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 Swim
Comments: Jumped in the water and immediately knew I screwed up. I felt my big toe hit the bottom of the pool and I just knew it was bleeding. I always end up bleeding at this race! Kept swimming like nothing was wrong because there wasn't really anything I could do about it. Got to the end of the first lane, pushed off, and realized I forgot to tighten my race belt. It was sliding down my hips each time I pushed off the wall. Not pushing off with full strength was really going to hurt my time. Got passed near around the 100m mark. Held on to the guy's feet for a lap. Passed a girl near the 200m mark. Caught one more guy before the end but it wasn't worth passing with so little left and I just sat in the draft and relaxed. Grabbed the ladder, climbed out of the pool and ran into the freezing cold outdoors. What would you do differently?: Check my equipment. Could have saved 20sec had I tightened my race belt.  Transition 1
Comments: OMG! This was horribly cold. Ran across the rough chip seal parking lot and was suddenly glad that I couldn't feel my feet. Got to my bike, toweled off the best I could and started putting layers on. Socks, tights, wind/waterproof jacket... the girl next to me is now doing the same and other people are flying past with just a tri suit on... gloves, helmet, glasses; finally time to go! Had to yell at another guy about to cross the timiing mat so I could take the inside line and pass him. What would you do differently?: It was cold. The smart people all put more clothes on.  Bike
Comments: Rounded the parking lot and got on the road. Built up some speed before getting into my shoes which wasn't easy on a slight uphill. Turned left onto the main road and started cranking. I HATE CHIPSEAL! I almost forgot how rouch chipseal is. This was terrible. Bumped and rattled all over the road as I passed people. After a mile I could see the highway and knew the roads would be nicer. Uh... no! They've now chipsealed the highway. The glassy road surface we had for the majority of the ride last year was gone. More bumping. More rattling. More cold. This ride sucked. After a few miles I had had enough. Mentally I was checked out. It was so cold that it actually hurt my lips to drink water. Finally got to the end of the chipseal but that's where the hills started so nothing actually got easier. Caught Gerald just before the turn around and put the heat on going up the next few hills. Got back to the chipseal and couldn't wait for this ride to be over. Climbed out of my shoes in the parking lot and was so happy to see T2. What would you do differently?: Not much. The conditions were as bad as I've ever seen in a race. Just getting through it was enough for me. Transition 2
Comments: I was the first back on my rack so I had all the space in the world. Threw down my helmet, put my shoes on, grabbed my hat and ran. Didn't realize it but I passed Roberto here and led him onto the run. Had to tell with the layout of the new Run-Far sight, but it looks like I had the fastest overall T2. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Can't get much more simple than rack-shoes-run.  Run
Comments: My feet were completely numb to start the run. Wound through a park and hit the road just before the 1 mile marker. Saw the lead guys coming back and 1st place was absolutely flying. He actually ran down Brent who looked like he was in bad shape. Still running fast, but he didn't put any extra clothes on and the cold was getting to him. 6:45 or so at the first mile. Passed on the one aid station. I'd see them again in a mile anyway and it was just too damn cold. Picked off a good number of racers before the turn, but I also knew there were a few people closing on my heels. Turned to start the 2nd half and Roberto went flying past me. He was straining to breathe so I knew he was hurting pretty bad. New goal: hang on to Roberto. I don't have to be with him step for step, but don't let him out of my sights. Saw Gerlad coming the other way. He wasn't far behind, but hearing him breathe I could tell he was dying. Just push for a little bit and he'll crack. He can't keep up that effort for long. Grabbed some water for the aid station and drank it just to get the dryness out of my mouth. My lips instantly started to hurt and I had to run with my glove up to my face to try and warm up a bit. Saw a good number of BTers on my way in. Roberto was up to a 20ft lead, but he never got any further than that. Turned back into the park and the misery was almost over. Andy yelled something at me but I couldn't figure out what it was for the life of me. Crossed the line and headed straight to my transition spot to get my clothes. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Solid run, Gerald never caught me and Roberto never got too far ahead of me. Post race
Warm down: Got my post-race weight (I only lost two-tenths of a pound) and put on every piece of dry clothing I had with me. Found out that Sydney was in the ambulance and went to check on her. Racing in freezing weather without putting any clothes on = not her best idea ever. It was a little scary to see her shivering in the ambulance under a pile of blankets, but I knew she'd be okay. Brent was in there as well. Shivering uncontrollably as well. Saw Brittany(TexasMPGal) and walked over to say hi. Then I realized she was still racing and got out of her way so I wouldn't slow her down any more. Went inside to got myself a baked potato and traded war stories with everyone else. Kind of surprised that I ended up with 2nd in my age group and such a high ranking bike split. I was at least 5min slower than last year. What limited your ability to perform faster: Cold. Event comments: Not a bad race, but if they chip seal any more of the highway I won't be back. Profile Album Last updated: 2007-11-11 12:00 AM
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United States
Athens YMCA
30F / -1C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 8/336
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 2/27
Woke up with a little over 2 hours before the start. Loaded up the Jeep and headed to the YMCA with Clint(jcbolton) and Gina(grvfrog). Couldn't help but stare at the thermometer in my Jeep and hope that it was broken. 24* was not the number I wanted to see.
Parked in a field and got out... yup, it was definitely 24 degrees. Saw Brent (local ITU pro) heading out on his bike to warm-up. Got my stuff together and headed inside to get marked. Ran into Andy(apw0397) who couldn't help but show off his awesome new $10 WalMart running shoes.
Set my bike up in transition and laid out the layers and layers of clothes I was going to put on after the swim. This was gonna be a horrible T1 split. Gerald was on the same rack and seeded two spots ahead of me. Okay, I'm gonna put time on him during the bike and run like hell to try and hold him off.
Ran into Khai, Roberto and Sydney(sydneypitt) who all had the same swim time as me but were starting a good 20-30 spots ahead. Gotta remember to lie more about my swim times.
Ran an easy mile with Gerald on the course before leaving my warm clothes behind and heading inside.
Planned on using extra lane to warm up in the pool but they were using that lane for the race unlike last year. I liked this setup more (less lanes with 2-way traffic) but I'd have to do a dry land warm-up now.