...live in the moment, repeat...IMKS

I am not sure I have ever been so chill coming into a race.  I was in California the week prior...perfect taper right?  Just a couple of fishbowls beers were consumed.  Even with getting home on Friday and only having a day to prep for the race, I was just chill as can be.  #odd

I knew I didn't prep like I had last year.  Last year was a whole different caliber.  This year has been a completely different beast to tame.  My head and heart have been all over the place.  So I took the fitness I had and decided to just race to the MY best in that moment on that day.  No pressure, no major time goals, no disapointment...high five EVERY kiddo, smile, push, live in the moment, repeat.

Typically pre-race I feel sick to my stomach, have major anxiety, and sometimes cry.  Prior to the race on Sunday, there were no butterflies, no wonky stomach and not a single tear.  But there was a dramatic photo shoot at the swim start. #evenbetter  Yup, #hotmess #Imadork

Lovely Liz, of the RED LADIES, #Casey'swife

COME HERE CASEY (the stud who just rocked IMTX also on #teamBSC)

CHEEEEEESE

Sandy Brown says...look like you're gazing over the H2O...who does that with a straight face!?!?!?! #nostressinghere

high fives and two thumbs up

Was not my fastest swim at this race, nor was it my slowest.  The conditions were perfect so I might have needed to be a bit more serious and attempt to swim straight and not take the long way around the buoys.  No excuses, it was 3 min slower than my PR at this distance and for what I've put in this year...I'll take it.

The bike...hmm, despite some Garmin snaffu's the bike was pretty ok!  My legs were on fire until.mile.40...SERIOUSLY LEGS?  Well at least they warmed up right?!

I had an AMAZING cheer section at mile 35 on the bike.  at the top of a pretty good hill.  Damn my girls are the best.  #lovemyathletes It was such an epic section of cheer, I was asked on the run if I was 'the Kelly' from the bike course!  Ha!  So.much.fun.  THANKS LADIES!!!  (I'll add more pictures later, I have some good ones!)

The run...hmmm, no real major issues.  I have been running pretty good lately, if I had any expectations for this race, it would have been on the run.  Being present and in the moment was an intention I made from the start.  I wanted to make sure that I was working as hard as I could at that particular moment and if so GREAT!...if not, well I needed to get there.  My legs didn't feel great...ever during the 2 loops.  My mantra during the 2nd loop was "round 2...fight"...is that from a video game?  hmm. weird as I don't even own a DVD player, much less a video game thing...oh wait, I do have the original Nintendo.

After reviewing my race plan, Michelle wrote me to high 5 every kiddo and I did just that.  Try it!  It totally makes you smile (i.e. have fun!). 

Overall it turned out to be exactly what I had hoped.  I smiled almost the whole race, I finished in a respectable place/time and I had FUN!  I won't lie, it is was so nice not chasing PR's, world champ slots, etc, etc, etc.  & even with all the fun I had, I was only 7' slower than my PR on this course...with way less fitness.  I think there is something to be said about limiting stress and having fun in this sport.  Sounds like a good plan for the rest of the season, no? 

Post race shenanigans...

Kept my eye on the prize.

Getting the new babe (no, not mine) ready for the "LaPan medal" photo shoot.

Tuckered babe

Despicable me and aloha pants #chillin

Big thanks to everyone who reaches out every.single.time I race.  It means a ton hearing from everyone.  Lots of xoxoxo to my coach, #teamBSC and my athletes.  #lovebeingacoach 

hashtag.lotsofthem

...you are stronger than you think...

Camp thoughts…where do I even begin? 

I have attended numerous tri camps in the past 6 years…this was my first time as a coach.  How different it all is.  There is so much that goes on behind the scenes, I’ve never been so grateful for everything my past camp coaches have done to get all the logistics in place than I am right now.  It’s tough work…getting SAG bought and set up, marking courses, organizing travel, showering @ 9:30 pm, meeting and socializing with the other athletes, AND making sure you are taking care of yourself (i.e. feeding hydrating, etc.) WHEW! 

BUT here’s the deal…IT IS ALL WORTH IT!  We had some MAJOR breakthroughs this week…seeing the athletes overcome fears, getting comfortable being uncomfortable, climbing mountains in PR record time…all the exhaustion of planning and organizing goes right out the window.  I am not sure Krista and I could be any more PROUD and satisfied than we are right now.  I would call this camp a HUGE success.

