Swim
Comments: Good swim, started in middle and was in alot of traffic until the long straightaway. Didn't realize how much chit chat went on during a swim because of the traffic. Kept a good pace and backstroked as needed. Felt strong and swam a very true course. Much quicker than expected- got out of the water at 18:33, but it was a long way to transition. Felt light bumps about 20 times- not as bad as expected. What would you do differently?: Start more outside, find a "hole" earlier and stay away from the masses. More open water swimming. Move quicker to T1 timing mat. Practing sighting on course week before really helped in race. Keep swimming and maybe even take a lesson- I haven't swam laps since summer camp in middle school. Transition 1
Comments: Took off ½ wetsuit walking up, goggles and hat @ rack, rinsed feet, dry, put on socks and shoes, sunglasses, gloves and helmet, walk to mount line, get on and go! Bike was a long way from the start line and we were not allowed to run. I was in the 2nd to last row. What would you do differently?: Move with more urgency, got relaxed and chatted to a man at fence, rinsed out mouth. Tri suit under wetsuit worked perfectly, maybe put on race belt at this point. Bike
Comments: I trained on this course so knew it well and rode strong. My time was good for me, but got passed by many on faster bikes. Dropped my "drink" in 1st mile, luckily had a back up. Ate 2 gels along the course. Kept a steady pace on flats, relaxed on downhills and stayed in saddle up hills. Good overall ride, could have pushed a little harder, but got deflated when I knew I couldn't catch the faster bikes... Really peaceful ride at the end when I had the Back Bay to myself- this was a little bonus. What would you do differently?: Get a road or Tri bike, the only people I passed were on Mountain bikes going up hills... I kept a good pace 15-16 mph and flew down the hills, but people effortlessly passed me on the road bikes. The climbs were hard and slow with the big fat tires and took more work keeping a good pace. Could probably drop 20 minutes here on a different bike. Transition 2
Comments: I had the best time of my group!!! Racked the bike, helmet off, grabbed race belt and took off running!! Legs felt remarkably good. I had practiced doing 1 mile bike sprints with 1/4 mile runs for one of my training sessions and this really helped the legs adjust. Legs were not shot from bike. What would you do differently?: Nothing except finish faster so there wouldn't be as many people in the transition area who had already finished. Lots of extra people- I had to yell "Excuse me, I am still racing!"- everyone got out of the way, but had to dodge quite a few. Run
Comments: Stretched briefly after I crossed the timing mat. Walked and ran- good conversational pace. Kept enough to pass at least 8 people in the last mile. Most were those who passed me on the bike during the 2nd loop so it felt good to make up some time. Last 1/2 mile I felt great!! I maintained a really good form and running pace and felt great at the finish. I finished as strong as I started. What would you do differently?: Run a little more during race and push more in the middle. It was nice to end strong and pass so many but could have gone a little stronger in the middle. Held back to ensure a strong finish. Post race
Warm down: Met family and friends, did not stretch or refuel. Paid for this later that afternoon. What limited your ability to perform faster: 1st race- didn't want to bonk- held back a bit, racing on a mountain bike, only trained 4 months- prior to this I had not been running, biking or swimming for 8+ years. I finished 8 minutes faster than I thought so I was very pleased with my first race. There were 46 people who took longer than me so I was pretty stoked!! Event comments: I loved this race. I wish it was held more than once a year. It is 2 miles from my house so most of my training was on the course. Very good race for a newbie. So many friendly people along the way- staff, volunteers, and fellow racers. Everyone in good spirits! I changed from Wave 2 to Wave 6 which worked out great. Being my 1st Tri I did not feel comfortable being ahead of ALL the men... Good foresight on this one! Can't wait until next year! Last updated: 2009-04-21 12:00 AM
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United States
Humanrace
65F / 18C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 704/750
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 10/14
Wake up @ 4:45, Shower and dress, water, Odwalla Bar, ½ banana & vitamins, leave for race @ 5:30, park, set up transition area- body marking, “5 hour Energy", banana & water in car, went potty, put on wetsuit
warm up swim @ 7:15, peed in wetsuit in warm up- very different experience than in a short suit... not sure how to resolve this one.
Start line @ 7:30- warm up exercises, jumping and stretch, race actually started at 7:45, 20 minutes late