I think this was probably one of my favorite race swims ever. They do a time trial start within waves, so people were spread out enough that there wasn't much contact at all. Lisa started right before me, and for probably the first 800yds we were swimming exactly next to one another. She didn't know it at the time, since she breathes only to her right and didn't even see me on her left, haha, but I found it comforting to know that my friend was right there. I lost her when we rounded one of the buoys, but apparently, she was right behind me on the return, except that I didn't know it. I assumed she's gone on ahead.
I felt so good on the first half and rounded the far buoy at right around 21 min, so I was really surprised that the return took much longer. Not sure what happened there, but I guess I just lost steam!

Train more. As always. Swimming is the sport that I neglect, so I know my muscles just aren't there for long-distance speed. But I still enjoyed this part of the race a lot.

I took my sweet time in T1, but I wanted to make sure my feet were free of most debris - they were super sandy after the run up the beach - and I hadn't put any sunscreen on prior to the swim, so I needed to do that in T1.

This course was kind of weird - after a 2 mile ride to exit the park, you had to do 4 laps of a mostly north/south road, with the park entrance in the middle. It was cool in that you were never alone out there, but the course got kind of boring, too.
The winds were maybe 12 mph from the south but didn't seem to be bad, even when it was a direct headwind. I think maybe that was because it was so flat. Except for the hill in the middle by the park entrance, the main part of the ride was pancake flat. So easy. I felt good the whole time. Got to see Lisa multiple times - she was always a couple minutes ahead of me - and saw Ken once or twice.
I dropped my chapstick on the last lap, when it stuck to a bar I was taking out of my bento box. I decided I would need it, due to the sun, so I stopped to pick that up, but it cost me only 10 seconds or so. This was a pretty enjoyable bike, really.


Nothing

Took quite a while in T2, mostly to reapply sunscreen. I just wasn't in a hurry, for some reason. I guess it's because all along, I've been thinking of this race as simply a long training day.

For such a hot day, I felt surprisingly good during the run. I have been training with a run/walk combo all year, so I did that from the get-go (3:20 run, 0:40 walk). I was in such a good mood to start, I don't even know why - I just like racing.
I took a gel at 0:15, another at 1:15, and then did shot blocks at other 15 min increments. I forgot to bring my handheld bottle, and didn't want to carry the big bike bottle the whole way, so had decided in transition to live off the course. It took a little planning (when to take the GUs) but it worked out ok.
I enjoyed the kids at the beginning of the second campground who had their water guns and would hit you if you gave them a thumbs-up. Also loved that their mom was handing out ice - it felt so good at that point. Nothing really hurt on the run, but I could tell that my toes/toenails were somewhat irritated. Still, they look & feel ok a day later, so I don't think there was any damage. And my quads were starting to get pretty tight in the last lap, but I was still able to run till the end.
Although it got a little annoying having to do 4 laps, I stayed in a pretty darn good mood the whole time. I think my pacing/nutrition/drinking was spot on today.

After finishing, I got some pizza, cheered on other finishers, and then hung out with Lisa under the shade of a big tree for a while. We met the most chill Labrador retriever ever and a cute Airedale terrier. After we cooled down enough, we rode our bikes back to the campsite & loaded the car. Cleaned up the cabin a little and then hit the shower-house on our way out of the park.


This race definitely had a "smaller race" feel to it, but it had enough support and was fun. They really could have used a sign to direct people back towards the run start for each loop (I'm pretty sure I saw a girl go straight ahead onto a second lap instead of doing the short out-and-back part that you are supposed to do each time). That's my only complaint, though. The four-loop course for both the bike & run can be a tad boring, but the roads were in great condition and there were always people around so you were never lonely. Camping on site is a great option as well - the park itself is beautifully maintained.