We had an incredible group of athletes this year.  Such a dynamic and diverse group, different athletic abilities, different ages.  We had local Scottsdale athletes, a couple east coast, west coast and several of us from the midwest…many will become friends for life.  Everyone stepped up and put their best foot forward and worked hard.  That’s the point of camp right?  Spend 4-5 days out of your routine; build a big fitness base and WORK HARD.  And that we did…

Thursday was an easy ‘optional’ run.  I put optional in quotes because everyone ran it.  Easy social jog, we didn’t want any matches being burned…we had a big week in front of us. 

Even Baxter needed to hydrate!

The Monday before camp, our coach Michelle was having major FOMO and decided to hop on a plane from Hawaii and join us!  She asked Krista and I to keep it a secret so she could surprise her athletes.  That was a tough secret to keep!  We were all super excited about her arrival late Thursday pm!!   (Needless to say her other athletes were super surprised and excited to see her!  Read her camp blog here!)

Me, Michelle, Krista...BSC coaches!

Our version of pillow service for coach Michelle!

Friday morning was a BIG day…huge.  A long bike to Bartlett Lake, a ~40 min OWS in Bartlett Lake then a 14 mile CLIMB out of the lake (where we spotted IM world champ Rinny and Tim) then enjoy the decent ride home.  It would have been about an 80-mile day, except Jen Sparkles and I decided to ride to Cave Creek and added another 12 miles to our day.  Why not, right?  Actually we I missed our turn…my bad.  ;)

Coach and sparkles :)

Either way it worked out perfect.  It was a tough ride and with a little coaxing of the bodies with nutrition, we all pushed through.  Krista and I were able to see some folks pushing their bodies and most importantly their minds…

’you are stronger than you think’

Barlett Lake!

My friend and inspirational speaker, Jenne Fromm so kindly agreed to take some time out of her Friday evening to virtually ‘hang’ out with us and teach us a little bit of how our minds work both for us and against us.  As usual she changed a couple peoples lives that night.  Everyone should check her out here! She’s quite an amazing individual.  I am honored and proud to call her my friend.

We had an ‘easier’ day on tap for Saturday.  ‘Just’ a 3-hour ride, including a jaunt up 9-mile hill.  Pacing and nutrition was key for this ride, especially since we had a mountain to climb the next day.  Krista and I each rode with a different group.  My group practiced pace lines on our way to the climb, super fun when you don’t ride with a big bike group very often!  Once we got to the bottom of the hill our strategy was this…spin to about mile 5, then add a couple of gears, @ mile 8 ATTACK and catch the front group.  And holy shit, we did it.  PERFECT pacing...

’you are stronger than you think’

Solid bunch of athletes!

Off the bike we had a 4-mile run.  We asked everyone to stay inside themselves for the first 2 miles and negative split this run.  It’s a lot harder to do this as most feel really good off the bike and are ready to charge.  It was noon in the desert and the false flat on the way home made for the negative split to be a SOLID challenge.  I think we had an almost 100% success rate.  A quick 3k swim shower and we had ourselves another HUGE deposit in the bank.

Sunday was the day I had been waiting for…for literally YEARS.  The EPIC Mt. Lemmon climb.  We got up early and caravanned the 2 hours down to Tucson.  Having never had experience Mt. Lemmon, I knew had to pace myself and needed to convenience the others to do the same.  WOW.  What an experience.  It was exactly what I had imagined it would be.  HARD.  BEAUTIFUL.  FUN.  And 2 hours and 45 minutes later, I was at the cookie cabin...
 

’you are stronger than you think’

Me, Krista and Sippy!  At the top of the Mnt.

Not too long after that, we were ALL eating cookies and pizza.  It was so amazing to see our athletes push the limits especially mentally and literally arrive at the top.  It’s a feeling that brings tears to your eyes when thinking about the metaphor of climbing a mountain, on a bike, by yourself.  

Pizza, Cookie and Sparky!!!

Then we had to get down.  It would be quick (time), it would be fast (speed), and it would be in a wind storm/headwind.  I am not the best/comfortable descending, but holy shit THAT was fun.  We had a couple athletes VERY hesitant to descend and one actually wasn’t going to, she wanted to ride in the SAG wagon down, but Shane with his negotiation skills convinced her he would leap frog with her down.  She drank the cool-aid and we once again had a 100% success rate of both the climb and the descent... 

