Got up shortly after 5am at the hotel. Drank my Instant Breakfast and ate half of my bagel. I saved my banana for closer to race time. I got dressed, loaded up the bike and headed to the race site, 1.7 miles away. It was perfect.

Set up transition area. Stretched arms a little No real warm-up.

Salt water really threw me off. It reminded me of the cold Playtri water where I had to consciously keep my face in the water and breathe. I was desparate for the swim to be over. I even breast stroked a few times. I know I was wide on the course, so I have no idea how far I actually swam.

practice open water swimming more and test out the salt water the day before the race.

The swim exit was long, so I was tired by the time I got to my bike. Wetsuit strippers were great. I forgot to stop at the freshwater bucket to wash feet, and I had to wipe them off quite a bit which took time. I didn't want chunks of debris in my socks! I had to run with the bike a long way, and I had to walk part of it as I was tired from the swim. I also had some trouble clipping in on the first foot.

Bring my plate to wash feet. This was the first race where I didn't do that.

Wind was more noticable on the way back, but it was supposed to just be a crosswind. I stayed in aerobars for most of the straight section. It was nice to ride by the ocean. I felt I passed more than was passed, but that could be my ego talking!

Keep speed up on computer to keep speed up on the return. I followed cadence almost exclusively. I didn't change computer much as I didn't want to come out of the aerobars.

Had to run a long way with the bike. Didn't take hat because it was cloudy.

Would take hat with me! Could have grabbed racebelt and ran with it. Lifted bike too high to rack it back.

Felt a little stiff starting out, but it wore off quickly. I was pleased at my pace at the 1st mile marker. Had a torrential downpour halfway through! I was running through an inch of water for most of the course, and sometimes 4-6 inches. It was comical and made me smile. I alternated between protecting eyes with sunglasses and taking them off to see. Overall, I had a good time. Once you are soaked, what else are you going to do? I was not totally spent at the end, so I could have pushed harder.

Wear a hat to help with rain. Run a little faster.

Get out of the rain! I got cold quickly.

Swim confidence and ability, strength on the bike, and general running ability.

Best race so far! Overall rankings based on women only. For all contestants, I was 374/525 overall; 374 on the swim; 390 on the bike; 434 on the run.

Race Reports Modeled with Permission from
Endurancecoach's Triathlon Post Race Analysis Sheet.