Several of you posted some encouraging words a few weeks ago when I was "unsure" about going forward with a sprint . Yesterday I completed that triathlon in Long Beach Island, NJ. I never felt prepared, and I certainly could have been more prepared; but thanks to some of you and the friend who raced with me, it is behind me in the complete column! The swim in the bay was way harder than I expected. I had to swim backstroke for most of it. My first tri (4 years ago) was in a lake. This was in the bay, and I just couldn't swim efficiently with my face in the water. About a third of the way I decided to give in and do what worked. It took me over 16 minutes! The bike was flat. I did it in about the time I expected. I did learn that even though most of my riding in and around Philadelphia is on varying degrees of hills, flat riding has its own challenges. Wind was certainly a factor. Surprisingly the "run" was significantly improved -- even over my fastest most recent times. Let me clarify that this is mostly a walk for me. I run in intervals and not many of them. Both T1 and T2 were about 5 minutes, but I learned last time that I needed a pit stop between bike and run. It's possible that minute in T2 saved me four minutes. At any rate, I finished it in just over 50 minutes. I finished the whole thing in 2:06 -- 4 minutes faster than my first tri four years ago. Yay!

For my friend, it was her first tri, and she finished about 15 minutes ahead of me. We're already thinking about what we need to do to get ready for next year. I think I'll try Couch to 5K; so I can run the whole distance. I also want to concentrate on strength training. Do you do anything different during the "off-season" or do you do the same thing year-round?

Thank you for your encouraging words and advice!