This was my best swim yet. I had clear water the whole way and quickly found my rhythm. Even though the water was disturbingly murky, I swam well. After the bouy, I think I slowed a bit. If I don't have anyone around me, I tend to slack off some.

I need to learn to pace myself better and not rely on another swimmer to push myself.

I'm just so slow in T1. It's sad. After rinsing my feet (in the pouring rain), I pulled on socks and shoes. Then I had to get my helmet on right with my hair. Next I had to fuss with my watch. At least I didn't fall on my face with my bike like last time.

Not be such a freaking princess about my feet and hair.

This was my first time riding in the rain and I guess it's just something you have to do. So I did it. The first part was the toughest; into the wind with a driving rain. When I was on my aerobars, the water was spraying me in the face. I had a new nutrition plan today: Acellerade and half a Clif Bar for the first 7 miles. Then a couple Sports Beans and some water for the next 3 miles. It seemed to work well today. The Clif and Beans were in a baggie in my Bento box and got pretty wet. Clif holds up better in water than Beans, which just fused into one huge clump. The whole time out there I was pretty nervous about the road conditions. New pavement, wind and rain made for kind of a scary ride. I have no experience riding on wet pavement, so I had to ride carefully. My goal was to finish and not crash out. A couple times I was reminded of that awful horse trial at Radnor several years ago that involved a crash in the rain. This time I was just as wet, but no crash.

Nothing much. Maybe go a little harder on the uphills.

Doh! "Hey, 156! Your helmet!" Thanks. Someone had jacked my rack spot, so I had to shift down and totally forgot my helmet. Thanks to the girl that saved me from having to run with it. I'm not that special that I need a helmet when I run.

Helmet, duh!

I haven't run all week because of some nagging shin pain, so I just wanted to run as much as possible. Kind of the same strategy as the other races this year. I started out and quickly began the "let's run to the next corner and see if I need to stop" game. That keeps my head busy and kills some time. Well, I didn't stop the whole way! I haven't run 3 miles straight in about a year. That was a big accomplishment. Now, I realize that I was super-slow, but at least I didn't stop. Running in the rain was kind of nice. I took a gel at mile 2 and that helped me power through that last mile. During that last mile I kept leapfrogging with a teenage boy who was really struggling. His left calf said he was in Wave 1; I was Wave 6. Each time I passed him, I kept encouraging him to keep going. We rounded the turn to the finish and I told him, "Let's go, dude. Kick it!" We sprinted and of course he dusted me. It felt good to help him out and see him finish.

This month is going to be about getting a little faster before Treadman. I have to start training the run now.

None really. Got some food and chatted with a guy from the gym. He was finished as I was going out on the run. Turns out he finished 3rd overall. Then I changed clothes for the drive home. Good call on bringing clean clothes.


Maybe the rain. Mostly the engine.


This was a good race, except for the nasty lake. I'll put it on the calendar for next year, but make sure to have a change of clothes and some way to clean up afterward.