Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park - TriathlonSprint

I was in the 3rd wave which was all the women. Pink swim caps everwhere. It is so hard to figure out where to put yourself in the mix, but there were bodies next to me the entire race, except when I zigged off course which was about every couple of minutes or so. I ran right into a yellow cap man who was treading water for some reason. Said sorry and kept going. I only had to turn over and float once or twice just to get an extra breath or two. It was hard to see through my goggles, the orange markers and the pink caps kinda blended together and it was hard to find my way sometimes. Overall, I am happy with my swim as it is an improvement over the last swim I did in a race where I had to float on my back and kick my feet the whole way. At least I stayed with my stroke and finished in a time that I was shooting for.

Swim straighter. I zig zaged a lot.

Here is where I really messed up. I am not sure what my T times are gonna be because my chip came off when I was taking the wetsuit off and I didn't get it back on my leg. BIG mistake! I imagine my T times are't too bad because I got the wetsuit off pretty quickly. I was worried about it because the day before Don and I had been practicing taking them off and it took me a long time to get it off. I think it being wet helps it come off faster.

Keep my chip on! I might start trying to see if I can do the run barefoot and put the shoes on that are already clipped on the bike. I think this slowed me down quite a bit. My area was at the back end of the transition and I had maybe a 75 yard sprint - if not more to go in the cleats. Having to dodge the people in their transitions in the cleats was a little difficult.

It was kind of a twisty ride. Granted, I am not totally experienced, but it seemed to me that we were turning a lot. I did get totally grossed out when this 60 year old guy came by me and stayed in front of me for the last part of the bike segment. He had these tri shorts that needed to be retired. I could see the crack of his butt through the worn spots in the back. I wanted to tell him, but I was too embarrassed.

Drink more water. Sometimes when I tried to pull up hard on the pedals, my calves would try and cramp up. I have one of those water bottles that go in the aero bars, but when I drink out of it, the water goes up to my sinuses. Maybe it is the angle at which I am drinking? Anyway, I end up with the sniffles through the race if I drink water too much. Somehow I need to figure the hydration thing out. Maybe the straw is too big.

Again, I am not sure what my T2 time is because of the chip. I realized that I didn't have it when I looked down (to avoid looking at the guy's crack) and saw no chippie on my ankle. When I got into the transition area, I was telling every person that looked important (LOL Coach Cris I even told) that I forgot my chip but put it back on.

keep the chip on.

I thought I was totally going snail pace. Actually, I was going pretty slow, but for me - I thought I was going REALLY slow. Like SGI slow (I, gulp, ran 12 min miles there). I forgot to hit my watch with all the chip drama going on and then missed the first water station. I got into the parking lot and both calves threatened to cramp. I stopped for a second and kneeded them out some. If I pushed it any more, they would start to cramp. That stunk. I also walked up a few of the hills. I am sure the cramping was from lack of water, because when I drank at the other water stations, I felt better. I surely can't run and drink water at the same time. It goes up my nose and into my face. I have decided just to walk as I drink and then get going again. It is worth it to me. I am suprised that I ran it in 30 minutes. I did feel good at the end and was able to push it for the last 200-300 yds. That is amazing. Usually I am like, no, no, no...today was yes yes yes!

I guess drink more water. Train better...be a better runner. I wish I could run like some of the people out there, they make it look so easy.

I really wanted to get a massage, but there were too many in line for it. I ate a few bananas and drank a whole bunch of water. I mostly hung out with Donmck and waited for the results.


Lack of training, too much weight, my own brain saying it hurts too much, I gotta take up a hobby that is easier (like Golf) stuff like that.


This Tri the parks is really fun. I am looking forward to the next race. The only things that I have to say is that it would have been nice to have someone at that last turn on the run course and they need to keep things moving a little more with the awards ceremony and such. Maybe they could wait for the slow pokes and put the good bagels out later. LOL