Great Clermont Oly tri

This race was kind of weird. I haven't traveled solo to a race since being with the Dane. I had no support crew or literally anyone I knew that was racing. Put that on top of being racked with the men, being numbered 313, having significant bad weather all night prior, I wasn't really sure about this. I got up at 3:30 am to make the drive to Clermont, not sure how bad the weather was going to be. I had a little oatmeal which I'm testing out for race day breaky, working well I'll say. The drive was wet but not raining, good. The weather was quite still in Clermont which was a nice surprise. Got my packet, made sure they knew I was a female (was originally registered male) and got transition squared away. One reason I like doing early "c" races is because you're reminded of all the silly things you seem to forget about since the last major race. I brought no towel to "mark my territory" amongst the men but, no worries, I have the plastic bag my wetsuit was previously in. Took my token 10 minute run to open up the body and the hamstrings were arguing but I didn't care to listen. We, the women, were the last wave, as usual. Got a good start but just didn't feel terribly comfortable the entire swim. Didn't get into any good drafts, just swimming along on my own but not super hard. My swim split represented that, not happy and hopefully will be better come St. Anthony's. Onto the bike after novice transition - couldn't get my wetsuit off and my glasses and helmet on. I liked having the SRM for a few reasons - I wasn't a slave to it but it kept me honest when I wanted to soft pedal a bit. I changed my bike position a bit last week (trying to get more aerodynamic) and am not comfortable on it at all at this point so all my descending was done out of the aero bars - ugh, slow. I did feel comfortable and strong on the flats. Kept my head in the game though my legs were not very rested. Off onto the run and felt immediately, I had left my legs on the bike course. I didn't head out like a bat out of Hell like I normally do and this proved to be a smart move with my current fitness level and advanced age. My hamstrings were killing so I jogged up the hills and tried to push down. Finished in 2:22 something and this is actually a PR for any Clermont olympic course for me. They moved transition also so much longer run to T1 than previously. I ended up 4th overall female which was a nice surprise since I didn't expect to have an overall result. Swim was not great, bike was definitely better and run was better than I expected with the injury issues since Jan. I actually felt stronger as the run went on, with the exception of the hills which really killed my hamstrings. I have diagnosed myself with a high hamstring tendonopathy which is basically a problem where the hamstring attaches to the pelvis. I have a massage tomorrow and my first ART treatment on Friday, hopefully this will help. If I don't get much relief, I'll have to reassess my spring races, the goal is Kona, afterall. Overall, I feel really good about the first race even with all the mistakes and pains I've had. One thing I love about this sport is there is always a learning curve!
Kia Kaha