​Pre-race: gruel + tomatoes.  Slept like a champ (think I woke up only twice, briefly, with no nerves, and no lingering thoughts/what-ifs/concerns about x-y-or-z).  No nervous GI, even though I couldn’t potty before race start.  Just did what we needed to do, got to where we needed to be when we needed to be there, and didn’t fret.  It was so unlike me!  Cool as a cucumber.

Swim: Kinda hated it.  Totally happy with my time; I’m assuming using solid bodies helped propel me faster than thrashing about in the water would, and maybe because of all the peeps there was a natural draft that helped offset the dodging.  If I do mass start again, I will NOT be near the majority and will find a cozy place to settle in and then veer into the masses much later in the course.  Stroke was strong when there was space.  Last 400yds felt like I was moving backwards.  Felt like I burned a lot of proverbial matches here.  New wetsuit worked great – very buoyant.  More body glide in the armpits!  Saliva + water = no fogging issues for once.  That was nice, except I couldn’t see the buoys until I was on them.  So many people, though, it didn’t matter.  Started feeling a little hungry a little over halfway through.  Maybe could have had half a Hammer bar around 6:00.  Just kept thinking it would be over soon and just do the best I could.  Assumed I was tracking for a 1:13 finish.  I was wrong!  Felt happy getting out of the water despite the rough start.

T1: Ran right up to the wetsuit strippers.  Jogged up the helix at a comfortable clip.  Saw mom on the way in – first sighting!  Felt a little slow in T1 but instructed my volunteer step by step for what I needed – it went very smoothly.  Lorenzo gave me my bag – that was also a nice boost.  Glad I had toe covers on my bike shoes and started with the arm warmes.  Chose not to do a costume change and this worked out fine; might consider it in the future for comfy bibshorts.  Set-up seemed pretty good – don’t think I would change anything here.  Only thing I might do differently is be more deliberate and focused with my instructions (you do right sock, right shoe while I do left sock, left shoe, for example.  Maybe carry bike shoes to bike?).

Bike: went out a bit quick as I had on the dress rehearsals.  Kept this in mind and tried to be cool in my decision making.  Forgot the back half of the course would squeeze out 10W more.  Was forced into not-so-great passing situations on uphills out of fear for drafting penalties (I had already witnessed 3 be issued) – burned a few more matches on the first loop than I should have.  Went into 2nd loop at 115 avg power, aimed to bring this down to 108 by the end, so I had to really notch it back on the 2nd loop without losing my mental steam.  Due to 1st loop performance, was a bit worried about cramping so was pushing SaltSticks.  Chose to stop for gel, more Hammer powder and electrolyte & to ditch arm warmers at special needs.  Toe covers stayed on throughout – def needed them. Seat felt fed-up by mile 45, but eventually numbed down to where it didn’t matter.  Rode smart and geared nearly flawlessly in the 2nd loop.  Felt great on the sisters, though intentionally took them slower, the second time around.  The crowds were amazing!  Had a quick pee break just past Cross Plains. Took a popsicle from one of the tents around mile 90.  Know I shouldn’t have, but my goodness was that nice.  Cold, sugary, awesome.
Caffeine worked great to push the blood through tired legs.  Mostly stayed on schedule with nutrition.  Was feeling hungry with about 20 mi to go so had bananas in the last 2 aid stations and skipped last shot of gel.  Believe this was a GREAT decision that set me up well for the run.  Had caffeine with a small swig of gel with about 30 min to go.  Great decision – legs started fresh on the run.  Overall no angry moments on the bike and had a wonderful time.  Finished at 110W.  Not bad.
8 scoops Perform in 26oz water consumed; left about 1 scoop & 10 oz behind. 5 apple cinnamon gel shots + 2 banana halves + 400mg caffeine. 14 (I think) Saltsticks (sounds like a lot and is more than I would usually have, but believe this was a game-saver).

T2: Felt great coming in.  No issues dismounting or handing off bike.  Quick to transition, though again think through volunteer instructions if you do this again, although did a better job of focusing on one task at a time.   Went well and volunteer was great.  Somehow beat David out of T2 even though he had passed me with 20 min to go on the bike.

