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 Swim
Comments: Jess and I put ourselves in the front of the pack- not sure why, but we did. I usually put myself int he back of the pack, but hate being stuck behind slow swimmers because it's hard to pass them and slows me down. Before we started the announcer started counting down our time to start. I started to get nervous. Jesss aid "can you believe we're going to do a 1/2 IM?" And that's when it hit me- I was getting really nervous getting that "sick feelng" in my stomach. I kept re-adjsuting my goggles just our of pure nervousness being paranoid that they were going to leak or be too loose. I calmed down by saying a prayer, and was good to go. I ran into the water and started swimming. The swim start was pretty brutal. I've never been in the front of pack before, but it was a true battle. I wasn't even swimming- just grabbing a bunch of girls' butts. I think I grabbed Jess's a few times- sorry Jess. I think I started out too fast becuase I was breathing almost every stroke and I usually breath every 3 strokes. I was spotting every stroke- it was hard to not run into other swimmers. I rounded the first bouy and it thinned out some. I then got into my pace. Shortly after the first buoy I didn't see any other yellow cap swimmers around me. I got a little frustrated, thinking I was the slowest swimmer and in the BOP. I kept swimming and had the buoy in sight. I thought I was pretty much "on target" with the swim, until a guy in a different color cap passed me in the oppostire direction. We almost ran into each other and I thought "what the heck? Where did this guy come from, and why is he swimming in the opposite direction?" I looked up and realize that I am way off course, too far right of the buoy and the kyaker. Apparently this dude was off course as well. I start swimming toward the left to get back on course, and another yellow capper swims into me and we collide. I stop swimming, she apologizes, I tell her I'm glad I'm not the only one off course, and start swimming. I quickly join the pack and see yellow swim caps again- sigh of relief. I felt sooo stupid, and kept thinking that the spectators on shore were probably saying "look at that one swimmer who's way off course?" Wondering when I would figure it out, laughing because it took me awhile. I know they had to have said/think that, because I do the same when I watch the swim portion of races. Anyways, I was able to stay on course, finsihed my first lap. I got out of the water, checked my watch and tok my swim split- 19:31. I was pleased becuase I was right where I wanted to be. It was hard to start the 2nd lap after running on the sand to start the 2nd lap. I kept thinking how nice it would be to be done with the swim. I felt like I was forcing myself back into the water. The 2nd lap was much better. I was in a groove, and didn't get off course. There was a girl who I swam next tot he pretty much the entire 2nd lap- we were the same pace and that was reassuring knowing that I wasn't the only slow one. We rounded the last buoy, and I was angling into the finish. She was loving to the left and I was trying to get to the right. I didn't want to slow down and let her get ahead of me, but I couldn't pass because we were the same pace and didn't want to kill myself by speeding up. She eventaully got the hint when she smacked me in the face. It didn't hurt or screw up my goggles so I didn't care. At least she started going toward the right. I got out of the water and took my splt for the 2nd lap- 21.11. A little slower than the first lap, but I was happy with my swim time. I threw my goggles on my head, and started running to the shore. I almost ran into the photographer who was lurking in the water in a wetsuit with a camera. He was in the way which was kind of annoying. After I ran through the sand on the beach and got to the pavement, I peeled off my wetsuit and threw it over my shoulder. What would you do differently?: Sight the correct bouy and not get off course. Besides that the swim was great!  Transition 1
Comments: I started my 1/4 mile run to the TA. Some people had shoes waiting for them, but I didn't bother. I started running to T1 and Jess passed me. I yelled for her and we ran together. It made the run to T1 go by quicker. We crossed the chip mat and were hooting and hollering with our hands in the air. I took off my cap and goggles from my head. Jess had a fast transition and was out in no time. I spent longer than I needed to in T1. I put socks on for the bike. I should have practice my long rides without them because I didn't want to wear them, but then diddn't want to try anything different on race day. I coudln't deicde whether or not to wear my sunglasses on the ride becuase it was overcast. After contemplating the idea, I threw them on. It got sunny later and I was glad to have them. I stuffed some gels in the legs of my tri shorts, only realizing it wasn't comfortable at all. Not only was it uncomfortable, but I looked like I had elephantis. I then stuffed them into the little side pockets of my tri jersey, praying they woudln't fall out. I started running with bike and realized that I didn't reset my bike computer before the race. So I stopped to reset it. Like I said- I wasted too much time in T1. What would you do differently?: Plan equipment logistics better before the race. I should have already known to wear my sunglasses on the bike, and I should have planned on putting my gels in the pockets of my tri suit. Also, I should have reset my bike computer after racking my bike.  Bike
Comments: Oh my- where to start with the details of the bike. I hopped on my bike, ready to rock and roll. I took my first gel within the first 2-3 miles once I got settled into a pace. I was feeling great. By mile 5 I had to pee. I was determined that I was just going to pee on the bike. I wasn't able to because the first loop was pretty busy with lots of other triathletes. I kept looking back to see someonw right behind me. I was getting frustrated- I just needed to pee. Sue passed me at mile 5 and blew by me. I felt like I was going slow, but reminded myself that some people were doing the aqua bike and weren't running. I reminded myself to save my legs for the run, which was a big goal of mine. I dealt with a little bit of cross winds, but got a nice tail wind around 10 or 15. I was going 20pmh, and run4yrlif passed me when I was on my frist lap and he was on his second lap. Or should I say he blew by me. I only recognized him by his firemna's helmet- it made me chuckle. He came up behind me and was yelling "short stem!" When I realized it was him, I started hotting and hollering. Then I made sure to tell him I finished the swim in 40 mins- I was darn proud of that. After mile 15 on the bike things got ugly. It got really windy and I didn't get anymore tail wind. Just cross and head wind. At first it