World's Toughest Triathlon aka Auburn Tri Half-Iron

78/202 overall
10/49 women (I think)
2nd in age group because 1st was a 22 yr old pro

The times don't separate out transition times so I think both T1 and T2 are included in the bike time.

Swim: 38:27.8 (113th overall)
Bike: 3:49:48.4 (114th overall)
Run: 1:49:37.7 (41st overall)
Total: 6:17:53.9

So not bad! My family came to town the day before to watch the race and hang out for a week. I had a large piece of cake that day. Interestingly I didn't sleep very well the few days before the race (I was a wee bit distracted) so I was kind of worried that may affect the race and perceived exertion.

My sister was nice enough to get up in the early morning to drive me to the race. She dropped me off about 3 miles from the swim start and I rode my bike down. This may have been a good way to warm up I think. This race has two different transitions due to the elevation/terrain so I had to make sure I had a plastic bag to put my stuff in labeled with my number that would get picked up after everyone had left T1.

Swim was uneventful as usual. Really didn't push the pace at all, tried to make myself pee in the water so I wouldn't have to go on the bike. Folsom Lake was quite comfortable water-temperature-wise so I was good in my sleeveless wetsuit. Got out of the water, took the usual nap in transition (had to stuff everything in the bag), and got on my bike. I used my road bike with aero clip-ons. Reminded myself not to hammer the initial large climb and spent the miles watching all the guys standing up as they went up the hills.

Don't think I went very hard on the bike, got kind of sleepy at places, bored at others. Had a chat with some riders out for a "frolic" while climbing one road. Tried to remind myself to eat and drink. I need a better system for this because waiting until I start feeling a bit woozy is not such a smart strategy. Saw my family twice on the course. Took it mostly easy on the way out (and up) and then hammered more on the way back. This is also when my right aerobar became really loose and was banging up and down. Later I discovered the spacers had completely fallen out. Into T2 and found blood on my sock. Spent some time investigating and found a blister on the bottom of my foot. I got nervous this would hurt throughout the run. Luckily it didn't bother me at all.

Legs weren't too sore off the bike so I just started to run. I was surprised to see 7-8 minute mile pace on my GPS. The air temperature at this point was quite comfortable; had it been 5-10 degrees warmer I probably would have been in trouble. Took two and a half gels and a lot of water since the aid stations seemed to be every mile or so. Since I had run the majority of the course in weeks prior to the race, I wasn't too worried. Felt pretty good and before I knew it, the race was over.

Finish time was a lot better than I had anticipated. And also finishing condition. I have to thank my coach for putting so much training time on my schedule and also my friend/co-worker Stan who accompanies me and puts up with me on long bike rides. Without either of them I don't think I would have had such a successful race.

So next up, Lake Placid. Maybe some short stuff in between, but I think it's time for the big mileage. The big BIG mileage. The next post will probably be about my new job. When I actually get time to write, that is...