Hi Karen,

Wow, great shots! Congratulations! Hey, I know what you mean, I feel that way too, the course always looks longer than 500 m. My last race it looked more like 1000 and of course I had a panic attack and ended up swimming it backstroke but at least I didn`t swim into a kayak!
As for side stitches, I`d say it is probably you are running too fast and you are very tense, not relaxed. This will get better with practice.

What leg of the relay are you doing for the Ironman - the swim?


tricat