Race Report - Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon

   I participated in my first Olympic triathlon (1,500 meter swim / 40k bike / 10k run) this weekend - the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon.  My plan at the beginning of the season was to race at least two Olympic tris prior to my Half-Ironman, figuring I could use the experience.  Two options for me to race were the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon and the Music City Triathlon being held on July 23.  (While I toyed with the idea of doing both, I decided that a race in July and a race in August would probably be a better plan.)  I chose Chattanooga because, honestly, I thought it would be the easier of the two. According to previous race reports, the bike in Chattanooga was difficult and hilly, but the swim was point-to-point with the current and the run was generally flat.  Compare that to a swim against the current in the Cumberland and a run up the pedestrian bridge in Nashville and the decision was easy - Chattanooga.

  The race was held on Sunday so Dudley and I went to Chattanooga Saturday to pick up my race packet and check out the expo.  This race, like all other tris in which I have participated so far, seeded racers by their estimated swim time.  As I'd never raced 1,500 meters previously, I guessed at my time - 25 minutes.  (A little fast for me, but possibly doable on a good day.)  So I was really surprised when I picked up my race number and saw I was 1,222.  That meant I was almost last and would probably start about an hour and a half after the race started.  Not cool.  At first, I was confused because, while I knew some people can do that distance in 15 minutes, surely not EVERYONE in the race was faster than me.  Turns out, I had signed up after the deadline to be seeded with the rest of the racers, so the organizers put me in the back.  (Note to self - pay attention to those deadlines and don't ever do that again.)
   After catching up with fellow racers Rae and Holland (from the Mach Tenn tri), Dudley and I headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.  Unfortunately, I had crazy anxiety about this race and sleep didn't come easily.  When I finally did sleep - I had a crazy dream that the tri organizers had added a new talent category to the tri.  Sad thing was, I had no idea what I was going to do!  And I'm a singer!!  So I even had added anxiety in my dream!  Needless to say - I wasn't rested when that 5:00 am alarm rang.  Oh well.  I generally don't sleep well prior to a race so I wasn't too worried about it.
   So we headed down to the transition area and get things set up.  One thing I learned during this race - I carry too much crap.  Two very experienced racers next to me only had their shoes (running and cycling) and their bike helmets.  All of their hydration and nutrition were already on the bike.  Me?  I had crap everywhere.  Shoes (running and cycling), socks, Clif bars, Honey Stinger waffles, running water bottle, sunglasses, running hat, towel...the list goes on.  Heck!  I even brought a bucket to sit on!  Well, it was a dual purpose - something to carry all my stuff and something to sit on.  Point being - I definitely have to work on that.

My Ernie's Bait Camp bucket. The bucket belongs to hubby. I have no idea where Ernie's Bait Camp is.

   Being that this was a point-to-point swim, we had to get on shuttles to get to the swim start.  I felt a small twang of panic when we passed the 1-mile marker for the run.  How far was this swim that we were passing the 1-mile mark?!  I mean, I know 1,500 meters is ALMOST a mile, but seeing that sign kind of freaked me out.  Once off the bus, I tried to stay calm.  While I was only in the staging area for about 15 minutes before the race started, I had to hang out for at least another hour (I lost track of time after that) before my start.  It was REALLY hot.  Fortunately, the race organizers had water and Gatorade out there for all of us.  I was nervous, but nothing too bad by this time.  I mainly just tried to stay cool until my number was finally called to the dock where the race officially started.
   Finally - my time arrived.  There really weren't that many of us left at this point - only about 150 people.  We lined up single file and headed down the stairs to the water.  And this where where I started to officially lose my mind.  Looking down the river, I quickly realized I COULDN'T SEE THE FINISH!  I mean, think about this.  You're getting into a river with God-knows-what in it and going to swim until when?  YOU DON'T KNOW BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE THE FINISH!  As I'm not one for hysterics, I just tried to stay calm.  But this is all so new to me that it's hard to control the rational emotion that getting into that water was a really stupid thing to do.
   But I did.  Couldn't make a fool of myself by running back up the stairs, right?  So I got in.  And I swam.  And swam.  And swam.  And really didn't feel like I was getting anywhere.   Have you ever seen that commercial where swimmers dive into a pool full of caramel?  (If not, click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDXilnpj9Y)  THAT'S how I felt when I was trying to swim.  So then I started thinking "I'm exhausted.  I'm never going to make it to the finish.  WHERE is the finish?  I should just grab a kayak."  While I never felt like I was going to drown, I just didn't feel strong enough to make it to the end.  TOTALLY FREAKED ME OUT!
  Fortunately, after about 10 minutes, I calmed down and just tried to remember anything my swim coach Helen told me since any technique I'd been taught had gone out the window.  Reach - Rotate - Relax.  Reach - Rotate - Relax.  That pretty much became my mantra for the remainder of the swim.  The good news is that I did NOT have to grab on to a kayak.  The bad news is that my swim time was 32 minutes. Oh well.  I survived and there is something to be said about that.