’you are stronger than you think’

And all of a sudden it was Monday the last day of camp.  L  We had a l5 mile route and a 10 mile route planned for the group.  How would our legs feel after 190 miles of riding 14k feet of climbing?  Would they show up to play?  But of course they did!  I think everyone was a bit sore/tired, but the run got done.  Krista and I had terrorized marked Paradise Valley in a delirium the night before… & the route was absolutely stunning at sunrise.  Such a joy to be there…running.  Especially after the days leading up to it, there were little to no complaints had by any.

Sparkle and Kelly selfie!

Another quick swim and we were done!  (both literally and figuratively)  It was bittersweet at that point.  I didn’t know if the sadness was actually fatigue or if I was terribly sad it had to come to an end.  I think it was a combo of the two!  

Thanks Planet Sun for protecting us all week!!

Camp was a huge success!  Krista gets all the credit!  She worked super hard with figuring the logistics of the rides/runs.  This camp wouldn't have been without her.  She is a solid athlete and an even more amazing coach.  She's been a rock in my world and I am incredibly thankful to have her in my life.  Thank you Krista!!  You are amazing and I am so thankful for our friendship!

Thanks recoverye21 for our CUTE camp tanks!

I also must thank all of the athletes for working so hard and pushing themselves to the limit.  THANK YOU!  They deposited a huge amount of fitness into their ‘bank’ $$cha-ching$$ and it will come in handy very soon ;)   I wish everyone the most success in 2014.

Thank you to Shane and June.  We really couldn't have asked for a better SAG crew!  Water, nutrition, directions, photos, motivation, you name it - they had it ready for us.  We really couldn't have asked for a better support system.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

And last but not least, THANK YOU to our sponsors!!

Recovery e21 - Amazing product.  This stuff has gotten me through the most grueling training rides/runs and 2 Iroman.  Good stuff.  Get it.

Planet Sun - Did I mention not one person got burned in the desert sun?  Not a ONE!!  This stuff is top notch along with the people/company that run it.     

And here I am.  On the plane…revisiting the past 5 days.  Sad, excited, motivated, ready to race, experience new things, new challenges.  I never thought I would be doing what I love, not only as an athlete but now as a coach!!!  I am so inspired and excited to keep the momentum going.  The love and support I have within this community is crazy strong and I am incredibly blessed and thankful to have TeamBSC as my friends and family. 

...until next time, remember ’you are stronger than you think’

Happy Team BSC Scottsadale Camp Eve!

It's less than 24 hours away.

Team BSC Scottsdale Camp.  My 2nd camp with this amazing crew.  My first as a coach.  EIK!!!  We have some amazing bat shit crazy sessions planned, (many thanks to Krista for all of her planning)! There will be an amazing speaker, a Mt. Lemmon climb (and the obligatory cookie), and we have a MAJOR surprise for our athletes!  I am so excited!!!!

I have not done much outside riding this year...thanks ol man winter and me turning into a wimp in the cold.  #ihatethecold  Later this week...I will have 12 hours of saddle time planned in 3 consecutive days.  Talk about a pain in the ass.  I'll be hurting for sure.  But the benefits of training camp is the huge fitness boost one gets when all has been accomplished.  I'll need it.  Race season is just around the corner for me.

This has been a stressful past couple of months for me and nothing will heal my soul more than 5 days with friends who are just as BSC as I am.  Riding long will help clear my head and get me motivated for the season ahead!  I've had to majorly adjust my race schedule, but there is still an IM on the books for this year...and maybe 2. ;)  Time to get moving!!

Cheers to BSC camp #2!!!

Welcome to the Puke Party

#andI'llbringthecupcakes

During the 50th minute of our hour track session last night, those were the words uttered through our cold freezing heavy breathes (sounds like a 50 shades blurb, huh?!) before our last 400. 

(I had to partake in a cupcake tasting @ work for a retirement party just hours before meeting @ the track.  Big mistake, huge!  I held it all in, but just barely.  I really need to lay off the sugar these days.  :))

I invited several gals to join me in my track session last night, b/c misery loves company, right?  I had just come home from ~10 days in the HEAT and it was 20 degrees come track time, and well speed work is almost  always hard.  I needed reinforcements.  I had 2 gals take me up on the pain.  I think my FB invite read...

"Track session 5:45 @ LHS.  It will HURT, but you'll thank me after your next race..."
 

and I wonder why only 2 showed...;)  One is a BSC athlete, so that didn't surprise me and the other is on a quest for a BQ in the fall, again no surprises that she showed up either. 