Run: felt fantastic coming out of transition; had to really watch my pace and HR because I felt THAT good.  Who knew it was possible after 112 miles on the bike?  Noticed I was only at 8:00 – holy cow I had a real chance to finish under 14:00!
Took water at every aid station as a precaution.  Felt like I could cramp at any moment the entire run.  Had a gel at mile 2 & an ibuprofen somewhere in the first 5 miles (still feeling a wee hungry, but pretty over gels by this time).  Legs felt…good!  Just keep moving forward (Mike Reilly’s advice was echoing in my head).  By the time I reached the trail it was getting a little tougher.  Just keep moving forward.  First 5k was good; walked the uphill in the stadium.  2nd 5k not memorable.  Mile 8-ish started feeling harder on the path.  Walked every other aid station.  Was jonesing for that covetable chicken broth!  But it wasn’t out yet.  Just keep moving forward.  Now I was hungry. 
Started pushing bananas, orange slices, and grapes.  Grapes never tasted so good.  Things were hurting by State Street.  Took an ibuprofen.  Just make it to the half, then the wheels can fall off.  Made it to the half. Grabbed more salt at special needs – was going to run out at the rate I was trying to stave off cramps.  Hadn’t pottied yet and stomach was making funny noises and feelings, so stopped at a porta-potty, but there was no magic.  Didn’t feel great, but legs carried me through.  Holy shit I could beat 13:00!!!!  Just keep moving forward. 
Started leap-frogging David around mile 18.  Passed him feeling very strong.  Went into State Street feeling fantastic, except for my feet were really cramping by now.  Boy did they hurt.  Pushed an Aleve with some oranges and bananas and water.  Just keep moving forward.  David finally wanted my meds – back-tracked to give him an ibuprofen, then went on my way.  Must have worked – he caught up to me around mile 21.  That fracking trail again.  Things were really hurting.  Starting run/walk a bit more.  Had to ignore the crowd and simply focus on moving and drown the pain.  Wheels finally spiraled off at mile 23.  The pain! Oh the pain was tremendous.  But how had I made it this far?  Breaking 13:00 was no longer a motivator, just finishing became the goal.  David was doing better by now and he helped me through the last 5k.  It was a really awesome and unexpected treat that he asked if we could finish together and even asked if I wanted to hold hands.  Cheesy, but such a lift in those last horrible miles.  He urged me to run the last mile strong through the crowds.  I could hardly lift my feet, they hurt so much.  He offered to push me, to pull me – I couldn’t have gone any faster and it only would have hurt my cause.  The finish chute was such a lift.  I think I thought I was flying, but legs were really shuffling.  It felt so good to finish!!!

Overall: An absolutely perfect day.  Great weather, wind wasn’t too bad, sun wasn’t too hot.  All the things leading up that I thought would get me (stress, poor sleep, inconsistent training, abandoned nutritional guidelines, and undertraining on the run) didn’t seem to matter.  The usual suspects (GI and race-day nerves) never reared their ugly heads.  My competitiveness didn’t tip me into the point of no return.  I made enough smart choices to survive with a smile.  Somehow, by some miracle coupled with what must have been just enough training, I made this happen!  I can’t imagine performing any better than I did today.  I left it all out there.  What a race.
 
Post-race: not much of an appetite.  Right foot hurts beyond belief.  Can’t sleep (not tired, plus foot pain wakes me up every 20 min).  Seeing race photos, I see that my right leg form completely broke down.  Frustrating since I did my strength training up until T-8weeks!!

Things to remember:

1. Great decisions
   1. Pre-race altitude training
   2. 11-32 cassette
   3. Smart eating final week of taper (quinoa, veg, chicken)
   4. Ibuprofen (400mg) on run (remember to eat something solid like bananas or oranges with it)
   5. Back-up nutrition in special needs
   6. Meds in run & bike pack (TUMS!)
   7. Caffeine (100mg every 2 hrs) + caffeine weaning in weeks prior + usage (30 min after swim, 30 min prior to run start)
   8. Licking & dipping goggles
   9. New wetsuit
   10. Sunscreen stations usage
   11. Getting to transition early & heading to the swim start by 6:30 (made it with 7 min to spare)
   12. Choosing tough century rides; hill repeats
   13. Running in hilly Palisades Park & Bulls Ferry Rd. + speed training
   14. Aquabike warm-up race
   15. Good instructions to transition volunteers (consider writing a script for next time)
   16. Chicken soup and fruit!  Bananas near end of bike, fruit on the run.  Saviors.
2. Poor decisions
   1. Getting stuck having to pass on the tough uphills.  Get away from people.
   2. Stopping strength training
   3. Messing with bike set-up within 2 mos. of race
   4. Front left swim seeding.  Not worth it.
   5. Not buying the spray-on body glide.  Would have been nice to have in transition bags.
   6. Forgetting to sunscreen face.  Whoops.
   7. Not trusting my bike ability.  Probably could have trained a little harder here.
   8. Bike nutrition – needed more solid food, calories.
   9. Poor nutrition T-3 through T-2 wks out – regained weight I had lost :(  More frequent small meals would have been better.