I enjoyed the race. In short my swim was OK, my bike was GREAT, and I thought my run was terrible until I heard the run was 6.9 miles and not 6.2. My swim was a little slower than I expected - I stayed wide to avoid the mess and was probably a little too wide. Also, merging with the sprint distance swimmers at their turnaround was not fun. As I got out of the water I turned to a friend to ask how Vel and John did, not realizing the chute had a pretty steep incline to the road on the way to T1. I fell and scraped my knees and scratched my goggles.As I'm getting up I hear a volunteer say "Watch your step!" Gee, thanks. On the bike I hydrated and took more Gu and bars than I usually do - THANKS MATT - and as a result I didn't get my usual headache or need a nap after the race like I usually do! About mile 20, I reach down to replace my water bottle. Suddenly, I'm off the road, in the grass, and dodging boulders.That was a rush of adrenaline I didn't need, but no harm done.

The run was a 2-looper, and when it took me EXTREMELY long to do the first loop I tried to rationalize - it's a trail run, there were a few hills, it's early in the season, maybe I left it all on the bike route, etc. etc. All of these explanations, of course, just weren't adding up, so I felt a bit demoralized. There weren't any mile markers on the run, either. The second loop was very lonely. Just me, with the cicadas to cheer me on (and brief encounters with the 2 gals that passed me). But, I finished, and that is what counts! Thanks for your encouragement!

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