Tough swim for me. Goggles wouldn't get a seal and I had to stop several times to adjust them. Had trouble getting a smooth rhythm going. Think because I'm coming up too far when I'm sighting causing my lower body to drag even more than it does when I swim normally. Stopped a couple of times when I wasn't sure I was looking at the right yellow buoy, which signified a turn. Made it through my two laps. There were a ton a safety people in the water and standing on docks and I felt every single one of them watching me. I must have looked like a flailing mess. On the final stretch of my second lap, I had a cramp in my lower leg just above the ankle. I've had this cramp before only on the other side, and it also happened during an open water swim. I think there's something funky going on with my sighting and balance that's causing me to compensate with kicking that my legs don't like. Will work on this before the next race. When I got to the shore, there was a volunteer telling me to be careful of the rocks, so I thought she wanted me to stop swimming and I stood up way too soon. There was only one other person in the water and he zoomed by me while I was making my way over the rocks to the ramp.

Work on sighting skills
Wet goggles before swimming.

Little problem in T1. I couldn't see out of my right eye. Contact was clouded over because I had water in my goggles for most of the swim. I was freaking out a little when I got out of the water. I thought I had lost my contact and wouldn't be able to see for the bike course. I could see through a fog, but it was clear, so I knew I still had the contact. Someone had left a bucket in T1, so I sat down on it and put on my shoes and helmet and got my bearings. Talked to Andy, who was clearly concerned. It was a little disconcerning to be having T1 torn down around me as well. Vision finally cleared to where I felt safe taking off. It felt like I was in T1 forever, but in reality, it wasn't that far off what I normally do.

Good question. No idea.

Took off pretty easy. I was upset from the swim/transition, so I was busy having a pity party. Tried talking to myself. Really didn't want to spend the rest of the race being miserable, so I kept talking to myself and spoke to every volunter and sheriff I saw and thanked them for being out there. I calmed down after a few miles and was enjoying the ride. Passed Amy coming back in and she gave me a boost. Passed lots of riders coming back in and also skaters from the inline skate race that was going on. The scenery and roads were pretty uneventful for the most part. We went by an equine center which made me think of the horse farms in Louisville. When we hit the downtown area, the roads were lined with huge old mansions that were so cool! Had a pretty fast first half. There was a little wind, but it was behind me making it easy riding. The ride back wasn't as easy, but it wasn't too bad. I had a little headwind/crosswind for the return, but not the kind that beats the crap out of you. It was manageable. I passed one person on the bike. Never even came close to anyone else.

Drank one bottle of infinit and a gel w/ 1/2 bottle of water on the bike.

Should have pushed a little harder. I was rattled going out on the bike and I was so worried about not making myself a basket case for the rest of the race that I didn't care if I pushed hard. I only hit Z3 for the bike. I had lots more to give.

Couldn't remember where I left my stuff and was totally disoriented. Most of my T2 time was spent trying to figure out where my stuff was. Looking back, it should have been easy. I was in the first rack and had the only pink bag. It threw me because the numbers were gone from the ends of the rack and I guess I just wasn't thinking that clearly. Racked my bike, grabbed a couple of gels, took 4 advil, and headed out.



Not be so scatterbrained?

Took off with my slow shuffle/run out of T2 and felt good. I was several minutes into the run before I noticed I still had my biking gloves on. Oops. Took them off and stuffed them into my pocket. Walked up a steep hill to the gravel reservoir path and enjoyed the sunshine and views of the water. Saw lots of big fish jumping. Good thing I didn't see them when I was swimming! I love to run. Its my favorite event right now. Even though I'm slow, I just really enjoy being out. I smiled lots on the run because even though the rest of the day was tough, I'm in the last segment and I'm doing what I love to do. I saw lots of people heading in from the out and back and most of them gave me encouragement and I did the same to them. Saw Amy. Smiling and happy, of course! The girl I passed on the bike passed me back on the run. She hit the turnaround and we smacked hands as we passed, then she was gone and I was the sole remaining runner on the course. Grabbed a quick cup of heed at the turn around and headed back in. There was one other water stop and I thanked the volunteers for waiting for me. About this time, I see Amy and Andy heading my way. Amy is hollering and smiling and tells me that she came to run back with me because it gets lonely out there, you know? LOL! She chattered and chattered and told me that this was the best birthday ever and how much fun she was having. The last 1.5 miles I ran with her were 1 minute faster per mile, so I negative split the run. :) We rounded the corner and I heard the announcer tell everyone to gather around the line to welcome in the final finisher. It felt so good to finish. Even if I was DFL. Andy got a great pic of me crossing the line. Several people came up to me and congratulated me. One who was working communications on the course made a point of telling me he was glad to see I had finished. In all honesty, I would have been more bummed to be last if it wasn't for Amy's contageous enthusiasm.

Nothing. I had a great run.

Not much of a warm down. The best part after the finish was when Amy and I looked at each other and said, "Let's do it again!" This was a great warm up for the HIM in July.




The usual. My old and tired body. ;)


Would definitely do this race again. The people in Findlay were the greatest!