Swim
Comments: As soon as I started swimming, the butterflies vanished. Not too bad a time considering i was 50/50 breast stroke and freestyle. Started in the back on the outside to avoid the chaos. I was able to save up enough energy to pour it on at the end and pass the 5 or 6 guys I was trailing the whole time. Jogged to transition and kept a smile on my face. What would you do differently?: Train more! Open water swim training. Work on my stroke. I'm pretty sure I'm working WAY too hard and wearing myself out too quickly. Transition 1
Comments: My bike got caught up on the bike next to it and it took some time to separate them. Putting a shirt on a wet body is a big time waster. Dumped some water on my head to rinse off some of the salt. What would you do differently?: Train on transitions and don't bother with the shirt. Bike
Comments: I was getting passed quite a bit a first, but then I settled in and was able to pick it up a bit and passed some of those guys that were pushing so hard at the start. Once the second wave caught up to me, I think most of them passed me! Those guys were cooking. At about mile 11, a 66 year old guy passed me like I was standing still and really inspired me to keep it up and hope I'm where he's at in 30 years! All-in-all, a pretty good ride. Finished it faster than I thought I would What would you do differently?: Keep training....and get aero bars. My left hand was asleep by the time I was approaching the transition area, but I was able to shake it out enough to get my shoes tied Transition 2
Comments: The guy who was parked next to me was obviously one of the guys who passed me. His bike was already back in the spot like it had never moved. My bike tried to hook up with it again, but I was able to separate them before it got out of hand. More water on my head, some more hydration. Put on my shoes and took off. What would you do differently?: Wouldn't worry about the water and hydration. Water station right at the start to dump on my head. Should have drank more on the bike (FRS orange is a BAD choice on the bike, tastes like crap when it gets warm and I don't think it did to much for fluid replacement...but it did boost me) Run
Comments: Brutal! Running is definitely not my strong suit. I walked a bit at the beginning. I just couldn't get my legs under me after the bike and just about drowned myself at the first water station trying to drink while I was running. Only passed two guys...one had a rock in his shoe and the other was walking. They passed me again a few minutes later, along with A LOT of other people. Finished with a smile on my face, though! What would you do differently?: Don't drink and run! Train on the run a lot more. I really don't like running, but I think the more I do it, I'll begin to enjoy it more Post race
Warm down: Found the family and gave them all sweaty hugs and hosed off. Stretched a bit after I caught my breath and played with the kids in the playground. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of sleep. My head just wouldn't shut down. Pre-first-race jitters, I guess. Also a nagging cold/sinus infection gave me a pretty good coughing fit before the race and had me wheezing heading down to the swim. Event comments: Excellent race. I had an absolute blast and am definitely hooked. I was really craving some MEAT after the race, but they just had fruit, bagels and donuts...probably better post race nutrition than that fried chicken leg running through my head. The volunteers were mostly very friendly and helpful. Before the race, I thought that being passed by a lot of people would get into my head, but it actually inspired me to continue with the sport and improve. Last updated: 2008-02-27 12:00 AM
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United States
Melbourne Beach Rotary
80F / 27C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 263/461
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 26/33
Couldn't sleep. Woke up at 3:00 and made some coffee and a bagel around 4:00. Went over my bike and equipment. Drank a lot of water. Got to the site a few minutes past five. It was pretty empty then, and I'm glad I was able to have time to take it slow setting up in a sweet spot on the end of the rack. Ate a banana and drank an FRS at the site
Paced around nervously. :)