It turned out to hurt, and hurt pretty bad, but when it was all said and done, we had run some of our fastest 200/400 splits...EVER.  That's pretty freakin cool!  The thoughts and feelings of pain were immediately replaced with "hell yeah's" and "holy cow, that was my fastest 400 ever".  Good times.

I told my athlete to take the intervals @ ~ 5" more than what we were doing as she hasn't been doing much speed work this winter.  But guess what?!  She ran right with us.  Yup, no bitchin, whining, nada.  BEASTMODE.  Super proud coach.  Check out these splits.  Talk about descending...she pretty much nailed it.

1:54.9
1:47.5
1:46.9
1:46.8
1:47.4
1:43.5
1:40.4

This is what she had to say in her comments in TP...

"That was hard but fun.  Thanks for sending out the invite.  Sometimes I forget the advantages of group workouts. Good stuff."

 

So the point of this blog is to get out of your comfort zone!  Just SHOW UP.  Seriously, try it.  It will totally pay off.  Pain is temporary....yes, it's scary, yes it hurts, yes it's uncomfortable...but listen, 9 x out of 10 it ISN'T as bad as you think it will be AND it ISN'T as painful as you may think (and if it is, it goes away pretty fast!).  While in the 'moment' imagine finishing your first marathon, or PR'ing that 1/2 distance you've been working so hard for, getting that BQ you want, nabbing that Kona slot, or whatever you are in this for!  Mentally imagery WORKS!  Your body CAN & WILL override the negative thoughts in your head.  Believe in it and take care of it...it WILL get you there if you just show up and do the work!

I'm now a BSC coach...

...and I couldn't be more excited!!!

It's OFFICIAL!!!!!!  <---READ IT FROM "queen BSC" herself here

Team BSC Triathlon has launched!  I'm so excited Michelle has taken Krista and I under her wing to expand the team!  Completely honored she has this much faith in me to lead the way for other TeamBSC athletes.  BUT THAT'S WHAT A GOOD COACH DOES TO YA.  ;) 




Michelle's success with athletes is (BS)crazy.  Check out the Team BSC athlete stats...Just amazing numbers...

~TeamBSC had 21 athletes finish 24 Ironman races… for the second year in a row had a 100% finisher rate!

~16 of the 21 athletes achieved lifetime PRs at the distance (76% PR rate).

~2 Kona qualifiers and 7 Vegas qualifiers

What’s super cool about the 3 of us working together is how similar of athletes we are.  It's no secret how much Michelle has helped me get from an average athlete to the podium.  *funny* as she's taken all 3 of us from 12-13 hour iron distance athletes to >11 hour...ALL 3 OF US.  The 3 of us all admit we were not blessed with BSC speed, but we have heart and BSC work ethic...which is the same thing really ;)  Read any of our training logs and/or blogs and you will see how dedicated we are to triathlon AND how much we really truly LOVE this sport.  I cannot even explain how excited we all are to start this new journey.  We ALL believe that when you work hard for something, it CAN get done.  Hard work and dedication (with the right guidance of course ;)) can get YOU places, very very special places. 

I am super excited to share what I've learned from Michelle, my successes and experiences to help others achieve their goals!  Dream BIG!  It IS possible!

COME PLAY WITH US IN MARCH!!  We are hosting a cheap spring training camp in SUNNY Scottsdale!!!  ------->DETAILS <------  Perfect for those who are racing an early season Ironman or 70.3!!!  ****I think there are only 3 spots left, so if you are interested, contact us today!!!

this may have contributed to the tears...

Before I forget (although I highly doubt I'll forget this EVER), I should document that this was the song that was playing when I crossed the finish line on October 12th, 2013.  Pretty darn perfect.  :)

Aaaannnnndddd we are running - Kona 2013

Off the bike and into T2.  I really don't remember much about the transitions except they went pretty smoothly.  Transition is LONG on the pier.  You have to run all the way around...tip - WEAR SOCKS.  AstroTurf can get hot. (tips like this is reason #400 why you hire a coach ;))

On to the run.....Lets do something different and let me briefly recap mile by mile (or something like that).

8:20 - "Yahoo!  I'm off my bike!  I'M FEELING GREAT!!  All these people are cheering for ME!!  I live for the applause, applause, applause....  YAY!!  Great pace!!  Can you keep this up another 25 miles?!?!?...maybe you are running a bit too fast...

Nice heel strike...ugh, no wonder my feet hurt so bad!

9:31 -  Maybe I slowed down just a bit too much.  Or maybe this is where I saw coach and slowed down to chat with her?  And when I say chat, I mean, Me: I am HURTING ALREADY.  Did I train AT ALL for this race?  Michelle: YOU'RE RUNNING ON ALI'I DRIVE...PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE!

