Was very pleased with swim. Did not want repeat of debacle in first OWS. Warming up in water really helped. I was able to freestyle the entire way with no stopping and was able to sight without stopping. It was cool coming out of water and seeing my sister with 1 of her kids taking pictures . Then I saw my Dad sitting on a chair and I yelled Happy Father's Day as I went by! My jockstrappers rule!!

Now that I'm relatively comfortable in OWS/wetsuit, next time I'll be able to push the pace more. The timing mat was about 100 yds from swim exit. I wish more races would have timing mat right at swim exit, so your swim time would be a true indication of your swim pace.

Push pace.

Not too bad, but I was a little winded running from swim exit to T1 while trying to undo wetsuit. Then I was in a rush to put helmet on..that I put it on Backwards!!!

Not put helmet on backwards. (as you'll see why in a minute).

I get to first turn around and volunteer yells, "Your helmets on backwards" and my first thought was, Oh Crap I hope she's not talking to me! Sure enough I look up and don't see that little visor! What a tool! I stopped to fix it, I didn't want my photos showing up on any Triathlete blooper website. That slowed me a bit. Course was a little goofy, in that at one point we had to go down this dead end road and turn around at a cone. Also, when I went for bike fitting/tune-up the LBS said they had to shorten my front brake cable (?), but now it seems whenever I make sharp technical turns my front brakes engage. Sure enough I come around a turn and I think I have a flat because: a) It's hard as crap to pedal and b) I passed about 5-6 riders with flats. I stop bike and check both tires..still hard as rocks?? I look down at front brake pads and they are almost locked onto the wheel. I quickly open them up as much as I could and hope the back brakes will be enough for this race. Even with all those troubles, I felt the bike was faster than indicated, guess not. I did see the leaders drafting like crazy, as I got run over by the peleton, but I don't care since individually they could all drop me anyway. I just don't understand why obviously hardcore triathletes would blatantly violate rules. Again, I guess it's the golfer in me coming out, where you assess rules violations on yourself, even if they went unnoticed.

Not put helmet on backwards and get brake cable fixed once and for all. Not use bike to hang clothes on 2 weeks prior to race might help as well!

I still haven't even begun to practice taking shoes off while coming into T2, so I still come to a complete stop and unclip other foot and run with shoes on. Someday. T2 was best part of my day, as I hear a bunch of people calling my name. I look up there's my sister with her 3 kids, my 2 cousins, my nephew and LUCAS!!! I was so excited to see Lucas that I ran over to him and gave him a kiss!! Probably cost me 10 seconds, because I also had to go back for my race belt.

Kiss and hug Lucas for 20 seconds, instead of 10!!

I was pretty psyched to see all my jockstrappers, but I didn't want to blow up. I also struggled, as usual, to get my breathing under control. Can you say Brick training? Or lack thereof. My 2nd loop was definitely faster than my first and I actually managed a little kick for the last 1/4-1/2 mi. I think the course was short, because I didn't feel like I was running sub-10min pace. But hey, if they say it was 3 miles, then it was 3 miles.

More bricks/ Lighten engine.

Made a beeline for something cold to drink. Noticed most of the food-whores had cleaned the place out. The post-race meal should be put out in waves, like the race. Found Lucas and the rest of my cheering squad and we hung out and played a bit. Give (3) 4yr olds and a 2.5 yr old a golf cart and you have instant babysitter.


Weight/lack of training.


I'd do this race again. For a large race, it was pretty organized and not as crowded as I feared. They said they capped registration at 900, yet overall results only show 694. Could it be that 200 people did not show up?
I want to thank all my jockstrappers: Chris, Danny, Kevin, Sis, Chris, Cyle, Cole, Poppy and LUCAS...you guys all rock!!! You can tell Mary (sis) is itching to get back out there again, she just doesn't want to injure her back again. Hope to see you out there soon Sis!