While I wanted to wear my wetsuit for the first time in a race, I realized quickly that I need more OWS swim practice in a wetsuit. I generally never panic in the water but I haven't been training in the pool as much as I should and the wetsuit tightness around my chest really affected my ability to swim the course. I went out too fast and got caught up in the washing machine of swimmers and panic ensued.

Honestly, I felt like calling it a day before I hit the first bouy but I kept telling myself to keep going. I saw others floating on the their backs and I thought I can at least do breast stroke and slow down and still get there and that's what I did.....after I got rid of the panic and shortness of breath, I got a side stich.....after the side stich, I started to experience leg cramps in each calf....I kept going.

Overall...the swim sucked but I stuck it out and I'm glad I did.....I think it was a good wake up call to train more and I learned a lot for future races.

Train more in pool, do more OWS with and without wetsuit.

What was I doing for 4 min and 10 seconds?...didn't feel like that long. I was probably recovering from the swim. Also, I struggled to get off the wetsuit, other than that the transition went as planned. I had everything organized and laid out as needed.

Practice taking off wetsuit as part of transition practice.

The bike was a rough start for me at first. I really wasn't feeling too great after the swim and most of the transition area was empty when I entered ....I got my bike and sucked it up. It felt good to get out of the park and get up the first big hill. I calmed down and tried to get into a rhythm. The rest of the ride went pretty well.

I could have handled the turns better. I usually ride in Rock Creek Park and don't have a lot of turns so I haven't had a lot of practice. I was much better in my bike handling this year than last year. I rode down on the hoods and changed gears as necessary to keep my legs from getting worn out.

I descended the hills well and dismounted pretty well. Dismount was at the bottom of a hill by the lake. I was a little nervous manuevering that with clipless pedels but I unclipped one foot at the top of the hill and was able to land safely when I stopped at the bottom.

Keep training and working on bike skills. Need more practice cornering and working on turns.

Picked up my running shoes, put on my visor and ran with my race belt out of the transition area. Again I was intimidated by the lack of people in the transition area. It was apparent that many racers had already finished the entire race......I just kept going.

Keep moving.

Very tough run for me plus I didn't drink enough on bike and paid the price. With only one water stop, there was little I could do about that. I don't do well in the heat and hills are generally my hardest obstacle. Like the rest of the race, I kept going. I figured if I could put one foot in front of the other, then I could still finish.

The race was described as having a completly flat run...and this was far from it. It was slightly encouraging to see really fit runners having difficulty on the course as well....at least I wasn't the only one. I tried to run more but the heat and lack of water really limited me. Next time, I will bring my water running bottle that I usually take in the heat and/or on hilly runs......

Again, I thought about giving up and not finishing. I was embarrassed about my probable last place finish.....but then again I thought it would be better to finish then to quit and so that's what I did.

Keep running, keep practicing, and more bricks!

Drank, Drank and drank some more. I felt really overheated and gross. I had some smoothies to cool down. Couldn't eat anything else. Felt a little light headed but felt better after a Coke. Tougher recovery than I have experienced in other races.


Heat, challenging course, self-doubt, dehydration, weight and lack of training.

My heart rate monitor indicated that I hit 101% of my maximum heart rate and my average heart rate was 170 (91% of my max). I felt that I at least pushed myself pretty hard even though I'm a slowpoke.


Really great race support from my husband, Jimbo..it was really nice to have him as a spectator instead of co-competitor this time. He took some vidoe, lots of pictures and was encourageing along the way. He was also quick to my aid at the end when I desparately needed some water.....THANKS! :)

I like the course and the race even though its challenging. Future competitors should note that the run isn't flat! :)