 1/2 mile I passed another female. I knew she wouldn't be able to stay wtih me because she started out WAYYYYY ahead of me and I was able to catch her.

WEAR THE STUPID LONG SLEEVE SHIRT AND GLOVES LIKE ANY SANE HUMAN BEING!

PUT ON THE SHIRT! Jogged a little bit, waited for Bob to come in and then bolted for the showers!


CCCOOOOOLD! By the time I got into the showers, my skin was deep red, blotchy and itchy (sort of like when you've had the ice pack on too long) wherever my wet tri-clothes were. Very uncomfortable. I'm still wondering why I did an outdoor swim-run race in this weather. I must be nuts!


This is a great small neighborhood race. Only about 24 people in the entire race or so. The overall female winner was this 12-year-old swimming phenom. Her swim time was literally 6 minutes faster than mine! I'd have had to wear a rocket pack to keep with that!

For a race this small, there was a great spread at the end of the race...bagels, granola bars, fruit, Gatorade, waters, etc. I've seen races much bigger than this with much less to offer.