They told us the current was strong and it would be a FAST swim. They told the faster swimmers to cheat right and slowers to cheat left. I started out right in the middle, but I must have swam straight for too long because I ended up too far left (too conservative) before turning downstream towards the swim exit. I know it cost me some time, but all in all considering the chop and the salt water and the scenery that I COULD NOT take my eyes off - I thought it was JUST FINE :) I swallowed a bit of water in some of the wavier areas. I have to admit, it was a little overwhelming! The other funny thing was that I was NOT cold when I jumped in! It was actually much warmer out in the bay and got colder as I got close to shore! Thought that was odd...

Pre swim the course :) Not much else would have helped really except MAYBE just sighting more aggressively or staying with the main pack. I really was sighting where they told us and somehow swam a little too long.

This included about a 1/2 to 3/4 mile run to the transition area. I opted to put shoes on - I think that was a WISE choice. I did run right past my shoes and had to double back. Getting the shoes on was fine, but getting the wetsuit in the bag was tough! I was glad I had done so many of the short runs out of the water. I passed MANY people on that little jaunt in my running shoes. Then I dumped those for the bike shoes and hit the transition exit with my bike. It was SOOOO crowded at the exit that I couldn't do a running mount anyway.

Not much, maybe just not run by my bag. This was a respectable transition - not the fastest in my AG, but not far from it either.

Yeah! I was under an hour!!! That was my mark I was shooting for :) Started out smooth and knew I had about 2 miles before the first climb, so I just found a rythm and took a few sips of Heed. Hit the hills and tried to keep cadence up. I was still warm compared to the ocean, but it was pretty cold out and at some point, I noticed my feet were numb. It was tough on the descents because it was SO crowded and the road was somewhat narrow. Seemed like every hill had a turn too. I tried not to brake unless I needed to, but I did it a LOT! On the way back, the hills seemed steeper, but not too bad. I saved some juice for the last hill and after I hammered over that I knew it was down then flat. I took in 2 bottles of Heed and 2.5 hammer gels. Seemed about right.

Follow through some of the hills better. Get better position?? It just seemed that I couldn't ever get away from people and I was constantly worried about passing, blocking, drafting etc.

I got a little hung up after dismount - it was a longish run with the bike as my transition spot was kinda far and I couldn't get around the crowd - again... Then I almost forgot my visor and had to turn back to get it after nearly knocking my bike off the rack. Not bad, but not stellar either. I think I was 5th or 6th fastest on each transition where I am usually in the top few in that catagory. Again, no complaints, just not my usual lightning :)

relax, not worry and pass the slower people BEFORE going into transition :)

Basically it goes like this 2 mile fast, flat warmup - then NARROW HILLY paths where you are CRUNCHED to one side running up while the pros are FLYING down the other side! For the first 2 miles my feet were TOTALLY numb. My stomache was a little iffy, so I just tried to run smooth and get it out before the hills. After a mile I was fine and picked it up a bit. I got to see Andy Potts in the lead followed by 2 guys that I didn't recognize then Matt Reed. I also saw Cam Widoff before the Ladies started coming - I was shocked to see LEanda Cave leading the field after Becky Lavelle had been leading the run. She was followed by Lexi Waddell and Jo Lawn before Becky was around. Anyway sharing the path, then the crazy SHORT (I had to duck) tunnel. Then more crazy narrow path and stairs (did I mention the SEVERAL sets of stairs??) Then finally to the top of the hill and down to the beach - of SOFT sand. I went down to the hard sand then back on the soft stuff for the turn around and then saw it looming - the infamous sand stairs!! It was looming. I tried to relax leading up to it, but it was more soft sand on the approach, so I had to muscle through that. At this point I was glad to be through the halfway point, but still feeling pretty damned good except for the fact that my shoes were JAMMED with sand - this came back to haunt me on the downhill where my toes werecrunching into the sand with every stop and practically rubbed raw. I got 1/2 way up and finally looked up to my "OH SHIT I'm only HALF way up!" Then I walked a little and pulled myself with the handrail a little. Then I saw 2 girls with "32" on thier calves - SCREW THAT! I RAN the rest of the way and put them to bed :) The awful thing is that once you hit the top of the actual ladder portion then there is more SAND and more STAIRS!! WHOA. Just near the top of that there were clif shot bloks and I grabbed some and pushed over the top of the last hill to the water station. I knew how narrow it was about to become so I picked off another gal in my AG then a few others to put some space between us. Then I had to stay with the flow down the stairs and on the super narrow crazy part. Once I hit the bottom, I felt great. I don't know if it was a runner's high or what, but I felt great and felt like my form was good and I just lit up. I passed 2 more girls in my AG - later ladies! And I ran with this guy for a mile or so before toasting him too. I honestly felt great. THIS was my victory lap. I had no idea of place, but I also knew that my bike split was good and my run was going to be DAMNED close to an hour. I figured if I was under 1:02 I was smoking. I honestly thought I would have been happy with 8' miles. Well, I saw my family screaming at me and I headed for the final half mile with gusto. I was so happy, smiling, and the sun FINALLY came out. I finally felt like a runner on those last few miles. Form was dialed in, I was not tired, I was pushing pretty hard and I was keeping up and passing pretty much everyone around - even the men.

Nothing. This was a GREAT run for me!!!

Walked around and ate some food. checked the official results and enjoyed the family.


First time on the course. Not much else!


I have to say I will do everything possible to do this race again and again. It was fun, challenging and overall just amazing. The run is SO great - it kinda makes me want to try some Xterra races! Tri-Cal events are always well run, tons of support, tons of goodies, plenty of drink and gel stations and they have a gem with this course. I LOVED it. It was everything I hoped it would be - and my expectations were high!