This was a fun swim, I swam a little harder than normal and I'm a little faster this year, so I was in with people more than I have been before. I got bumped and kicked but nothing too bad. Twice I got closed out between two people and forgot that I could swim over legs. My goggles leaked and I had to stop to adjust them several times. I forgot to kick at the end but wasn't very dizzy. I got out of the water feeling pretty good about the swim.

Swim over legs instead of stopping, find some good feet to draft. Felt like I "raced" the swim segment for the first time ever - always before I was just surviving the swim to get to the bike.

Long carpeted uphill run/walk to T1 from the water on a boat ramp. Took off top half of suit on the way up the ramp. My heels got stuck in my suit as usual. And the guy next to me had set up his stuff way out in the lane between racks where people had to walk. When I took my bike out, I realized his shoes and things were right in front of my area. The wind was really cold and I was worried about the ride. Shoes on, gloves, glasses and helmet and was ready to go. More uphill to the bike mount area.

Nothing.

I was going slow over the initial speedbumps until I saw a guy all aero'd out with a disk wheel go flying past without even slowing down so I tried it. Just then, one person's tire blew right behind me and I saw two other people fixing flats ahead of me, so I started being careful on the bumps again. The forecast said wind 20-30 mph and I think it was fairly accurate. The 'out' was uphill and false flats and into the wind - crosswind and headwind most of the way. What a grind. About three miles from the turnaround I ran out of steam. I was riding hard but all of a sudden my legs got kind of wimpy and I started feeling pretty discouraged. I sipped some fuel and settled in for the next three miles and felt better. Boyohboy was I glad to see the turnaround. I had wondered why all the people going the other way were smiling, but once I started downhill with the big tailwind I was smiling too! Saw racinmason really close behind me at the turnaround, but was past him before I could say hi. Expected him to pass me any minute the whole ride back. The way back was fast and felt good, but the last little bit on the lake road was harder - back uphill and into the wind and bumpy. I drank Perpetuem/HEED mix, but probably should have had more - I finished about half of my bottle intead of almost all of it as planned.

Nothing - I rode hard and felt good. Felt like I was racing instead of just participating. The speed and effort were good for me.

Steep downhill after dismount to the T-area. Kind of iffy getting down the hill in bike shoes. Probably would have been iffy after a hard ride in any shoes. Racked bike on handlebars for first time - very easy and quick - I'll do this again. Racinmason came in just as I was putting on my shoes. Said a quick hi and ran out - more uphill.

Nothing.

Good hard run. Racinmason ran right behind me for the narrow part, then passed by. I could see him for the whole time but could never quite catch him! I like to run on dirt roads so that was fine, the wind kept me cool, and I drank a sip of gel/water mix every mile and drank some water at each station except the first one. It seemed like I'd been trotting along forever when I finally saw the mile 1 marker. I ran the whole way, and pushed harder than I have before. I felt like I 'left it all out on the course' for the first time. Started catching up to racinmason but couldn't quite catch him. Got 'stuck' behind a lady on the narrow part and couldn't get by (not entirely sure sure I could have passed her even if I'd had room since I was about maxed out) - and finished a couple of steps behind her and about 20 feet behind racinmason. What a fun race! Definitely felt like I raced this one - I think I pushed about as hard as I could the whole time and still finish.

Try to pass the lady at the end. Catch my brother before the finish. :) Continue to run through the year and try to gain a little more speed. THe effort level was hard, but I would like to see a little faster time next time. Otherwise, not much.

Walked around a bit, should have stretched more. Got everything packed up in the car - why do I have more stuff after the race than before? Got in line for the race meal - BBQ burger and pasta salad...yum. Listened to the awards. Then hit Starbuck's and drove the 3 hours home.


I was very happy with my performance at this race. It's early in the season and I was a bit worried about the swim since I haven't been in OW much yet, and the wind concerned me quite a bit, but this is the first time I've 'raced' a whole race. It was a lot of fun.


This is a fun early-season race. The course is challenging but definitely doable. The money raised goes to cancer research. They have a good after-race meal and they had one of the best volunteers I've ever seen. I meant to thank him personally but didn't get the chance. I'm looking forward to going back next year and trying to break 3 hours.