I rocked the tri. :) Was there ever any doubt? I had to get up at 4:00 in order to get to the race site, so I was too sleepy to be tired. My stomach was upset, but I think that was more tiredness than nervousness.

I maneurvered to the back of the swim group before we started, since I know I'm not a fast swimmer. Walking into the water wasn't bad, and then it got deep and we all started to swim. I couldn't get my breathing controlled, couldn't get my form down, and it felt like I was just flailing along. But I flailed in the right direction, and finally the swim was over. My time was only 12:41, much faster than practice, so I must have been flailing fast.

I went through T1 with no problems, in only 2 minutes, and took off on the bike. It started off uphill, and I didn't take off very gracefully, but I went. Nothing on the bike was too technical for me, it was all terrain that I've done before. It was just looooong. And there were lots of sandy or grassy areas where I just couldn't go fast. My bike computer was broken, so I couldn't tell how fast I was going or how many miles I'd gone, which was frustrting. At least I didn't have any flat tires. I knew by looking at my watch that I wasn't on the pace I wanted, but I just couldn't find a way to go faster. The bike was 1:23:58.

I got rid of the stinking bike quickly in T2, and took off running in under a minute. The terrain of the run was nothing compared to that of LMRA's island, so I didn't have any problems on the run. They also had a lot of water stations, which you know I love. I kept a steady pace (one guy even used me as a pacer), and finished the run in 38:17. Very fast (for me).

My total time was 2:17:59. I was hoping to break 2 hours, but I think I did awesome. I came in second in my age group! (Out of 3, but whatever.) And thank you to my cheering/support/photography section of Jon and Karyn :) It was great seeing you guys as I was transitioning, and then finally at the finish.