Swim
Comments: After swimming 1/3 of the course to warm up earlier, I felt a LOT better about the swim than I did this past week. I was a wreck. I’d never swam 800 meters in one shot before, and I’m very new to swimming (started in February). The awesome part is that this race has “swim buddies” who are volunteers who will stay alongside you and coach you through the whole swim course, so I grabbed a nice lady (Georgie was her name? I can’t remember!) and she stayed with me. I really surprised myself by only take a few quick breaks to get my bearings after the next wave kept running into me, and after I kept running into the course markers. I was slow, but much steadier than I expected- I finished at 22:50 and did the crawl almost the whole time. What would you do differently?: Learn how to swim faster! I really did a lot better than I thought I would here though. Transition 1
Comments: My rack was over by the swim-in which was ok, but that meant I had to run my bike even further to/from the bike in/out. Meh. I also was totally done by the time the swim was over- I was exhausted and just wanted to stop. I did get a bit lost over in my racks because I went down the wrong aisle, but it didn’t take long to get over the “OMG SOMEONE STOLE MY BIKE!” freak-out and actually find it. Slipped on my helmet, sunglasses, sock and running shoes (thank you bungee laces!) What would you do differently?: Realize there was more than one entrance to the racks Bike
Comments: I don’t actually ride this bike much. Or at all, rather. And none of the spin bikes I train on have computers so I had no idea what to expect here. I can’t stop thinking about how much having tractor tires slowed me down, but oh well. The course was through a residential area in the suburbs, with one short stretch on a major road. It was relatively flat with some inclines, enough to mess around with my gears but not totally wear me out. The only obnoxious part really were the people riding side by side, or hanging out right in the middle of the road. I had to do more aggressive passing than I wanted but there were some people I was just scared to ride behind because they weren’t following rules or riding straight, etc. Everything felt good though, I nibbled on a Clif bar, drank some G2, blah blah. It was tiring, but I didn’t wear myself out. I was too afraid to! What would you do differently?: Get the tires changed, maybe a different handlebar setup so I have more hand placement options- they were getting a little sore during the second lap. Transition 2
Comments: Much easier (still had to walk the bike super far though.) Off with the helmet, grabbed my race belt and hat and out I went! What would you do differently?: Maybe jog faster with the bike, but whatever. Run
Comments: Miserable. I knew I wasn’t going to PR my 5K time on this, but I was hoping to come close to my average 36 min. I’m really comfortable with bike/run bricks, but not this one. I’m still trying to figure out what it was, but I was having awful upper abdominal cramps, like right under my bra band. It could’ve been the Clif bar (which I nibbled on mile 3 during the bike, but only like 2 bites), or too much water, or my breathing, or the bra band… who knows. It sucked. I slogged for a few minutes and then walked. Slog, walk, repeat. It wasn’t until just after the first mile that I was able to actually run without stopping. Oh well. Everything else felt fine- well, except for my left should which has been tightening up during runs. No idea what’s causing this. The best part of this run was probably the scenery- it was near a park on the river, so a mix of paths through trees, along the river, through neighborhoods.. very nice. What would you do differently?: Don't wear a new sportsbra. Post race
Warm down: PUT ON MY MEDAL! Oh my goodness, I have never ever received a medal for anything, let alone a psychical activity!!!! Grabbed water, a banana, pounded those, then found my friend over in the raffle/awards ceremony. I finished pretty close to last I think, so there wasn’t much going on at that point. What limited your ability to perform faster: My newness to swimming, my bike not designed for the sport, and the weird upper stomach cramps/pain during the run. Event comments: I would do this again in a heartbeat. Easy peasy for a first timer, very supportive environment. Last updated: 2011-06-13 12:00 AM
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United States
SheROX Triathlon Series
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1306/1469
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 115/124
Up at 3ish, breakfast of egg, turkey sausage and a few gulps of coffee. Packed a bagel w/ peanut butter for later, ate it while watching the elites start. Left the city at 4:20, got into transition at 5:20 and we totally beat the rush.
Setting up was really easy, I am pretty sure I did everything exactly the most efficient way possible. The waves started oldest to youngest, with the elites, relay, and ovarian cancer survivor waves going first, so we got to cool our heels for a while. Warmed up in the “pool” which was awesome- the water was actually warmer than the ambient temperature. Then we got out and tried to warm up again while we cheered on the starters. My wave didn’t start until 8:30, ugh, the nerves!