Things did not go off without a hitch of course. First, I forgot my Garmin on the charger at home so I had zero technology for the entire race. This is not a bad thing if you are used to racing/training that way but I am not and have become a tech junkie.
Swim: The swim was in the bay so we did have to deal with some chop but it was not terrible. However, I could not keep water out of my goggles which really hurt my time. I cam out of the water in 9th place.
T1: I had the fastest T1 time on my group and that definitely made up for a portion of the swim
Bike: Well on to the bike not know what my cadence, hr, speed or power was during the ride. The only thing I had to gauge how I was biking was others on the course and perceived effort. I pretty much ignored perceived effort and just tried to stay with a few other bikers who seemed to be doing well. After the race I talked to the bikers I stayed with and we averaged right at 23mph for the bike. They combined my bike and T2 time together and I was 5th in my group.
Run: This is where I normally catch some people and it started pretty much the same but I had a hard time pushing myself because of not knowing how hard I was running. I usually really rely on the Garmin to tell me I need to go faster on the run. All for not though because as I was in 3rd place with less than a mile to go on the run I developed a massive hamstring cramp that stopped me dead in my tracks. I tried really quick to get rid of it so I could finish but I couldn't even walk for several minutes. With that I decided I would just cut through the course hobbling and turn in my chip. My first DNF. Oh well I learned a lot from the race about my capabilities and limitations.
If I had to do it over I would follow my own directions to my athletes and hydrate better leading up to and the morning of raceday.
