I was 14th overall out of the water, but 3rd female. Just missed the darn swim prime which was $250!! Oh well. I got caught a little between a few guys at the start, but then used a few guys for a FREE ride out to the first bouy. I also had a gal on my shoulder, but I think I was getting the better draft. Then the WAVES hit. HOLY CRAP! This was wavier than Alcatraz! Good for me I guess since I can power through it. I was with another gal for a while, but then she followed another person a little off course, so I buried my head and swam straight for the bouys. Did OK, but somehow they got ahead of me even though they were off course? One good thing was my navigation was DEAD on even with the waves/ current pushing out. Maybe it was faster to let it push you and go with it, then swim back in closer to shore where it was more protected? Don't know, but whatever, I was 30" behind coming out of the water. Got both the lead gals between the swim exit and the time we got on to the main road on the bike.

Draft on more guys for longer :) THANKS!!!

WOHOOOOO! I had THE FASTEST T-1 in the entire race (yes, even faster than Dave Scott! MAcca lost his chip, so I guess it's possible that his was faster, but I'm going to stick with mine was fastest :) )Anyway, came out of the water, pulled my suit down, let a gal pull it off my foot, grabbed my T-bag, dumped it in the change tent put on my glasses and helmet as I was running to the bike, hopped on the bike and pushed off. It was a narrow and uphill mount, so I didn't fly, but I did have my shoes clipped in. Considering the uphill, I think I did well getting into my shoes and passing the 2 leaders before we really got to the road.

NADA!

I was in the LEAD coming out of Transition (WOW what a cool feeling to realize you're in the lead!) then to get passed right at the turnaround at mile 23... So I was the 4th fastest bike split for women (35 of all including men). Anyway, my nutrition was dead on despite my gel flask exploding in y bento box... I got 2 shots and 2 sticky hands as well as a sticky Nuun container out of it, then just chucked it at the first aid station at mile 10. Grabbed a water bottle and tried to wash the gel off of everything, but Oh well. At the 2nd aid I grabbed 2 more gels and another 1 at aid 3. By that time I was just past the turn and had just gotten passed, so I went with what I had. All in all on the bike I had 4 gels, (maybe slightly more sice I probably got 1.5 shots out of the flask) 2 Nuun, 1 heed and about 1/2 of my 350 calorie Sustained energy... So about 700 calories- not bad. And my stomach felt a little hungry, but mostly GREAT overall.

Not much. I mean my legs were burned after this ride, but I have to say that I think it was worth it and I don't think I could have ridden the hills any softer. I did drop power from hour 1 to hour 3- hour 1 ag 217, hour 2 202 and hour 3 190, but considering the difference in terrain... Hard to tell. I was definitely fatigued and need more bike base for next year :)

T-2 came up too quick! I didn't have my 2nd foot out, so had to improvise at the dismount, so it took a second to get my bearings. Didn't have to rack the bike since a volunteer grabbed it for me. They grabbed my T2 bag and sent me into the tent telling me I was in 2nd place with about a 3 minute deficit to the leader. Put on the socks, shoes and race # felt like time warp slow, but I was trying to get my legs under me. Glad I put another gel in there, so I had that on the run - and it was PLAIN- my new FAVORITE flavor of Hammer Gel

Not much, I think the extra 10 seconds was OK and worth it to grab the water and get situated.

YEah, so 3rd woman on the swim, 4th on the bike- second place overall starting the run then BOOM! 13th run split and I got passed by 4 gals to finish 6th overall. I'm not complaining, but DAMN, I wanted to be top 5! Oh well. Here's my take on it. My legs were tired. They were sore. I was tired mentally from a long season and didn't ever get myself going. I NEVER hit LT (not even close) and I know I needed to push harder. I can't say I'm pleased, but after this season, I can't say I'm disappointed either. SO I will say that I need to build bike base to keep the legs fresher for the run. And build run speed on sustained hills. Nutrition was great and never had a cramp or even a slight twinge- maybe because I wasn't working hard enough? It felt good just to cover the distance, so I will say I'm happy with this as an accomplishment. This was a TOUGH course!

Run faster :)

Walked a bit and got a massage. 1 sandwich, 1 pizza, 2 cookies, 2 diet cokes, then a shower, then a great meal, a show on the strip and 4 beers and 4 hours later we won $1000 at the blackjack tables- Thank to the Wynn!!
At some point I should mention that I got to spend a lot of time with my coach AJ and his wife Courtney since the rode with us. THANKS AJ for an AWESOME season and great advice!! And also we caravanned with the McCormacks out to the race (Yes, meaning Chris aka Macca and his wife Emma and beautiful little girls) and got to hear lots of GREAT fun stories about Kona, races, other pros and drinking. He's a normal person, eats normal food and didn't train either day we spent with him. Yes, he's a GREAT guy and totally a normal person. Nicer than most I would say. COOL to meet someone so fast yet so normal!


Base training? This season was focused on OLY, so I didn't have time to build enough endurance base for this race, which was OK. Next season is about distance :)


I have to say that this was an INCREDIBLE race in terms of volunteers, swag, expo, aid stations. When they said aid stations every 10 on the bike and every mile on the run I figured every 10-15 on the bike, but it was more like every 5-10 and every mile on the run- was more like AT LEAST one aid station every mile. The volunteers were GREAT! The staff was great, everyone was friendly, helpful and glad to have us there! The swag bags were NICE backpacks (like REAL backpacks, not the little sling packs) and were LOADED with goodies including goggles, a sling bag, nalgene bottles, and more. BEST race organization that I've experienced!