Me trying not to drown... 

   I got out of the water and then had to run up some stairs to the first transition.  Normally at this point, I'm all excited because I get to ride - my best event.   But it was a real punch in the gut was to get to transition and to see almost everyone's bike gone but mine.  I knew I started later than all of the other racers, but it still really made me feel, well - like I didn't deserve to be there.  Plus, that swim was just so draining, I honestly didn't know how I was going to get through two more events.  I was exhausted, plus I got a headache, which is rare for me.

Me with empty bike racks behind...

   I did the best I could, but again, being seeded close to the end got to me.  I was so far back that I was mainly seeded with the relay teams.  Generally speaking, relays are filled with people who only participate in one event in which they're strong.  So, if by some chance I beat a relay swimmer out of the water, I was most likely going to be passed by their rider doing the bike leg.  And I did.  I'd be riding along and all of a sudden this flash on a $10,000 tri bike would fly by.  Pretty discouraging considering I'm usually the one passing people on this leg.  I know this is going to sound pathetic, but I was on the verge of tears on more than on occasion during the bike.  This was usually the easy part for me and it was just SO HARD!  I don't know if it was the hills (it was HILLY) or the heat or defeated mental status - probably all three, but I remember thinking "This is the hardest thing I have ever done."
   Finally - it was time to run.  I grabbed my hat and sunglasses, and shoved a Clif bar in my mouth and off I went.

Nom Nom Nom... Clif Bar!

   Like the rest of the race, the run was hard.  Worse probably because you really feel the heat when running.  Again, my body just didn't want to do what I wanted.  While I'm normally not a fast runner, I've learned can usually run my standard pace the first two miles of a tri.  Not this time.  I was a good minute slower than my usual race pace at first and only got slower.  And I hurt.  A LOT.  I honestly almost cussed out my sweet husband when he came running up and tried to encourage me.  Granted, he was giving me tough love and I REALLY just wanted a hug, but still - I shouldn't ever want to cuss out my husband.  Especially since he's been so incredibly supportive of my new tri lifestyle.

Smiling on the outside...crying on the inside

   During my run, I questioned myself as to why I was doing these races and wondered how I was ever going to get through Augusta.  Again, I got passed by all of these relay runners on fresh legs.  It was really, really discouraging.  Since the route was out and back - I got to see most of the runners on their way to the finish.  That was hard too because I wanted to be on my way to the finish!  I was in so much pain that I didn't even try to "just run to the next mile marker" like I usually do.  No.  It was run for 5 minutes, walk for 1 and repeat.  After a while though, I started using any excuse to walk.  Water station? I'm walking.  Misting station?  Walking.  Hill?  Walking.  I think I walked more the second half of the course than I ran.   

