Got out a bit slowly owing to lack of warmup but got up to speed and able to cut in by first buoy without too much difficulty. Almost crashed into a woman in front of me at about 300m who suddenly flipped over and started doing backstroke. (??Maybe she swallowed water and panicked?) Eventually got on the tail of the woman in second (who later won the race) and tried to draft off of her; she surged a bit at the end and I ended up about 15 seconds back of her.

Obviously it would be better to have a warmup, but under the circumstances it probably would have been counterproductive. My coach knows my issues with cold all too well and I trust her judgment.

Actually doing some training would probably also be a good idea. I've been on vacation since June 26 and had done a total of two pretty easy swims in hotel pools, three brisk OWS of 30-40 minutes (two lakes plus Adriatic), plus two master's workouts in the past week since getting back.

Not bad considering I had a wetsuit to get off.

Not sure. Really needed to somehow mark my spot in transition. Had a bit of trouble finding my bike as it was free racking and there were a lot of other red bikes nearby. (In Singapore races there is usually racking by number and/or I'm in the elite wave and racked in an obvious place with a small number of others, whose bikes are all way better than mine. All I have to do there is find the only bike in the elite section without race wheels and covered with stickers!)

Kind of slow pace--not sure how much was lack of fitness and how much the hills slowed me down. I had done NO bike speedwork, except for two harder rides earlier in the week, all summer! (Three weeks of touring at Mom's pace hauling stuff for both of us.) Managed to drop my water bottle at eight miles so the last part of the ride and first half of the run was a somewhat thirsty endeavor. (Humidity very low and not used to that.)

Stay in aero more. I was only in aero about half the time as some of the course through the woods was very dark with my dark sunglasses. Hadn't ridden the course recently and worried about hazards I couldn't see as much of paving was rough. Either wear my sunglasses that aren't as dark and/or ride the course in advance so I felt more confident in aero.

Plus, ahem, actually train for the event.....

Ugh! Not used to free racking (see above) and had an even worse time trying to find my running shoes. Thought my bright pink and yellow racing flats would be distinctive but didn't spy them with all the buckets, baskets, and suitcases in transition. Wasted about 45 seconds looking for my shoes. Grrrrr!

Tie a ribbon above my area in the rack, or something.

Improbably, felt pretty strong most of the way. No cramps or wobbles though I did start to feel a bit nauseous in the last few minutes.

Actually train for the event. I ran a total of eight times in almost four weeks of vacation, and none of those runs can be construed as speedwork. (Two possibly as hill work.) One "speed" workout consisting of 12 X 1 minute runs at 5K race effort, Tuesday before the race. But it went surprisingly well for not having trained and obviously weak bike fitness as well.

Walked around a bit. Jogged about ten minutes. After awards and driving back to Eugene, did an easy 20-mile ride with Mom. Worked well as not sore the next day.


Mainly doing almost zero race-focused training all summer.

Also, crap T2 as I wasted a lot of time trying to find my shoes; needed to pay more attention to where I put my stuff and to path to run out.


I loved this race. It's the first, and quite possibly the only, tri that both my parents have been able to be there for, so it meant a lot to me to do it even though I wasn't really prepared. I've wanted to do it for several years and even done a practice tri on the course a few years ago, but the timing hasn't worked out with work commitments (two years ago) and my HIM (last year). It just embodies the best of what my hometown area has to offer (clean, scenic lakes, painfully beautiful roads, glorious summer weather).

Very well-organized and user-friendly for beginners as well as experienced athletes. I didn't like the free racking arrangement, but should have been better prepared for it as I know it's common in the US. Other than that, no complaints.