ANOTHER PR??? Is it possible?!

Been a few days since the Derby Half Marathon (4th on that course, 11th overall), and somehow I ended up pulling out a course PR, even though it was a tough race for me. I hadn't ate well for a few days prior to the race, and the morning was rather muggy with rain off and on. The course was moved to accomodate a new finish, so the hills of Iroquois Park came just a mile into the race, rather than 3 like the previous races. It didn't take long (probably mile 6 or so) for my legs to become somewhat sore, and my breathing was labored - eventually got side stitches and had to slow it down some. Overall, it was a pretty hard race for me, and now that it's all said and done, I have noticed the outside of my left foot is tender when I walk on it. Not sure what that's all about, but hoping it goes away soon, considering I have a tri both this and next weekend. Which brings me to my next bit of news.....

My tri training group got together yesterday morning for an open-water swim clinic. This was my first-ever open-water swim and I was really nervous when we all walked to the edge of the dock in our wetsuits to jump in for a 200m warm up. Found out my wetsuit is apparently too big, but it felt just fine while I swam, and kept me plenty warm enough, so I'm not too concerned about it at this point. All but me and one or two other people were in the water before I got the cajones to actually jump in. The initial shock of the 60 degree water was rather breathtaking, but it wasn't long before that I felt pretty good.

The water was rather choppy due to a windy day, and I got a mouthful more than once. But feeling pretty good about Knoxville in two weeks now that I know what to expect. We worked on sighting and talked about transitioning into the water and back out heading for T1. Like I said, the clinic really put my mind at ease and I'm so glad I did it. Hopefully it will allow me to experience less anxiety in a few weeks.