I love my new wetsuit! It fits much better than my old one. The swim was nice - water was clear and calm. I took it easy on the swim. Once again I had cramping problems in the water. I swam about 1/3rd of the course without any kicking at all because my feet and calves were cramping. I knew it would go away on land, though, so I wasn't too concerned.

You guys know I am a poor swimmer, so this was actually a decent swim for me.

Janelle and I came out of the water at the same time. We both took our wetsuits off right out of the water, rather than run the 1/4 mile in them and struggle to get them off in transition. SO we ran to transition together :)

It was so windy!! The first hour of the course was mostly in a tailwind and it was awesome!!! I was easily holding 24-25 mph in parts. Then we turned into the crosswind, and then we turned into the headwind. The 2nd loop was even windier. I checked my average with 10 miles left, and it was 19 mph. By the end, it had gone down to 18.6! The last 10 miles were horribly windy. But, I was happy to be out there in the wind. I loved the bike! I figured that after this race I will no longer fear windy conditions on race day. It is what it is, and I still had an OK race.

Oh, I was grinning like crazy during T2. I was so happy to be doing the race. Just having a great time!

The last 10 miles of the bike had really taken a toll on my legs and i was worried about how I would feel starting the run. My legs felt very heavy. I had the Garmin on, but I got annoyed with how slow I was going the first 2 miles and took it off :)
The first lap I just slogged along, step by step. I walked through the aid stations - that is the first time I have ever done that. I switched between water and Amino Vital plus I had 2 banana halves and 3 edurolytes during the first half. I also had @2 e-gels from my flask. Once I finished the first lap, I realized I had about 78 minutes to finish the second half to beat 6 hours! I was so happy about that! I really thought a sub-6 was not in the cards for me today. That totally energized me and I felt great for the next 5 miles. The at about 11.5 miles I started to get tiny little cramps in my feet. I was able to prevent them for the most part by making sure I landed a certain way. Mile 12 it got worse, and I started really having to alter my gait. I was getting really worried that I would have to walk the rest of the course, and also worried about totally seizing up when I finished. It got worse and worse till mile 13. The last .1 mile was awful! My toes curled under and seized up! It was so painful and scary!! My feet and calves were totally cramped up. I crossed the finish line, and a volunteer asked if I was ok. I couldn't believe I had to say "no"! She sat me down in a chair

Crossed the finish line. Volunteer asked if I was ok and I said no. She sat me down in a chair and asked what was wrong. I said my toes and feet were seized up and I needed to get my shoes off. Sue appeared like and andel from heaven and took such good care of me :) She took my shoes off, massaged my feet and legs, pured water all over me, got me some Amino Vital. She was awesome!!! And she had raced already too! It took me a good five minutes before I could get up. Got tons of cookies and some pizza and sat down again.


I really did enjoy myself today. It was so cool that so many BTers got hardware! I loved giggling and being silly with Janelle. Sue was my lifesaver after the race. Jim just killed that course - amazing!! I would do this race again. It was fun. It is so much fun to take on a new challenge and do well. Next stop, IMAZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!