   But finally and painfully, the end was there.  We had a great downhill to the finish so I was able to run the final 3/4 of a mile.  It pretty much took everything I had to do it, but I made it to the finish.  Surprisingly, I didn't burst in to tears at the end.  I honestly thought I would.  But all I wanted to do was grab a ice towel, find some shade and sit.  Dudley was funny because the camera did something weird and he missed me crossing the finish line.  He actually asked me to run through the finish line again for a photo!  No. Freaking. Way.  I was done.

  

Me on the GOOD side of the finish line getting my timing chip removed.

   I have to say, though this race was really hard for me, the Team Magic crew did a GREAT job.  It was well-organized with a ton of volunteers.  They really tried their best to keep us cool: water stations o'plenty, a misting station, ice cold towels - it was great.  Thanks to everyone who helped make the race possible.

   As for my future plans, well, I took two days off to recover.  I guess recovering is too strong as I'm not sore at all.  I just needed to regain my focus.  This race really took a lot out of me mentally.  While I knew I wasn't 100% ready for this race, I didn't think it would just kill me like it did.  Some of that is my fitness level, but there were other factors as well - heat and mental toughness being two.  I realized that while I wasn't as fit or mentally tough as I thought (I mean, crying in a race? Come on!), I did actually complete the race.  I didn't drop out and I really, really wanted to.  Especially in the swim.  That should count for something.  I'm still a little discouraged, but think in a week or two I'll be able to look back and think I did something pretty cool.  Maybe sooner as this morning, I signed up for the Fall Creek Falls Olympic tri on August 21.  Training starts tonight.

Courage doesn't alway roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." - Mary Anne Radmacher

Why I Love the Tour - Reason #856

  As I've mentioned, it's July and the Tour de France is on.  To say I'm addicted to the Tour is an understatement.  I watch / read everything I can about it.  This year's Tour is particularly interesting in that there have been MAJOR wrecks almost daily that have taken out several major contenders including Bradley Wiggins and Chris Horner.  In fact, many announcers / reporters have changed the name from the Tour de France to the Tour de Crash.

   Yesterday's stage was no exception to the carnage as Alexander Vinokourov, Jurgen Van Den Broeck and David Zabriskie all suffered Tour-ending injuries during a high-speed crash on a decent.  Of course, in reference to the title, the wrecks are NOT the reason I love cycling.  No, I love this sport because of what happened AFTER the wreck.

   You see, prior to this crash, the peloton was chasing down a group of 5 riders (called the breakaway).  One of these riders - Thomas Voeckler - was only a 1.5 minutes behind the current Tour leader - Thor Hushovd - for the overall race lead.  So if he finished 1.5 + minutes ahead of Thor, he would be the new leader of the Tour.  This is important - remember this.

   When the wreck happened, not only did two of the main contenders (Vinokourov and Van Den Broeck) have to abandon the Tour, but several others either fell or got caught up in the ensuing mess and got left behind the peloton.  Plus, several of the injured riders' teammates stayed behind with their team leaders to pace them back to the peloton (a practice common in cycling).  The result being a split in the main peloton with main contenders in both groups.

   Now here is the best part - due to the extent of the wreck and that several of the race favorites were involved, the riders in the main peloton, including the current leader Thor Hushovd, decided to slow the peloton down until the extent of the injuries could be assessed and the lagging riders could catch up.  That's right.  Rather than taking advantage of their competitors' bad luck and charging full-ahead, the peloton slowed down!  Remember - there is a breakaway ahead with a rider who would almost definitely take the Tour lead by this action.  But Thor Hushovd was right there in the front row of the peloton, taking control and slowing it down knowing his race lead was slipping away.  And it did.  Thor lost the Yellow Jersey yesterday.

   So let me ask you - in what other sport do athletes not take advantage of their rival's misfortune?  Crashes are a part of the sport.  They happen all of the time.  Why not take advantage?  Because that's just not the right thing to do.  The riders (with the exception of last year's winner Alberto Contador)  believe the Tour shouldn't be decided by another riders' misfortune.  And while the peloton can't wait for every rider every time, when the Tour is on the line, history has shown the riders will wait.  And that's what I love.

