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 Swim
Comments: Since this was going to be such a short swim I lined up a little closer to the front than I normally do. The lake levels are down so we had to wade/run fairly far before hitting water deep enough to swim. Once we got into deep water I simply swam as fast as I could and the swim was over before I knew it. There was a fairly decent chop on the water so the return leg of the swim course was a little tricky to time your breathing.  Transition 1
Comments: Had a little trouble getting the wetsuit off of my heels when I took it off and I began to wonder if wearing the wetsuit was worth the trouble but I still think I made the right decision. What would you do differently?: not much  Bike
Comments: Hammered. Simply hammered. I was passing people that were going fairly slow (some were from the Oly race though) but I just couldn't figure out what the other sprint racers were thinking...this is a friggin' sprint - no time for lollygagging!! I tried to make good time on the part of the course before we made the turn to head home and attack the long gradual 2 mile ascent on the middle portion of the course. I passed quite a few people on that stretch and when we crested the top I resumed the hammer mode. After taking the left hand turn to re-enter the resort I got out of my shoes and rode on top of them the last 1/4 mile. When I hit the dismount area I did a perfect dismount and sprinted as fast as I could thru the T area and to my bike. What would you do differently?: Not much Transition 2
Comments: Not much to comment on  Run
Comments: Hammered. I knew this 5km was going to be over in the blink of an eye so I simply pushed the pace as hard as I could. The younger racers were in the wave before me (3 minute wave intervals) so I had to guess what position I was in until I could see people coming back from the turnaround. I caught 2 younger guys before hitting the turnaround and then saw 2 guys on the return. I forgot to look at my watch to get a split on them when I hit the turnaround but I figured it didn't matter because I just had to keep hammering. On the return stretch a younger guy caught up with me and I stayed with him until the last 1/2 mile when he put a small gap on me. When I crossed the finish line I kept asking what position I was in and what the time gap was - knowing that the first 2 guys started the race 3 minutes ahead of me. I figured I probably only got 3rd overall and that turned out to be correct. Missed the overall win by a mere 35 seconds, so if I had a better swim I could have won the sucker. I was still pleased with the result seeing as how it was the first "speed work" since IM CDA 3 weeks previously. Prior to the race I figured I could still run 5:50 min/mi pace so was a little disappointed with a 6:05 pace, but I can't complain. What would you do differently?: Don't do an Ironman 3 weeks before the race? :-) Post race
Warm down: Went out for an easy 25 min warmdown run afterwards. What limited your ability to perform faster: need more IM recovery Event comments: Timberman is a quality race and our favorite on the local schedule - a true destination venue on a great norther MN lake. I looked at the results sheets and they didn't have me in the AG placing so I figured since I was on the overall podium I'd get some hardware for that instead. So, we're sitting in the awards ceremony and they start the awards at second place and then they gave a really cool loon carving to the overall winner. So, I'm sitting saying WTF? no AG hardware and no overall hardware?...I know..that's being a little petty but I wanted some bling! Then they announced a Masters winner and they called me up. The woman up front was holding one of the cool loon carvings and I stopped and asked "is that for me?" and she smiled and said "of course!"..I was so stoked! Definitely the best race hardware I've ever gotten. We had a smaller group of Wild River Tri club travel north for this race, but we still ended up with one overall podium and 4 AG podiums. I'd highly recommend Timberman to anyone and we've already got our lodging reserved for 2010. Profile Album Last updated: 2009-07-02 12:00 AM
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United States
Overall Rank = 3/224
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 1/15
Timberman registration always sells out during late winter, so you need to sign up in January to assure a spot. I knew I was doing IM CDA 3 weeks prior to Timberman this year and I wasn't sure if I'd be recovered for an Oly after 3 weeks so I chickened-out and registered for the sprint this year. I figured if I was fairly well recovered I might have a chance to take the overall.
We drove up to Ruttger's Sugar Lake Resort (race venue) on Friday and after checking in I got the bike out and pre-rode the bike course. Last year they reversed the bike course and now we have a 2 mile long gradual climb that really cuts down on the average mph. Headed to registration and the pasta feed afterward and went back to the condo to get the race wheels on.
Up at 4:30 to eat some oatmeal and a bottle of Ensure. The transition area opened at 6 am so I walked the bike down to grab my favorite rack spot near the run exit. Headed back to the condo to finish getting ready.
My wave was supposed to go off at 8:15 so I had plenty of time to take the bike out for a short spin to check mechanicals. Also did a short run before getting the wetsuit on and doing a short swim warmup. Why a wetsuit in a sprint??...cuz my swim sucks so I figure even if I only gain a minute with the suit on its worth it.