1500M Canal Swim, 25 mile bike, 10K run

In May, a hip specialist told me I should stop running and probably not do any more triathlons until my pain goes away.  I figured it was the perfect time to switch from sprint to Olympic distances!  Actually, I took two full months off from running and focused on swimming and biking, and my hip actually felt healed, which after hurting for about a year, was quite a relief!  I had originally intended not to do any more races, as I had already missed the national championship in Grand Rapids, and I couldn't run.  HOWEVER, I had bought a new bike.  I had bought lots of new gear.  I had trained, and trained, and trained.  I was swimming in the lake almost daily, I was doing CrossFit, and my endurance was strong.  In my mind, I convinced myself that if I did a longer race I wouldn't have to push as hard as I did in a sprint.  Because I am dumb, I signed up for my first Olympic race and very nearly died.

400M cold and rough Lake Swim, 12.4 Mile Bike, 5k Run

​For my second race in 3 weeks, Logan and I drove on up to Prairie Creek Reservoir near Muncie, IN to compete in the first open water race of the year.  I had spent the previous week and a half working on my open water swimming skills and was feeling really comfortable, despite the 62-degree water temps.  Luckily on race day it was probably closer to 68, which is way nicer than 62.  I rock a sleeveless wetsuit due to my broad shoulders, so cold water still feels pretty cold.  Race weight was around 229, so still too heavy, but still not running.  Pre-race, my hip hurt, and It would get much, much worse quickly. I asked a guy how the run course was, as I hadn't scouted it out prior to the race (rookie mistake), and he told me "it's pretty flat, some slight rolling hills."  I guess that guy must have lived in Boulder, because his definition of "it's pretty flat" does not line up with mine.