Viva le Tour! A Primer of The Tour de France.

   Finally!  It's July!  And for me that not only means summer and the celebration of the Fourth, but also possibly my favorite sporting event of the year - The Tour de France!

   For those of you who have never heard of Lance Armstrong, here is a little Tour primer.  The Tour is a three-week bike race around France.  No, it's not a consecutive circle around the country, but distinct stages that take place throughout different cities.  Sometimes the riders leave from the city they raced into the previous day, sometimes they don't.  It just depends on how the race organizers set up the race.

   There are 22 teams in the Tour, each with 9 riders.  Every team is made of different specialists including sprinters, climbers, an all-arounder (also known as a general classification rider, or GC), and various other helpers called domestiques.  The GC rider is a team's main rider and the one who has the best chance to win the famed maillot jaune (yellow jersey) in Paris, which is given to the man who completes the Tour de France in the least amount of time.  All other team members ride in support of their GC guy.  Riding "in support" could mean anything from getting water bottles to surrounding their rider to protect him from crashes to thrashing their legs while leading their GC rider up a mountain pass.   This is why cycling is considered a team sport.  Even the best GC rider wouldn't be able to win the Tour without a strong team helping him along the way.  

   While the teams do ride in support of their GC rider, that doesn't mean there aren't other accolades for the other riders.  The sprinters target certain stages with flat finishes where they can win that day's stage.  The same goes for the climbers, as there are trips through both the Pyrenees and Alps.  As with the best GC rider, the best sprinter and climber will also receive special jerseys at the end of the Tour (along with bonus money).  

  So the viewers at home know who is leading the race on any given day, and also for the benefit of the jersey sponsors, the person leading a specific category will wear the jersey while racing.  For example, Thor Hushvold is the current wearer of the yellow jersey.  But if he loses too much time today, he'll have to give to whoever is leading after today.  (Yes, there is more than one jersey - it's not like the Stanley Cup.  They create new jerseys daily.)

   There are also two races against the clock, known as time trials (TT).  The individual time trial is exactly that, one man going as fast as he can for the length of the course.  This year's Tour also featured a team time trial (TTT), which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful things in sports.  All nine men working together as a unit to finish the course in the least amount of time.  When done properly, it's a really cool site to see.  

   So far this year, the Americans are doing REALLY well.  Granted, we're only three days into the Tour, but the American team Garmin-Cervelo won the TTT on the second day, and American sprinter Tyler Farrar (from team Garmin-Cervelo) won yesterday's stage on the 4th of July.  Pretty cool, I think!  

   If you've never checked it out, try to watch some of the Tour this year.  There is a lot more to American cycling than Lance.  We have 10 Americans riding this year, which ties the record for most Americans riding in a Tour.  There are also four VERY strong American-based teams.  The Tour is on Versus pretty much 24/7 over the next three weeks, plus some on NBC as well.  Take a look! 

Scary...

    Eleanor Roosevelt said "Do one thing every day that scares you."  Well, in that mindset, I just signed up for the Chattanooga Waterfront triathlon - which is in about 11 days.  It's an Olympic tri - 1,500 meter swim / 26 mile bike / 6.2 mile run - the longest I've every attempted.   Again, as with seemingly all of the tris I've done this year, I'm not exactly prepared.  Yes, I've been training, but my training schedule is completely geared towards the Half-Ironman at the end of September.  Anything before that is iffy in regards to my level of fitness / preparedness.  But what the heck, right?  Life is all about experiencing new things!  So off to Chattanooga I go!

I Refuse to Believe These Things Work...

