I was very relaxed on the swim - maybe too relaxed! This was my first race with a full wetsuit and I was gliding right along - even passing people, which isn't the norm for me in the swim! Navigation was probably the best I've had in a race. I was surprised when I saw that I added almost a minute on last year's swim time.

Swim more! I haven't been in the water all that much lately, and it showed.

This transition starts with a long run alongside the t-area. I remember walking it last year, so the fact that I was running was a good thing! Wetsuit came off easily and dropping the gloves saved me time. My biggest issue was that as soon as I crossed the timing mat to clip in, I could not get clipped in! Seriously, I bet I was there 20 seconds trying to clip in. I've never had so much trouble!

GET NEW PEDALS! Otherwise, this transition was not exactly fast, but it wasn't bad, given the distance I had to cross.

I felt really good on this ride. I passed a lot of riders from my own wave as well as the two ahead of me. I pedaled through corners, which I don't often do, and felt really strong on the few hills there were. Coming into the park at the end, my computer said I was at 19.8. By the time I slowed down to the dismount line and ran across the mat, I was down to 19.5...offical race pace was 19.2, which is still a PR, so I'll take it! I was 31/170 women on the bike.

I could probably push even harder on the bike, but I wouldn't have any legs left for running, so I'll be satisfied with this!

This transition went smoothly - just a long way to run with the bike to get to my rack. The gal at the end of the rack had put a bright green swim cap "flag" on the rack, so it was easy to find my location!

Not much!

My legs felt okay off the bike, but I knew right away that I wasn't running as fast as I have been lately. It took me almost to the turn around to settle in and breathe more deeply, and then second half felt a lot better. This was definitely faster than last year, and I wanted to get under 30:00, which I did.

More transition runs & bricks. I have to get stronger legs for the run. I have proven to myself that I can run faster consistently - now I need to do it in the right context!

Found my family, had some water, a banana, & a handful of pretzels. Chatted with lots of BTers - very fun! I won a $75 gift certificate to a place that does both sports massage and things like LT testing, bike fits based on power testing, etc.! After we packed up, went with Steve, Nora, Kelly, Autumn, Cindy & Sal to get lunch & ice cream!


I took more than 2 minutes off last year's time and overall am very pleased with this race. I need to continue working on swimming & running, speedy transitions, and transition runs!


I love this race! It's so well organized, the course is very racer-friendly, and the atmosphere is very welcoming. I will be registering for 2008 on January 1st!