Swim
Comments: I thought that I got off really well and got through the "wash" ok. There was a more than usual amount of altercations with people grabbing, herding, and not following straight lines at the first third of the course. I was really happy that I was able to get away from stuff quickly and without much more than a passing annoyance. Rounding the bouys was really successful and that was an added benefit. I got stuck getting bumped by a backstrocker almost the whole way along the second leg of the course but he gave way and I moved on. I really thought that my effort was elevated and that the swim time would have shown a better result. I wonder if it was because I didn't have the benefit of a wetsuit today. What would you do differently?: I think that I could do better drafting. I just don't have any real commitment to doing it in races and I'm not comfortable leaving the sighting to someone else. I could have gone harder. Transition 1
Comments: Things went well. Not "35 seconds" well though! Not sure where the timing mats were but I was not that fast. I got everything done in a hurry though and got outta there quickly. What would you do differently?: Nothing! This went really well and I even sighted a good path to the bike mount line which was after a slight hill that was full of gravel. I was on the left of my bike as I ran along out of T1. I stayed in the grass and totally avoided having to run on the gravel. I ran way past the mount line and did the flying squirrel and I was off! Bike
Comments: I started really well and it might have been too hard right off. It seemed like the normal pace and nothing too extreme. About 18-19 minutes into the bike my power just left me and I was struggling to get to 19 mph! I started to think I had a flat or my brakes were rubbing. I think it might be time for a tuneup. I was able to recover some speed but I felt a slight cramping issue creeping up and at that point I started worrying about the run...not good before a HIM inside of a month to go. What would you do differently?: There's something going on with my bike other than not training as well. My back can't handle the position and my power drops of a shelf at some point and I don't recover. I'll have to figure it out before my HIM Transition 2
Comments: I did pretty good again for T2. I spent most of the time getting the socks on and hoping that I wouldn't trigger a cramp (which I didn't). Run
Comments: Ouch, to start I was already crampy. Both calves and my left hamstring were just tight and ready to seize at anytime. I'm pretty familiar with the feeling now and relied on the fact that I could ride it out and that my legs would loosen up at some point down the road. There was someone at my heels for the first mile or so that kept me at my limit, given the cramps, and still pushing the pace. Eventually, that feeling of almost cramping subsided and I was able to start building my speed and cadence. My pace calculator shows that I slowed down from mile 1.5 to 2.1 but I don't remember slowing down during that stretch. I felt like I had a mile to go and I started really bearing down. It was a whole lot of fun chasing people down. As I made my way through the field it got to the point that there were only a few people in front of me so I just cranked up the pace to try and take over another spot. Unfortunately I wasn't able to pass more people in my age group. It was a lot of fun though along the way. What would you do differently?: In retrospect, of course, I could have really pushed that last mile harder and finished another 20-30 seconds faster. Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster: My lower back got tired again by about mile 7 of the bike. I'm really not getting better overall and my back from the aero position is the main culprit. I'll try some core strengthening to shore it up in the near future and hope for the best. Event comments: I really like this small race. If the race people can make race morning chip & packet pick up a little more organized this would be a perfect race. Most of us know what we're doing anyway so it's not that big of a deal to help them along. Only being about an hour from Chicago this is a great Sprint race to take on and get a really good speed session in! Last updated: 2012-07-22 12:00 AM
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United States
Oswego Triathlon
78F / 26C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 38/218
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 6/17
Got me some coffee this time around. I've stayed away from caffeine for 2 weeks in order to get sensitive to the caffeine again. I was hoping to get a kick by the time I got out on the bike. Other than that I didn't do anything outside the norm. Ate most of a pbj bagel and a banana.
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