Well, I am here in Switzerland and the race was today!  I felt really good today before the race - strong and fairly calm.  My age group went LAST for this race, so my start time was 4:15pm.  So...as they corralled us in front of the swim dock before the swim I just could feel it was going to be a good day. 

When the bell went off and we started swimming I had some really stiff competition in the swim, but the water was cool and I felt great!  I was 3rd out of the water and ran almost 1\2 mile to get to my bike (yes, it was an insanely long transition), then another 1/3 mile running with my bike before I could get on.  Then I felt strong and pedalled hard - there were some steep hills, but I still felt good.  Then...STEEP downhills followed by really sharp turns -  AAAHHHH!  All I could think is I cannot wait to get off this course.  This is SCARY!  Almost every time I went down a hill I got passed.  Then on the flats and  hills I would retake some of them, but this was just not my day on the bike! My legs and mind were hurting. But I went as fast as I could and WORKED hard!  Then to the run -  it was 4 laps of turns, but I felt pretty solid.  At the end, I was so tired I had to hang on the fence.  A good race.  I ended up 7th in my age group and 39th overall among the women  (523 women finishers, 9th American).  Not the results I had hoped for, but my best effort and I know what I have to work on. 

This whole week has been a fantistic experience!   I got to talk to people from all over the world, see people from countries I have never heard of, and meet some amazing U.S. athletes from all over the country.  I will never forget how great it was to be here in this beautiful place.