9:12 - Still running pretty ok at this point.  The pain is setting in though.  My feet felt like they had stress fractures.  broken.

9:37, 9:37 - Just barely hanging on.  Way too early in the race to be saying this.  I had to stop to pee. Every porta potty had a line so I found some lava and sat down.  I hope I didn't piss off Madame Pele...or on.  Damn.  Cursed.

10:06, 10:14, 9:56, 11:09, 9:54 - Still on Ali'i drive really trying not to break down into tears.  Michelle found me again out here and got me to smile for a couple of photos.  Such mixed emotions out here.  I wanted so, so badly to feel better and to have fun out there.

Forced, but hey it's a smile :)

11:20, 10:24, 10:44, 10:41 - At this point I had reached the Queen K.  This is the 'calm' before my storm.   Still feeling like crap, but had made a friend from Brazil and she kept me busy by asking me how many kilometers we had already ran.  Hmmm, folks who know me know I am NO math major.  Totally different kind of pain for me.  ;) This distracted me away from the pain in my legs and feet for a bit anyway!  They closed the roads to the spectators way earlier than in years past and it's a black asphalt highway in the middle of lava beds.  Needless to say, it's HOT.  It was the biggest mental battle I've ever faced.  It's you and your mind out there and if your mind is not right, you're in BAD COMPANY.  See mile 15. 

13:16 - Ah, mile 15, this will be forever known as the BREAKDOWN IN THE PORTA POTTY MILE.  I'm not even talking about shedding a couple of tears now.  I'm talking full fledged I'm a 5 2 year old having a tantrum.  Full fledged SOBS.  I mean seriously?  What was I doing?  I was so disappointed ANGRY in how I was running I was willing to give up a few minutes and get it all out.  Silly, SILLY girl.  I had just had enough.  FINALLY, I was able to get over myself and get back out there.

On the way back to the finish.  Was I about to puke???  Notice the 'shuffle' going on here.

11:38, 10:45, 13:44, 11:42 - Oh fun times...we reach the infamous NATURAL ENERGY LAB.  NEL for short.  Oh baby everything you hear about this place is the truth.  Why?  Terrain isn't that bad, you have the ocean to look at and you can geek out looking at all the solar panels...so why is this place so dang hard? I have no answer for ya.  Better get your mind right.

11:21, 11:09, 10:44 - Running out of the NEL, you run up a pretty good hill.  It's as if the NEL was saying 'it was nice seeing you!!!  don't let the door hit ya on the way out'.  Double bonus...when I left, the volunteers were hollering 'you only have a 10k to go!'  Uh, wait a minute...I'm no math major (see miles 11-13) but a 10k is 6.2 miles.  We are not at the 20 mile marker.  That doesn't make the mind right.  Heading back into town the sun was starting to set.  They had started passing out glow sticks.  Michelle reminded me earlier in the week that if I got a glowstick, NBD.  I would be fortunate to GET a glowstick.  Truth?  I didn't want the glowstick.  No one ever does I know.  Just keep hanging on....one foot in front of the other.  I could do it.  I could get there in time (sans glowstick).

11:05, 11:11, 10:55 - Shuffle, walk through the aid stations. Repeat.  Head down chin up.  Holy cow, we are almost there.  The excitement was starting to build.  I was ready to stop running.

8:49 - One last turn onto and down Palani AND.here.we.go.  It was finally THAT time.  The moment had been plastered in mind for almost a full year....and I was about to live it in REAL TIME.  My chest started to get super tight as I was choking back the tears.  All the blood, sweat, and tears (many, many tears) was all about to be 'worth it'.  Hell I'm crying now just thinking about it.  This is what we live for.  It was my turn.

My almost ugly cry face.

The buzz is indescribable.  Hands down the BEST BUZZ EVER.  Spectators are lined up 2 and 3 deep.  EVERYONE is hollering/cheering like crazy.  High fives everywhere.  I sounded like I was having an asthma attack...I couldn't breathe, I was literally all choked up.  The moment is hard to describe. Photos are worth 1000 words, right?  I'll let them speak for me.

High fives to the family!

Add caption

oh, here's the ugly cry face.

Funny how the finish time in the photo is different than my 'official' time...

Check out those crazy fans...how fun is this photo?

The finish is uphill, funny, IM, very funny.

