I was very upset when hearing the swim was canceled. I can usually hold a few people off with my swim time. Kelly and I were both upset. We were told to line up near the swim exit in a single file line. Order depended on when you arrived in the line. Kelly and I were in no rush and wanted to be in the back. I still am happy with this decision. I didn't need the stress of being ran over by fast people all race. I like chasing rabbits! :-) The line took about 1 1/2 hour to reach us. A person was told to "go" every few seconds. We were to run from the start to transition, make the transition, and then continue as a normal tri.

swim :-)

It was very odd going into transition and seeing my bike was the only bike left on my rack. I am usually out the the water early, so the racks are full. This did give me a funny feeling.

I had a bit of a rough start getting out of transition. We needed to walk our bikes up a slight ramp and then across the grass and sidewalk before getting on the road to mount the bike. By the time I was leaving transition, the grass had become muddy. I had mud stuck in my cleats and had difficulty clipping in. I have enough problems without the mud! LOL!

I had a borrowed bike garmin on my bike as my cateye computer was not working. I was also wearing my garmin 310. The bike garmin was great excpet I think the sensor must be bad because it would sometimes not sense movement and turn off. I had to keep turning it back on. Of course I forgot to hit the lap button on my garmin until a mile or so into the ride.

This is a FAST course. Well, it could have been if we didn't have the wind. UGH!! After Rev3 ironman in Cedar Point, I was sooo tired of wind!

I finally got started on the bike and started to find a pace. I caught up with Kelly who was a few bikes in front of me my this time. It felt odd to start a race with the bike. My heart race felt high, so I focused on finding my pace, my happy place and getting settled in for a ride. I did the best I could with cadence and foot position, but knew I needed to just ride my ride. The first loop seemed to pass fairly quickly.

It was great finishing the 1st loop and going back to transition area to see the fans. I saw a guy holding a sing that said, "save a bike, ride a fan." It was so funny and gave me a great laugh. Looping back around the transition area gave me the opportunity to see Mario and Shaun. :-)

It was then back to the course and the wind. The second lap also passed quickly. Occasionally I would mutter a few choice words to the wind. There were some people drafting on the course which did upset me. I didn't need anything from the aid stations. I had plenty of nutrition.

I was excited to see the end of the bike course and be back in transition. I saw both Mario and Shaun again.

An average transition. I was so glad to be done biking in the wind. I used my inhaler and hoped my sciatic nerve would stay under control for the run.

I started the run feeling great. Off the windy bike course. :-) I felt really good the first 3 miles. I could feel the sciatic nerve pain starting around mile 4 and realized I had Advil with me on the bike, but was so focused on the wind that I forgot to take it. UGH. The weather was warming up, so I did stop and pour water over my head at the first aid station. Nice! I stopped around mile 5 and used my inhaler that I had with me. I had started coughing and was getting worried looks from some of the other racers. LOL. I had my breathing under control by the time I finished the first loop, but my leg was giving me lots of pain. I saw Mario cheering for me as i was finishing the first loop. Seeing him gave me encouragement to HTFU and keep running. I tried to pick up the pace for the next few miles. I saw Kelly running and finishing her first loop. I later learned she had to drop out due to injury. :-( I walked the next aid station and was really feeling the leg pain. I then started thinking about this race and did I want to finish not doing everything I could do to qualify for Worlds? I didn't want to leave thinking I left something on the course. I was able to find a zone and run. My pace varied, but I made sure I was running the best I could for each moment. I was so happy to see the 11 and then 12 mile markers. It was wonderful reaching the section of the course that had cheering fans. It made the finish possible.

Walked over to Mario and sat on the ground. My butt/leg was on fire. Did some stretching while sitting on the ground. Talked with Shaun & Kelly for a while and then walked around to the food tent. Mario and I took my bike and gear back to the car and then stayed around and waited for the results.


Piriformis muscle - sciatic nerve pain. recovering from a cold that bothered my asthma. wind. no swim. There is always something that is going to lead to a less than perfect day. This race really taught me a lot about adjusting to the situation and doing the best you can. Life is not always perfect and easy. Why do we expect a triathlon race to be any different? :-)


I had a great long weekend in Myrtle Beach. Mario (zeetsvar) provided wonderful race support! Thank you!! :-) It was so fun to catch up with Shaun and Kelly and to also see my Cincy friend (Amanda) race.

I was impressed with the level of competition at nationals. USA has some fast triathletes. The USA World team will officially be announced in about 2 weeks.