Started out great. Got into a good pull and glide rhythm from the start and was able to see/navigate the first two buoys (the yellow ones) without lifting my head beyond the usual breathing. Awesome. Then, I got lost on the way to the third buoy (the orange one) and never regained any navigational ability.

I had to stop completely and get my bearings 3-4 times and each time I was inside of the area we were supposed to circle (I must pull to the right or there was a current that I didn't notice) and had to backtrack to get on-course. Once, I even choked on water so badly that I had to stop. Now, really, this is dumb. I can clear choking without stopping in the pool with no problem - even water up my nose to where it stings. I think I got unnerved and disoriented because of the navigation and was unable to keep my game on.

Look at a map of the course, look at the actual course, do a warm-up, listen to the pre-race instructions . . . I really dropped the ball here. Next time I'll do better.

On the swimming itself, I felt strong and relaxed with no shoulder pain so that is great since my big swim race is in 2 weeks. So, nothing different there.

This is still not below a minute, but it is a HUGE improvement for me. The pantomiming helped and so did having all of my nutrition on the bike. My race was 3rd row from the swim entrance so I had a far run, too.

Learn to ride my bike without socks or put socks on faster. Put my stuff under the front tire so I didn't have to go around to put on helmet/glasses.

I got discouraged on the swim and I started the bike with low fuel or too high a heartrate or something. I had to stop completely to get on the bike and still almost fell over.

From the start, people passed me like I wasn't moving. I was giving negative self-talk too, about "why am I doing this?" "this is not fun" "how on earth can I do a HIM in September" and other goodies. I promised myself a GU at mile 5 and then Ron rode by with a nice hello. That helped my mood immensely. I started to tell myself that the reason I was getting passed was because I seeded myself with the fast swimmers so it was no wonder that all of the good bikers were passing me. After the GU, I felt better (placebo effect? possibly, but I still felt better) and was able to enjoy the scenery and have a good time. I was still slow but I gained on the dudes in front of me on the downhills (crazy!) so I coasted them after I got to superfast speed. Wheee! After that, I decided that I wasn't getting extra credit for mashing the harder gears and spun up the hills instead. I got to say hello to a lot of NAMC folks who passed me and saw some others on the out-n-backs. My legs got tired and my left IT started to complain at about mile 19 but I stood to climb a few hills and it settled. The last 2/3 of the bike were much better for me because I could see the folks in front of me on the out-n-backs and there was no question that they were fast and I sang some songs and gave my bike some encouragement.

Better bike fitness and push a little harder on the bike leg (including standing to climb some hills).

Make a time/pace goal for the bike and stick to it. Here I didn't even look at my pace - just my cadence.

Whooo! Below one minute! That's a PR for me and #1 in my AG.

My dismount was crappy, no flying. Just stopping and getting off before starting to run in my bike shoes.

I decided in set-up to tie my running shoes ahead of time and just slip them on. Because my feet swell when it's hot anyway, they would only be loose only at first, if at all. Awesome decision. They were like ghetto lock-laces.

Learn to dismount better or leave my shoes on the bike (maybe?).

I felt bad in miles 1-2 and started looking for a potty. I was going at a 7:20 pace at one point and told myself to slow down. Unfortunately, the volunteer told me when I asked that there were no bathrooms on the course.

Greg passed me at the beginning and I abandoned hope of seeing him again. I settled in at my slower pace and decided that I'd try to hold it just below 8 minutes. I hadn't really set a plan for this run before the race because I've never done this distance before.

As we came over onto the dam, I spotted some porto-potties. YES! I was sloshing because of all of the water on the bike and then there were the tummy issues. As we came over the dam and I weighed the pros/cons of going down (and more importantly up) the bazillion steps, I started to feel better. People were coming towards us and I resolved to say hello to everyone. I decided to hit the potties on the way back. It was so much fun cheering the other runners on - picking a color or trying to read their numbers, that I completely forgot about my tummy issues. Sure, I still had to pee, but big deal.

I took a sip of water and dumped the rest on my head at every water stop. Boy, did that ever feel good.

When we encountered the one big hill, I shouted encouragement and clapped to get my co-runners going. One guy came with me but the rest stayed back. We crested the hill with big smiles. I couldn't catch that guy at the end, either.

Still pour the water on my head, but drink a little less. I think I would still do the GU at mile 2 because it did give me a good boost. Start my end-of-the race surge a little earlier or increase my goal pace a little. I think I could have gone a couple of minutes faster. I missed the 5 mile mark so I didn't realize where we were until we only had 0.3 miles to go. No excuses, though, I just didn't turn it up early enough.

Congratulated that guy who I couldn't catch and then stood under the water sprays cooling off. Ate some pretzels and a banana. Cheered as Courtney came in and then joined the other NAMC folks and Laurie/Eric for more cheering while I stretched my hammies.


Inexperience at this distance. Bike fitness (STILL) and tummy nerves.


Would definitely consider doing this race again. The course was nice and the volunteers were great and LaGrange was a nice place to visit.