I just wanted to thank everyone for all the support and help they've
given me in the past 5 months. You've all been a huge part in my
training and the whole club really helped me get through this race.

It was a probably the most perfect day for a tri. The water temp was
76.3, which made it wetsuit legal for us amateurs. Thank god, cause I
can use all the help I can get on the swim. Plus, it justified the
$300 bucks I spend on the damn thing!

I was #247 and we all we went in the water every 3 seconds. So, I was
really close to the front...good cause I'd finish early, but
bad...because the stronger bikers would end up catching me.

My swim was solid, I felt good and had very little trouble staying on
course. The Creve Coeur lake swims helped out immensely. I wasn't
intimidated by the swim at all. And my effort seemed to show. I
couldn't get into the groove of bi-lateral swimming, but that's ok.

Getting out of the water and through transition wasn't as hard as I
expected either. My legs were under me very easily as I ran down to my
bike. I had a little trouble getting my legs out of my suit, but other
than that, no glitches. Got my socks on, bike shoes, helmet and shades
and ran out to the mount point.

Luckily my bike was in low gear and I powered up past 3 people
struggling to get in the right gear. I found a nice pace at about
17-18 mpg and tried to push really hard on the down hills. The bike
was flat and although I was passing a few people, I knew that the
stronger guys were behind me.

Sure enough, I was getting passed by some people like I was standing
still. That's ok though, it didn't get me down too much. I kept
thinking Hey, they're riding $4000 bikes!

At some point on the bike I hit my computer and switched the
trip-ometer to average. And in my state of mind, I kept
thinking...damn, the computer's broken, or came out of alignment. The
MPH was working, but the trip-ometer (really the average) wasn't
moving. So, I lost track of where I was on the bike.

My saddle really started making me scream at roughly 20 miles in
though, and I really wanted to get out of it...so I just put it in
high gear and started pumping. Probably not a good idea, but...I
needed to give my butt a break.

Before I knew it, I was back in the park and winding back to
transition. I hopped off the bike and ran the short distance to my
rack. That was a blessing so I didn't have to run in those shoes very far.

I racked my bike, grabbed my number, switched shoes, put on my visor
and off I was. I didn't get to stretch out much on the bike, because I
didn't know exactly where I was towards the end. So, it took a while
for my legs to get under me. My shin was tight and my glutes felt like
cement, but I was still moving good.

The hills on the run course were just about perfect. I love those
kinds of hills, rolling, short and I can just move up them. There was
plenty of water and gatorade. So, I wasn't hurting for hydration at all.

I was wearing a St. Louis Tri-Club tank top (thank you Erin!), so as I
hit the turnaround, I tried to shout encouragement to everyone I saw
with St. Louis gear on. It wasn't much, just "Go St. Louis!" that was
about all I could get out.

At mile 5, I knew that I had just a little bit more in my tank and I
had to leave it all on the course, so I turned it on a bit and started
catching as many people as I could.

I think only 3 people passed me on the run, so I feel really good
about that, since that is my strength. And when we came around and I
could see the crowd of people at the finish, I started to really turn
it on. We finished down a levy and then a slight turn to cross the
finish line.

I raised my arms through the chute knowing that I left everything I
had out on the course. Erin was there at the end shooting pictures
and I knew that the advice she'd given me earlier had totally paid off.

I hydrated with a water or 2 and then found the Bud tent! The food and
after party was great and I highly recommend this race. I'll probably
be back every yeah, just like the St. Jude Memphis Marathon. Next
year, right Jen!

Here are Erin's pictures with my camera. Thank you so much for taking
those Erin! And thanks again to my great friends in the BRC, you all
really make running fun and I want you to know that your positive
thoughts and comments really help motivate me!

http://picasaweb.google.com/CliffBangHer/MemphisInMay2007