My photographer was a Mizzou alum.  #rockchalk

I am so incredibly blessed.  I am so, so thankful for this experience.  It really takes a village and I have the best.  To all my family who took the time to go Hawaii, I love you forever for it.  Michelle, you're the best...I cannot thank you enough for all you have done (and endured) for me. Team BSC, thank you for accepting and supporting me as one of your own as quickly as you have, I am proud to be a part of this crazy family.  To all my training buddies, thank you for suffering with me....so thankful for the time.  To all my friends and loved ones thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the generous support.  My FB feed blew up on October 12.  So forever grateful.

Kona 2013...The SWIM - THE GOOD

Race report!  Only 2 weeks post race!  I'm breaking it into 3 posts...

Purposely I arrived to the start way early, like before transition even opened!  I was like 3rd or 4th in line!!  I hate rushing pre-race.  My awesome sister/sherpa calmed me through the madness while the rest of the family parked.   Bag drop, getting numbered, the whole shebang.  It like a cattle call.  Michelle got a panic call, WHAT IS A PRE-RACE BAG?!?!?...IS THAT LIKE A MORNING CLOTHES BAG?!  Hysterical.  I ran into a fellow KCer Jason in transition and had a pep chat with him.  Once I had all my bags dropped off, bottles on my bike I was able to hang out with my family and soak it all in.  :)

I got in the water as quickly as I could as I wanted to get to my spot and 'chill' for a bit.  SOAK IT UP, I told myself, YOU MAY NEVER HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS AGAIN.  I lined up way left (away from the buoy line) as I had no desire to get the sh*t kicked out of me.  I had no place to line up with those folks on the buoy line. I may have had to swim a bit further but for cleaner water I was all for it.  I laid on my back and fought back tears looking at the athletes, the spectators, just soaking up the vibe.  What a powerful moment, it will NEVER be forgotten.  THE DRUMS, oh my the drums.  Michelle had told me to expect them.  It gets my heart racing just thinking about it.  Yet, I was eerily calm...the nerves weren't there at all.  I had poured my heart and soul into getting to this exact spot.  I had made it, I had actually made it.  With my own body (and the support of so many of my friends and family), I had made it.  What a powerful thing.  It was go time. 

The cannon went off and so did the ~2k athletes.  I can't wait to see the NBC coverage.  The photos online look amazing.  In the mix, all I saw were bubbles.  Lots and lots of bubbles.  It was NUTS.  The water in Kona is crystal clear and all of the bubbles were quite the sight!  I am not sure if it was the lack of nerves or what I was feeling, but about a minute into the swim I got AGGRESSIVE.  Now this isn't a regular IM swim.  You're swimming with the best of the best.  These guys/gals have done this a ton of times.  So the madness isn't AS bad, almost a polite madness.  I decided to swim my heart out.  I found some feet and stuck on them like glue.  In tri, you can legally draft in the swim and it saves A TON of energy.  People started to swim over me and 'pull' me off MY feet...oh no ya don't.  I was like a jealous crazed ex-girlfriend.  I kept my arms wide to keep other women off MY big strong feet.   It was super fun!  I've NEVER had a fun swim in this distance.  Oh and I saw the diver photogs!!!  How cool was that?  I've always wondered what it would be like to see them.  I cry just thinking about it.  :)  At some point on the way out I actually looked up to sight (I only did this a couple of times, you actually don't even need to!) and saw that I was right on the buoy line.  I suppose with that many people it becomes a vortex...it sucked me right into the line I didn't want.  What do ya do?  I hung on for dear life.  I got to the first turn buoy in 30 minutes.  Holy cow I was having a hell of a swim, for me.  (hm, maybe all that swimming this year paid off?)  Motivated to swim a sub 1:10, I kept on strong feet.  Rumor had it there was a southern swell...turned out not to be an actual rumor.  I did my best to keep on someones feet.  Funny, I 'experimented' a bit scooting off the feet a bit and feeling I far back I would fall...bust ass to get back on the said feet and then be ALL OVER THEM.  Yup, drafting actually works! 

And like that...it was done.  Over.  1:10 and some change.  PR IM swim IN KONA.  VERY happy girl.  So happy that I ran into transition, quickly changed, ran right on out without even seeing the volunteers with the sunscreen...oops!

A little pre-race meditation time with my sister.

This WILL be mine...soon!  So in LOVE!

How amazing is my mom for creating team Harvey uniforms? 

Bike Check in

I love all my signs!!!!

Lovely Moana!!!  This is my coach's daughter.