Spirit of Racine - Race Recap

Alarms went off at 3:45am to wake us up. We drove over 60 miles to reach Racine. Mom met us at the transition at 6:30. Then, we walked over a mile to the swim start. Due to visibility issues, the race was postponed an hour until 8:00.

SWIM - 1.2 miles
Lake Michigan was 55 degrees (FREEZING). Our faces and feet felt like they were going to freeze off. But the wetsuit helped keep our core warm, and peeing in them beforehand didn't hurt either.

BIKE - 56 miles
We've never experienced an aid station on our bikes before; so, we rode past the first one. Volunteers hand out water, sport drinks & gel as cyclists ride by and grab what they need. At the second aid station, we successfully grabbed sport drinks and water. The last station, Brittany tried to grab a gel. After 2 failed attempts she rode on without any gel. A cyclist rode by and said "that didn't work out so well." The USAT officials were out in force. Racer #895 kept drafting off of Kirstin (even when the officials were right next to us on their motorcycles). We're still trying to figure if we got 4 minute penalties. Regardless, we shared tons of laughs and inappropriate comments on the bike.

RUN - 13 miles
The course was two 6.05 mile loops. It was hot & sunny! We saw the same people over & over. Kirstin "bonked" (as Jaime worded it) on the run. At no point did she feel strong. She couldn't get a pace and needed to walk part of it. Britt, on the other hand, felt great and strong. Being the sister and teammate she is, she waited for Kirstin in order to finish together. Her estimated time sacrifice...+20 minutes.

OUR TIME: 5:49.(and some milliseconds)

Our Learning's:
* Wear black spandex (& correct fitting)...or butt cracks show.

* Hydration system - the yellow netting must be properly placed. This keeps the fluid inside the bottle and not from splashing all over your face. Unfortunately, Brittany lost hers about 8 miles into the ride. Kirstin felt like she was in a pool.

* Most supporters (especially when drinking) think we're twins and will strongly debate us about it. While we do like similar since we're sisters, the matching oufits definitely confuse people.