  It's officially summer, which is good in many respects, but not so good in regards to my local pool.  I belong to the local YMCA, which is extremely child-friendly.  That's great.  I'm all for kids leading an active, healthy life-style.
   However, what I am not a fan of is all of the swim teams / swim lessons that are now taking place during the most popular swim times for adults and therefore closing some, if not all of the lanes.  I understand why - working parents can only get there at certain times, but it still doesn't make me happy that I pay money to swim in a pool that I can't use when I want.
   But that actually is the secondary point of this post.  What REALLY gets me is that frequently I swim at the same time as an infant / toddler swim lesson.  Now I'm all for kids knowing how to swim, but you can probably see where I'm going here.  Infant / toddler = swim diapers.  Now COME ON!  I don't care how WHAT the diaper companies say - you can't tell me swim diapers work.  Nope.  Refuse to believe it.  How is this at all sanitary?  I'm not allowed to pee in the pool!  Why are what are basically super-sized, pee sponges allowed?
   I know, I know... I've heard the excuses - there is chlorine and that kills everything, urine is sterile, open water is worse, blah blah blah.  I. Don't. Care.  Plus, it's hard to think about urine being sterile when you're swimming laps next to the lessons and feel a sudden sensation of warm water (it's happened).  It TOTALLY SKEEVES me out!
   What gets me more is that we have another, larger outdoor pool at the Y that is a water park / lap pool.  Do the lessons out there!  You know other kids are already peeing in that pool!  Why contaminate both?
Am I the only one who feels this way?  Again, for the record, I'm not anti-kid and I'm FOR kids learning how to swim and knowing how to be safe in the water.  But am I asking too much for one of the pools to be a pee-free zone?  I don't think so.
      
  

Mach Tenn Tri Race Recap

   On June 4th, I raced in the Mach Tenn tri - 1,000m swim / 16-mile bike/ 4-mile run.  This was, by far, the farthest swim and run I'd attempted in a race, so I was a little intimidated.  But I had signed up for the thing, and I'm too cheap to bail, so off we went to Tullahoma at 5:30am on the first day of my vacation (I know, crazy, right?).

   Upon arriving at the Arnold Air Force base, where the event was being held, I realized quickly this was unlike any of the previous tris I had raced.  Rather than being put on by a big promoter like Team Magic, this race was a put on by a local running club - Mach Tenn.  This gave the race a bit more of a home-town feel, which was awesome.  The race also leaned to the more experienced triathlete.  I want to say the Ramblin' Rose was probably 90% beginner (participating in less than three tris), while the Mach Tenn was probably only 10%.  That's strictly a guess, but judging by the bikes and athletic ability of most of the racers, I doubt I'm far off.  These guys and gals just looked FAST.  

Holland, Rae and me - all smiles before the race.

   After checking in, setting up my transition area and hooking up with my friends and follow racers Holland and Rae, we headed down to the water to await the start of the race.  My immediate thought was "WHAT am I DOING here?"  I was quite intimidated by how far 1,000 meters looks in one stretch.  Yes, I'd been swimming 1,000 meters, but that was in a 25 meter pool.  When I first saw the buoys which marked the course, I was like "I have to swim ALL THE WAY DOWN THERE?  And then SWIM BACK?"   It was definitely the scariest part of the race for me.  I'd never done an open water swim - heck - I'm hardly around open water even in a boat!  I admit, I was so scared of the swim that, while driving to the race I had a 30-second vision of Dudley having to drive back to Nashville by himself because I drowned.  Nice, huh? 

  Anyway, we headed down to the water and I had the chance to swim for about 5 minutes before the race stared.  The water was almost 82 degrees - it was like swimming in a bath.  Very weird.  The swim of this tri was like the pool-races I'd done: a time-trial start, meaning that #1 gets into the water first and then 6-seconds later #2 jumps in.  I was number 382 so I had about a 1/2 hour wait before getting into the water.  I started chatting with a few other races near me - one of them being a 10-year-old racing his first tri.  Great...I just KNEW I was going to get beat by the 10-year-old.  I also stepped on a fish spine, which HURTS for those who have never had the misfortune of doing this.  Fortunately, it didn't puncture the skin.  One point for pool swims - you don't step on fish spines.

