This has been my best swim to date. I was able to actually have some sort of form and get into a rhythm for most of the swim. I also passed a couple people in the previous wave (but not a lot) which was kind of cool. I was a little far to the left the entire time, but it turned out ok. Felt good coming out of that water and actually was able to attempt a jog up into transition.

Swim more. I have a LOT of base building to do this winter!

This is my first race with clipless pedal, and I'm still not used to getting my bike shoes on quickly. Plus, I talked to TallTriDad for a minute who was letting me know he was DNFing the Duathlon. Trotted my bike out of transition and moved over to the side to mount.

Practice transitions

I'm going to start singing my "I Love My Speedplays" song again. Clipless ROCKS! I got clipped in relatively easily and was off. It was nice to finally be able to do the course without having to stop at the traffic signals. As I was going up the first hill out of transition, Miami9296 comes flying up behind me and yells at me about the hills. Geesh! If I can go 10 mph up a hill, it's not big! The rest of the course is pretty flat with some rollers. I got stuck behind some people because there were more experienced riders coming up behind me that I didn't want to get in the way of. The turning was a little iffy with the roads being wet, but I just slowed down and stayed as far to the right as I could so others could pass. I saw a number of people walking their bikes back...I'm assuming from flats. I came across 2 riders who were just riding and talking, one wasn't trying to pass the other. So, when I was finally able to pass them, I asked them if they knew they were blocking. They said no. They must not have listened to any of the race talks. I probably wouldn't have said anything to them if the course hadn't been so crowded, but I was kind of irritated, so I didn't keep my mouth shut. I also saw at least one rider with ear buds in. WTH?!?

I could have gone a little harder, been a bit more aggressive in passing. Work on cornering

Trotted my bike back into transition. Had an issue getting my bike re-racked, but resolved that. Had to dig my running shoes out of the plastic bag I had them in. Managed to get those on (I love my Yankz!), grabbed my race belt and headed towards the run exit. A buddy of mine, Loretta, was volunteering at the aid station right there and she made sure to give me 2 cups of H2O (pays to know people... ;) )

I really need to practice transitions now that I have clipless.

This is my best run in a race to date. I ran a lot more of it then any other, but still had some walking sections. I walked a little bit into the run because my heel was bothering me (gave me a good opportunity to have a gel, so I was ok with it). Started a running/walking combo for the next 10 minutes or so, then started with a more steady run. I walked a couple more times when I had a pain in my back and through the water station, but ran the rest of the way. I really like this run course because you see so many people. Lots of people gave encouraging words, one guy passed me and told me he loved the jersey (Tri Donkai, thank you very much!). Hi-fived Whizzz and CindyK when we passed each other after I'd hit the sprint turn around. I knew I was going to be pretty close to my goal, but figured I was going to go over. When I was about a quarter mile out, I got some crazy thought in my head that I just MIGHT be able to make it, so I went all out and ran as fast as I could to the finish. I must have had a total endorphine rush because I almost started crying (happy tears) as I crossed the finish line (I'm tearing up just thinking about it, actually). I missed my overall goal by 14 seconds...

Run more.

Once I crossed the finish line, I saw Coredump. I was a little disoriented and he was nice enough to help me find where to get the timing chip removed and such. After I got my head back about me, said hi to some other BTers and made my way over to my bags that I'd left under a tree just in case I couldn't get into transition. On the way over, I heard a "Hey Donkey!". Turned out to be Scoobysdad (who is shorter then I imagined :) Chatted with him for a bit, and then went off to find my clothes and a bathroom. They let us back into the RecPlex for food and awards. Hung around, but didn't win the bike.


I have a lot of work to do this winter. Aside from the wet conditions, the only thing that hindered me was me.


The Expo left a ton to be desired. The local races really need to work on these...there's generally hardly anything there. What fun is that?

Aside from that, they really put on a good race. They were good about keeping us informed about what decisions where being made, considering the weather we had going on. They caught the break in weather we were going to have and went for it. Some of the volunteers left due to the weather, but those that stuck it out were great! As much as I waffled, I'm really glad I stuck it out. I will definately do this again...depending on how I progress, it may be the Oly.