I tried to place myself in the front and as far to one side as possible. This race is the only one I have ever done where I have had blood drawn during the swim and I wanted to avoid having that happen again. When the horn went off I felt the adrenalin surge and I sprinted off ahead of everyone. My goggles were all fogged up despite the fact that I had just rubbed them out and spit in them moments before. I could not see a thing. I started to panic a little and my breathing was off rhythm. I told myself to calm down and take it easy. I slowed down a bit and brought my head up for a longer look of wear I was going. Some girls in my wave passed me and I started following them. It was easier to sight off them then try to find the buoy which apparently was somewhere in the direction we were heading. Luckily for me, they swam straight for it and I was not guided off course. My eagerness to separate myself from the pack at the start was beginning to take its tole on me and I was tiring quickly. As I rounded the last buoy, I was really feeling the consequences of not training enough for the swim in the last few weeks leading up to this race. I kept going. I had caught up with the wave ahead and trying to dodge flailing arms and legs. Then the mil foil came. I could hear the groans of disgust coming from my fellow competitors as we crawled through the under water forest on our way to the finish. It didn't seem to me to be as bad as previous years. Or maybe I was too tired to notice. I finally made it back to the beach and although I made it out with a decent time, I still feel like it was one of my worst swims ever. I never feel like I have a good swim at this race though.

Train more for the swim. My nerves were also a problem. I am not sure what I can do about that. I have been trying for years to figure out how to calm myself down before racing but haven't really been successful.

After the swim I was feeling pretty tired. I got everything off and on without too much trouble and headed out.

The transition area at this race is pretty big. Other than that I need to practice transitions more.

I started off on the bike course strong. My legs felt great and I was ready to push it. I was passing people on my way down Lake Washington Blvd. As we hit hills I passed even more people which surprised and pleased me. Hills used to be one of my weaknesses and now I am getting better. I noticed a lot of violations out on the bike course. Many people blocking (probably not really knowing that they were), drafting, and passing on the right. I never saw a race marshal.

I still have a long way to go to get better on the bike but I am happy with my performance. I biked about 8 minutes faster than last year.

My legs felt pretty good coming off the bike. I got everything I needed for the run and headed out. I ate half a gel on my way out and grabbed some water from the aid station. I was worried the gu might irritate my stomach but it didn't. I didn't really feel like it helped my energy wise, however.

Nothing.

I felt pretty good heading out for the run but I started to get tired really quickly. I told myself that I had to run to the hill then I could walk the hill. That kept me going for a while. I slowed to a walk a couple of times but only for a second. I finally reached the hill and walked up the steepest part then ran the rest of the way up and then ran all the way to the finish. I was beat by the time I got to the finish line and didn't have any kick left in me. I was finished!

Train more for the run to build up my endurance. Eat more breakfast/fuel better so I have more energy at the end of the race. I was about 6 minutes faster than last year.

I walked around a bit and ate some fruit. Drank some water. I was pretty zoned out and wanted to get home. I grabbed my stuff and had to walk all the way around the TA to get to my car because they didn't want people crossing the bike course. I looked for my Emerald City teammates but I couldn't find anyone. I finally gave up looking and headed home.


I think that not eating enough before the race really effected my performance. I did not have enough energy to keep me going strong throughout the race. I am also really out of shape for the swim. I need to do more swim workouts but it is not a top priority for me right now. I am more focused on getting better at biking and running.


This is not one of my favorite races but the course is great. I don't like really big races and it is not very well marshaled. The food was pretty good this year with PCC being a sponsor. I am very happy that I dropped around 13 minutes off last years time overall.