   Slowly I made my way to the starting line.  Pretty basic set-up.  You get to the line and someone taps you on the back and says "Go."  And so I went.  It was VERY cool to hear a VERY loud "GO EAST NASTY" when I was entering the water.  I have no idea who said it, but it was several people and very loud.  I really appreciated the support because I was freaking out internally.    

The Starting Line

Me giving the East Nasty sign when getting in the water.  Note the tiny 10-year old in the background.

There I go!  No rails or pool edges to hang on to!  And definitely no black line to follow!

   My swim went MUCH better than I thought.  Well, considering survival was my main goal, I didn't have a high expectations with regards to time.  Being that it was a time-trial start, I didn't have to go through the battle for position that takes place with many open water swims.  I was thankful for that.  I did run into some traffic on the course.  I think, for the most part, it was me catching people.  It was hard to tell because I really couldn't see anything other than brown water and the occasional swim cap.  Every once in a while, I'd look up to see where the buoys were and make sure I was on course.  The only time I had trouble was after the turn-around.  My goggles had fogged a little, which was no big deal when the sun was behind me.  But after I hit the turn-around, the sun was in my eyes and glared off the water.  I could barely see 10 feet in front of me.  I just tried to follow the swimmer in front of me the best I could and prayed they knew where they were going.  Before too long though, I saw the dock where the finish line was.  I made a bee-line for the dock, but kept getting kicked or swatted by an arm all the way up to the beach.  Who was it?  The freakin' 10-year-old!!  The kid started almost a minute after me and BEAT me to the line!  But at the time, I didn't care.  I was happy to be done with the swim.

Me getting schooled by a 10-year-old

Coming out of the water

  I was happy when the bike portion started, as that's generally my strongest event and where I can gain time.  The course was great.  Rolling hills, but nothing too hard.  At this point, I was REALLY enjoying the race.  It had gone from "What am I doing here?" at the beginning of the swim to "This is awesome!"   The heat had kicked in, but between being wet from the swim and the breeze generated from the ride, I really didn't feel it.  I passed the 10-year-old almost immediately.  Eat my dust, kid!!  (BTW - I'm kidding.  I'm not taking joy in beating a 10-year-old!  He was really cute when I passed him by saying "Great job, Lady!").  Though the ride was listed as 16-miles, I actually think it was more like 16.5 as  I passed 16-mile marker somewhere on the road.  False advertising if you ask me.  I had one small mechanical issue - dropped chain - but I was able to fix it without getting off my bike so I didn't lose too much time.  

Coming in from the ride

   Of course, all good things must come to an end, as did my enjoyment of this race when the run started. By this time, it was around 95-degrees.  My clothes had dried and I don't create a breeze when I run so I got HOT.  Plus, the course was hilly.  Those rolling hills I had enjoyed so much when I was riding felt like torture when running.  And because it was an out-and-back course, I had to run them twice.  As a result, I had to walk up a couple, mainly on the way back.  While I'm not happy I had to walk, I'm OK with it.  My calves cramped up so bad going up the hills that walking was really my only option.  But I did run most of it.  It was slow, but I did it.  Again - thanks to those yelling "East Nasty" at the finish!

YAY!  The finish!  

   Overall, I enjoyed the race a lot.  Yes, the run sucked, but my runs always suck.  I'm going to start training hills in Percy Warner so, hopefully, my run times will improve.  The Mach Tenn people were very friendly and the race was very well-supported.  I was a huge fan of the ice-cold towels we received upon finishing.  There was also a great post-race party with all sorts of food not commonly found at smaller races, including hoe-cakes, pizza and beer.  I didn't partake in the beer and hoe-cakes, but the pizza and Diet Coke really hit the spot.  I'll definitely be back next year.

