That was the longest 19 minutes ever. The first 100 yards went okay, and I wasn't too thrown off by the murky water or swimming into other people--though I need to just keep going rather than popping up when that happens. But about 100 yards in, I lost my breath and couldn't put my face back down in the water. So I turned over on my back and started doing backstroke for a bit. At one point, I thought, "I'm never going to finish this," and then I heard the horn go off for the next wave, and then the wave after that. Tried to turn over and swim, but I just couldn't get my breathing right and even thought, "If I don't get enough air, I'm going to pass out and drown." Real calm. So I went back to alternating sidestroke and backstroke. After making the last turn, I actually swam normally for the last stretch and started to walk when it got shallow enough. When I checked my watch after coming out of the water, I was surprised to see that it had only been about 20 minutes. Felt like a half hour at least.

This was my first OWS, so I need more practice with that. More time in the pool. Not freak out with the breathing.

I felt like this took a lot longer b/c I was still recovering from the shock of the swim. Already had on my jersey, so I dried off my feet, put on my socks and shoes, glasses and helmet, and ran out of T1. 24/50 for T1.

Go faster from the swim to my spot.

I really enjoyed the bike course, and it was great to see my family as I headed out for the ride. I got into a rhythm pretty quickly and started passing other people on the road heading out of the park. Definitely passed more people throughout the course than I had pass me. Kept the cadence around 90 for most of the ride and stayed in the big gear for the majority of the ride. Dropped down to the middle chain ring on most inclines and only had to drop down to the granny gear on one hill. Having ridden the Columbia Tri course on Friday, these hills didn't seem like anything to worry about. Hit a max speed of 35.2. Passed some more people coming back in the park, and had a huge smile when I saw my family again cheering for me. My sister heard the woman next to her say, "I've never seen someone so happy to be riding a bike!"

This was my first race on my road bike, so I'm thrilled with my time. But even though I felt good on the bike, I probably pushed a little harder than I should have given how the run went.

Really pleased with this time. 11/50 for the AG.

Bring a hat/visor to put on.

Legs felt heavy, and I could tell I was moving slower than usual. After making it up the hill, my shins started to burn. I tried to keep pushing through it and told myself it would go away after a few minutes, but I had to stop and stretch out a bit. Got moving again, walked through the aid station at the turn around, and stretched again. My goal was to finish the race in and hour and 45 minutes, and I knew when I hit mile marker 2 that it probably wasn't going to happen. But the rest of the run went better, helped by the downhill, and I made a sprint to the end.

More bricks. Run faster.

Crossed the finish line, checked my watch time, and I was really pleased with my time given how the race had started. Found my family, grabbed some water and gatorade, and moved into the shade. Got some more water, and then waded in the water for a few minutes after cooling down. It felt a lot better after the race than during the swim.


Lack of OWS experience, the cold water, not enough bricks. But my three goals are always 1)don't get hurt, 2)finish the race, and 3)don't be last. So I can't complain about that.


Everything was well organized for the race, and I liked the course a lot. The post-race food could have been better organized. Plenty of drinks, but apparently there were oranges and bananas somewhere, but I never saw them. And a grilled sausage from a vendor wasn't exactly what I was in the mood for. But overall I enjoyed myself and will definitely do this race again next year. Hopefully Nathalie and I will both stay healthy the week before and both do this one next time.