Just plain bad. This is usually my best event, but the extremely brief warm up of about a minute combined with the cold water just destroyed me. I could not catch my breath for about 10 minutes. I would take 3 or 4 strokes and gasp for air, breast stroke for a stroke or two and start again. I even considered quiting because I couldn't imagine swimming the whole thing like that. I did finally catch my breathe and was okay, but my sighting was poor, not fluid really. Overall, just sucky. I suppose for a first swim of the season not bad, but knowing that without too much effort I should be 3 minutes or more faster bugs me. I also never really found a good rhythm, I was breathing every stroke and mostly on one side, very unlike me and eventually uncomfortable, but I needed the air. The stairs to the transitions was certainly challenging, the run from the water to the timing mat took me a full minute, but I took the stairs very carefully. That minute was in my swim time, but doesn't make me any happier with my swim time.

A warm up to get accustomed to the water temp would help, the 30 seconds I swam didn't do enough to prep my body for the effort and the cold all at once. I'm sure the next one will be better. I wonder if sleeves would have made a difference.

I was 45th overall, 10th woman and 3rd in my age group. That's some kind of record!! I've tried to focus on moving more slowly but deliberately once I'm in front of my gear. It seems to help. The wetsuit was of course stuck, when is it not! But all else went well. For the first time I wore my race belt under my wetsuit so as soon as I was running with the bike I was sure I forgot something. I even was able to wipe my feet! And I ran the long way around the bike racks.

Go the short way around the racks. Someday my mount will be more graceful and less elephant like, but that's the least of my concerns.

I'd done a 60 mile ride the day before on the Musselman course and thought this thing was a killer, I'm not unhappy though. I don't know why this says 16.9 and the website results say 17.2, but in anycase, considering I didn't put race effort in until the last 6 that were downhill, I'm pretty okay with it. I corner poorly and turn around cones poorly, so that I did it well today is great.

If I were to race this again, I would have to become a better hill climber, but that takes work...

Again, way faster than lots of people. What am I doing right?

Excellent pacing, good run, overtook 4 women, consistent and felt good, especially considering yesterdays 60 mile ride and 4 mile run. No complaints and solid!

Nothing, I suppose not training hard the day before would get me some seconds on this, but I'm not goint to get greedy

pack up, get to Geneva, ride motorcycle for a few hours and have some beers!!


training hard all week, although this was a race to just get some feel for transitions etc.


Really well done, I like the score-this people, and am hoping this series with points will do well. Well, I hope that I do well! A great venue for a race, despite the steps coming from the water and the temp of the water.