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 Swim
Comments: The swim was good for me. The only issue I had was at the start in the washing machine. There were a lot of people that would just stop and stand up, which would make me stop or slow down depending on people around me. I was able to draft someone for almost a full half lap which was nice because it kept me focused more for some reason. What would you do differently?: Start closer to the front. My dad had drifted off somewhere and I wanted to wish him good luck so I saw him and went to talk to him for a second. I never made it back to the front of the pack before the swim started, so I got stuck right in the middle.  Transition 1
Comments: Good transition for me. All of my gear was completely wet though and it took a little longer to get my gear on because it was wet and sticking to me. What would you do differently?: nothing.  Bike
Comments: The bike was fairly difficult for me. My body felt very stiff from being in the cold wet conditions before the start. It felt like my legs were just really stiff. It rained well into the second bike loop and the whole course was super wet and some areas had lots of standing water. On the last lap the rain came back on the way out and then finaly let up on the way in, which I was VERY happy about. I took it pretty easy on the bike all the way around and much easier than I had originally planned to, because I was very unsure of my legs at this point. They hurt and were getting stiffer the longer I was on the bike. I was suprised though that my knee did not give me any trouble at all, which I have been having trouble with for the last several weeks. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Transition 2
Comments: T2 went well although I was not too happy about putting on my soaked socks and shoes. What would you do differently?: Put on sunscreen, eventhough it's cloudy.  Run
Comments: Coming out of T2 I was completely unsure of how things were going to go for the run. I was really lifted up by all of the volunteers and spectators along the course that were cheering us on. It was really cool that your name was on your race bib because people were calling me by my name (although Alexander barely fit). I knew my brother was out on the course and looked forward to seeing him on every lap. It just helped to keep me focused. Everything went fine for the first lap. I was feeling good, although I knew my pace was slower than I planned. Lap 2 was not as much fun. On the way back, I started to fade. I started to second guess myself and it started to affect me. I shook all that off pretty quickly and started hitting the coke. :) oh man, that first coke was like a slice of heaven... I thought i had just downed a redbull or something. I drank coke and water the rest of the way to the finish. I ended up walking most of the water stops but nowhere in-between. On the last lap I pushed harder and gave it everything I had left in the tank. I passed my dad one last time (going the opposite way) and he told me my brother greg and my buddy dave and his fam were waiting for me at the finish. I almost felt like I did not want to go to the finish line yet..... It was weird. Eventhough my body was aching and I was tired as hell I did not want it to be over. What would you do differently?: nothing Post race
Warm down: Sat in the finishers tent for a while, could not eat anything. I just wanted to sit. I waited for my dad to finish and came down the shute with him, although it took every ounce of motivation I had to run down the shute with him. :) What limited your ability to perform faster: The weather. Event comments: Great race! It could have been a really bad day with the weather but it was not. It was an absolutely awesome day and experience. Thanks Redman! Profile Album Last updated: 2008-12-31 12:00 AM
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United States
Oklahoma Redman Triathlon
60'sF / 0C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 71/
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 9/23
Woke up at 4 after a suprisingly good sleep. Put on my clothes, had some oatmeal and a few sips of coffee. I mixed up some drink mix for the morning and we went down to the car. Got to the race site just as transition was opening and the parking was already insane.
Got body marked and set up my gear without issue. It was pretty chilly so I'm glad that I grabbed my long sleeve cycling jersey on the way out the door. About 20 minutes before transition closed I got my wetsuit on and checked my gear. All was good.... right after that though the heavens opened up and the monsoons came to OKC. At this point I hurried up and tried to cover my gear with my contingency plastic bags but it was really no use. Everything was already soaked and transition was getting flooded pretty good in many areas. The announcer came on and said the race was going to be delayed for a few minutes until they received more information about the flooding on the bike course. About 15 minutes later, after I am freezing my butt off he came back on and said there might be a swim/run/swim because of the flooding on the race course. Finaly he came back on and said there was a final decision and the race was going to be delayed 45 minutes and that we would have to dismount in flooded areas on the bike and walk through with our bikes. I must say that I was extremely relieved to hear this. I was getting really down and it was really hard to keep my spirits up. The rain was cold and to hear that there was a possibility after all my training that I might not be able to race was almost back breaking. So after they announced the race would continue I was still freezing my butt off so I grabbed my dad (who also raced with me) and found the tent with the thermal blankets, where we stayed until time to get in the water. When we did finaly get into the water it was a lot warmer than the air temp, which the day before I thought the water was fairly cold.