WHOO WHOO - for my first tri in March, I put down 10 minutes and it took me 11:xx. For my second tri in June, I put down 10 minutes, and it took me 9:54, mostly because I spent a bunch of time swimming up other peoples' backsides (not as enjoyable as it may sound)... So, for this tri, I put 8:45 as my estimated time, passed a few people, and ROCKED THE SWIM. (OK, this is for me - but remember, the girl couldn't even swim in January.) Seriously, I'm thrilled that I'm getting speed and I should be getting distance too.

My only gripe is that I was seriously whacked, once in the stomach and once in the neck by some crazy doing a whack-o frog kick thing. I know when I get to OWS that is to be expected, but I wasn't expecting it in a pool swim (out of the blue from someone coming down the other side of the lane).

Next time, I'm putting 8:00 or 8:15, or even (heaven forbid), get off my butt and register for an OWS tri. ;) One of the ladies in front of me said she planned on doing side-stroke the whole time...goodness. I passed her early on...but I gotta keep lowering my registered swim time, or else I get behind them...AND BESIDES, I'm getting faster! :)

Long run from the pool - ran it. Getting into my socks and bike shoes - all good. Getting a drink - oops, forgot. Running to the mount line and clipping in....well, OK - this is my first tri with clipless. I was able to run better in the shoes than I had expected, but I dinked around with getting in the clips for the first 100-200 meters or so of the ride. After that, the ride was good (see below).

Not stand and look at my bike for a minute before remembering what I was there for. I felt stupid for a minute, but I recovered. ;)

Keep practicing clipping in and out.

I passed a few people, got passed by some speed demons, and had a good ride. My bike computer said I was 0.1 mph faster than last race - weird, since that was the pouring rain and today was gorgeous, but oh well. I don't think I've spent enough time with my bike since I was on vacation and riding in loops, but I'm happy with my effort. Also, a little pokey at the dismount - even though I practiced a flying dismount at home, I just unclipped and struggled off the bike at the race.

RIDE MORE. RIDE MORE. Then, RIDE SOME MORE.

I think this is one area that is really holding me back - I need to work on my bike speed, ALOT.

T2 went better than I expected. This is the first race where I had to switch from bike shoes to running shoes and it was faster than I hoped. Also, I remembered my race number and my hat and I took off my sunglasses, so this was as good as I could have hoped (minus the flying dismount).

Practice the flying dismount - taking my feet out of shoes and leaping off the bike...

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with my new T2.

I'm not happy with my run...I really hoped to break 30, but it is what it is. I finished strong and happy. AND - to make myself feel better - I was 6/13 on the run (and 10/13 on the swim and bike), so really, I should be proud of my run, right? No, you're right - I'm not and I need to work on it. I think more bricks, more running, more bricks, and more running would help. Yeah, probably. If I could break 30, it would make a big difference.

More bricks, more running. MORE MORE MORE.

Met the family - as I was entering the chute, I heard little girl voices yelling "Go Mommy! Faster!" So cute - I'm sure I have a dorky grin on my face for my finish photo - not so cute. Ate some pizza and smoothies, met BT MDHillSlug, talked to Artemis again, got my stuff and went home.


I'd like to blame it all on my vacation last week...I only took 7 seconds off my time from the same course in June. My swim time dropped 1:30, but I added some transition time doing clipless without realizing a significant benefit in the bike leg. My fault, not the shoes. ;) And I'm bummed about the run - maybe I play the run too conservative? MORE BRICKS.


This is the 2nd Set-Up Events race I've done (out of 3) and I've been impressed both times. Everything from packet-pickup to awards goes very smoothly (although the manner of handing out door prizes was a bit ridiculous at today's race) - the important stuff is done right.

Good volunteers and traffic control. Nice folks.

A great race for newbies and nearly newbies.