It was overcast when we started and when I looked out on the water they seemed to have a good amount of kayaks and support personnel. I was in Wave 2 (they did it based on when you signed up.) I think there were about 50 waves that started approx 1 min apart. I was a little nervous about swimming with men in my wave but it didn't turn out to be an issue. It was a triangle shape course and I felt like I was out there forever. The final turn was the worst and the water was incredibly choppy. I had to stop a handful of times because I swallowed water. I also noticed a guy next to me had to stop a few times too. I tried to get into a good rhythm and breath in between waves but they were so inconsistent, it was tough to do.

The swim was ok given the conditions. One thing I had trouble with is my wetsuit. Last year, I would get some chafing in the same spot on my neck. I would use BodyGlide and that cut down on the chafing. I thought I had put enough BodyGlide on but about halfway into the swim, I could feel the part of the wetsuit rubbing against my neck. Goggles also leaked a little bit.

Nothing I could've done to change the conditions. I actually did alright considering the conditions. Maybe put more BodyGlide on my neck? Or get a different wetsuit and adjust/get new goggles.

My goggles had leaked into my right eye during the swim so I put some eye drops in but it wouldn't stop watering. Tried to wipe it as much as possible. Put on sunscreen and ate a couple bites of banana. Took more time than I needed and also walked out of transition instead of jogging.

move faster!

I think I drank/ate too much before the race because my stomach was cramping a little at the start of the bike. That, combined with hard/shallow breathing due to the hill right out of T1, caused me to experience a bad side stitch for most of the bike. At about mile 20 though, I stopped to stretch it out. It was fine when I started going again so I took a few sips of Perpetuem b/c at this point all I'd drank was water. A few minutes after I had the Perpetuem, the stitch came back. It was painful to breath and pedal. You'd think I'd just stop and stretch again but I knew without a longer rest (I'm thinking at least 15-20 min?) the pain would just come back. So I dialed it down and suffered through it. Because of the side stitch, I hadn't taken enough nutrition on the bike and I knew I'd probably have a bad run. There were even some points during the bike that I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep. Lack of nutrition = serious fatigue.

My right eye was also watering a lot during the entire bike leg which caused my nose to run. My eye was also burning and I thought I'd lost my contact a couple times during the first few miles of the bike.

Oh, and I also fudged up my Garmin. I had been using it in multisport mode and went to 'lap' on the bike b/c I wanted to get data in about 30min increments on the bike leg. It switched to T2 when I hit the lap button so I had to fumble with it to get it back to bike mode. Ended up recording in individual sport mode for remainder of bike and run instead of multisport mode.

Don't eat/drink so much before the race. What I ate may not seem like much but I guess my body is funny that way...it lets me know in painful ways when I've overdone it. Side stitch was so bad there is still some tenderness at the site day after the race.

Due to the cramping during the bike and lack of nutrition, I had contemplated taking a DNF after the bike during the majority of the 2nd half. I kept going back and forth in my mind trying to decide if it was the right decision. I massaged my side and stretched it out. Also, due to lack of nutrition I was concerned with how I'd feel on the run. In the end, I decided to go ahead and if I need to stop during the run then that's what I would do.

There was an aid station right at the run out and due to lack of nutrition on the bike, I drank some gatorade and water. Side felt fine starting the run. The same hill out of T1 was part of the run course too right out of T2. I decided to walk it, as did many other people I saw.

About 10 minutes into the rain, the skies opened and there was a downpour. I believe there was also some pea size hail (or just really fat rain drops that really hurt!). It rained for less than 10 minutes. It was a nice way to cool off but left me with wet shoes. These are NOT fun to run in for 13.1 miles. (I ran in wet shoes at my last HIM and felt like I had blisters all over the bottom of my feet!) I knew I wasn't dehydrated b/c I pee'd during the run...I decided to do it when it started raining so mother nature helped rinse me off :)

The run was mostly trail running throughout the park and woods. It was a little less humid after the rain but that caused all the bugs to come out. I got 4 mosquito bites on the first half of the run.

I stopped at every aid station and drank full cups of gatorade at the first few stops. I think this helped get me through the run. There were times when my side would hurt and so I would walk a little bit and massage my side.

Sat in the ice bath for a few minutes. It wasn't as cold as it could've been but it still felt good. They ran out of sandwiches by the time I finished so I just grabbed a few orange slices and grabbed McDonald's on the way home.


I think it was a combination of eating/drinking too much before the race and also due to the hard/shallow breathing during the climb right out of T1. Race rehearsals had gone well but in looking back, I've never eaten that much before any of my morning workouts, even the longer bikes. Typically I just have a small bowl of cereal with coffee and water. This is what I will eat before my next race.

Also, my right eye was extremely red and irritated even after the race was done. I think it was a combination of sunscreen, lake water, and dirty fingers that caused the irritation.