  

Mach Tenn Tri Results:

Swim: 21:22 (4th in age group)

T1: 2:37

Bike: 54:33 (6th in age group)

T2: 1:39

Run: 43:40 (9th in age group)

Total: 2:03:42 (8th in age group)

The Wetsuit Chronicles - Part I

  I'm racing the Mach Tenn tri tomorrow.  Well, "racing" is kind of exaggerating really.  I'll really more be swimming, biking and running at a leisurely pace so I don't pass out.  It's the longest tri I've ever attempted: 1,000m swim / 16 mile bike / 4 mile run.  Now I know I can do all of the distances separately, but attempting them at all at one swoop in 95 degree heat has me freaking out a smidge.  But my anxiety about the race isn't the point of this post.  That'll come later in the race recap.  No, this post is about a different type of anxiety altogether: my first experience with a wetsuit.
  You see, the Mach Tenn is open water (not in a pool) and wetsuit legal, meaning you can wear one if you choose as long as the water doesn't get above 84 degrees.  From what I have been told, wetsuits are the way to go in open water as they are very buoyant and really help improve your swim times.  Since I've never done an open water swim either while racing or in practice (not recommended), I was thinking a wetsuit would be beneficial and boost my confidence for my swim.
  Of course, that meant that I had to go get a wetsuit.  Bad news is that these things can run up to $800, but the good news is that you can rent them for $40 from Endurance if you're not ready to buy one.  So off I went to see Deanna down at Endurance and rent a wetsuit.
   Deanna was, as always, very helpful.  She found me the correct size and handed me a bottle of Suit Juice and scooted me off to the dressing room.  What is Suit Juice you might ask?  I know, sounds icky, right?  It's actually an oil that people use to help get wetsuits on.  Deanna said to put some around my ankles and wrists and the suit should just pull right up.  Yeah, right...  Have you ever tried to stuff yourself into a neoprene body suit?  Well, I now have, and it wasn't pretty.
   I did exactly what Deanna said.  I put the Suit Juice on my ankles and wrists.  It started off Ok, I guess.  I stepped into the suit and then tried to pull it up my legs.  Kicker was, you can't pull from the outside because you could damage the suit.  You have to pull from the inside.  So I'm trying to pull it up, but it kept getting caught.  It was tight, but that wasn't really the issue.  It was more like trying to put on a pair of tight jeans after just getting out of the shower.  They just don't want to go on.  That's how this suit was.  It fought me the entire way.  So now I'm working up a sweat while trying to put this thing on, which only makes it WORSE!
   After a few minutes, Deanna yells from outside the dressing room "Are you OK?  Do you need help?"  And apparently, I did.  I was at the point where I had gotten the suit over my legs, hips and front torso, but couldn't get it over my shoulders so I could zip it up in back.  Hoping that my husband and Deanna were the only two in the shop (they were), I sheepishly came out of the dressing room looking for assistance.  The suit was all the way up in the front, which hunched my shoulders forward.  Because I couldn't get my arms all the way in, the suit extended down past my fingers.  I kind of waddled out out like a penguin.  I knew I had to look ridiculous, but whatever - I needed help!  Deanna AND my husband jumped into action to help me get zipped up the rest of the way.  Deanna commented that she'd never seen anyone have so much trouble with a wetsuit before, especially since it was the right size.  Figures.  I'm a freak.      
  So we finally get the dang thing on and it fit fine.  It's a weird feeling having a wetsuit on because you FEEL like you shouldn't be able to move, yet I was completely mobile.  I could spin my arms in complete circles just like I was swimming with no problem.  Great.  Moving on.  I headed back to the dressing room to take the thing off, which fortunately only took about 5 seconds.  Which is good, because I would NEVER use one racing otherwise.
  About 10 minutes later we were out the door with my rented wetsuit and a bottle of Suit Juice.  Deanna said that the bottle should last a really long time.  After my first experience though, I have a feeling I'll be bathing in it prior to putting on that suit again.
  What's ironic about the whole experience is that since renting the suit, Nashville has had a string of 95+ degree days, so the water temperature at the race will probably be too warm to use it.  The water was in the 80's earlier this week, which is more than warm enough to ditch the suit.  Oh well.  Maybe I'll just take it to the Y tonight just to get my rental money out of it.  :-)