slowed me down to 14-15 mph, and then as the day went on, the winds picked up. I was slowing down to 11-12 mph. At this point, for some weird reason, I got a killer side stitch. It was painful and I couldn't get rid of it. I rpactice taking deep breaths, took some enduroyltes thinking they would help get rid of the cramping, but nothing helped. I kept toughing it out and telling myself not to worry about going slow, just make it. I was frustrated with my side stitch- I hardly get them on the bike, but when I do they are bad. I was eating every 1/2 hour on the bike and made sure to drink. It didn't feel too hot on the bike with the wind, but I forced myself to hydrate. I finsihed my first lap and started my 2nd lap. I kept telling myself I was 1/2 way finished. The wind picked up much worse ont he 2nd lap, and I was barely moving. I was only going 9-10mph in the head wind. The miles were taking forever and I knew I wouldn't meet my goal of finishing within 6-6.5 hours because I had already spent longer on the bike than I was epecting. I kept getting passed and felt like a wimp. I couldn't ride in aero position because I was getting blown around ont he road. At some points it was hard to control my bike. I kept telling myself this was good preparation for IM FL, because I might have to deal with windy conditions there. The bottoms of my feet were hurting- this had NEVER happended before, and I could really feel the discomfort. I just wanted to take off my bike shoes. I wanted to be done. On my 2nd loop a friend of mine from Atlanta passed me on the bike. I tried to stay with her, but couldn't keep up. She was out of my sight after a few miles. I had never felt so frustrated on the bike in a race before. And then my goal was just to finish the bike. The bike became a mental battle. For miles there was nobody else in sight. I still had to pee and kept trying, but for some reason I couldn't go ont he bike. I thought about pulling over to the side and going, but I didn't want to add anymore minutes to the bike. I got to the bottle drop and only had 10 more miles to go. I was good with hydration and skipped it. Little did I realize that I needed more fluids because it would take me longer to finish 10 miles in the wind than it normally would. With 8 miles to go, I was completely out of fluids. I was happy that I took a bunch of endurolytes earlier on tehe ride and hydrated well. The last 10 mile seemed to take forever. Within the last 1/2 mile, I passed a TNT lady. We ran our bikes into T2 together, and she said that the wind completely killed her. I agreed. What would you do differently?: Stopped at the 2nd bottle drop for fluids, been prepared for the wind if that's possible. Transition 2
Comments: I was so happy to dismount and cross the chip mat. I ran right to rack and racked Sherbet. At that point, I hated her. It felt so good to put on my running shoes and I was looking forward to the run. I racked Sherbet, changed shoes, and realized that I needed to remove my helmet- I almost forgot. I threw on my visor, grabbed my race belt number holder that held my gels, and ran for the port-a-potty. There was no line and I jumped in to pee. I didn't bother puttingn my skin suit on all the way- it was really hot with the sun being out, and I decided to run with just my sports bra on my upper body. On the way out I checked out how I looked in the mirror on the back of the door. Not sure why- like I cared. Habit I guess. I started running and had to run a little ways until I crossed the chip mat for the run start. mentally I was ready for the run. What would you do differently?: Nothing- T2 went very smooth.  Run
Comments: As soon as I got on the run course, there was an aid station. I was going to take my first gel, but decided to wait. I grabbed 2 orange slices and bite into them like a wild beast. They were so good and really helped. I granned a cup of amio vital, took a few sips and then tok a few sips of water. I poured the water over my head. This became my aid station routine. The run was very hot and I was glad to have my visor and sunglasses. I started running, and only saw one person ahead of me. I was feeling great- the first 6 miles passed very quickly. As I got farther into the run course, I saw more people. There were so many people walking. I was surprised and felt great and knew that I was not going to walk except through the aid stations. Around mile 5, I caught up with my friend from Atlatna who passed me on the bike. She was walking and asked me if I was run/walking. I told her no and that I was planning on running the whole thing. It felt good passing her on the run. I passed a lot of people on the run and that was the best feeling ever- especially since they had passed me on the bike.I finished my first loop and ran past the finish line. That was tough because I had another loop to go. I saw Jim and he ran with me for awhile. I told him I felt great, had a hard tim ewith the wind on the bike. I asked him how Jess was doing since I hadn't seen her on the run course. He said I was looking good and I kept on trekking. He turned around to go back to the finish. I made sure to take oragen slices/bananas or a gel every 10 mins. or so. I think that really helped because I never felt like I was bonking, which surprised me because I usually do. I caught up with another friend around 9. He ran with me not even a 1/4 mile and then had to walk. I later caught up with a man and we were the same pace. We ran about 2 miles together, talking about IM and all that good stuff. Around mile 10 I started to feel a little out of it. I couldn't remember if we ran through the zoo for the 2nd time or not. I thought we already had, but when we got to the zoo I realized I was wrong. The 2nd time running through the zoo was interesting. I saw gorillas and giraffes- it was like they had appeared out of nowhere! I didn't remember seeing them during the first loop. It was weird. I felt like I was imagining everything and couldn't differentiate between what was real and what wasn't. I could only recall seeing the antelopes and elephants on the first loop. Which BTW- the elephants were very stinky. By mile 111 the mental game started to happen. At this point I was running alone- the guy I was running with was behind me, I think he started walking or something. I was ready to be done and my legs started to hurt. I knew I was almost there, but emotionally I started to break down. I kept thinking "how in the world am I going to do IM?" Once I got past mile 12 I knew I was in the home stratch. Within the last 1/2 mile there was an aid station and I opted to skip it. I was almost home. I started picking up my pace, and was so happy to see the finish line. I crossed over the chip mat, heard them announce my name and ran through the finish, posing for the photographer. I had my arms in the air with my hands doing the #1 thing. I was smiling- so happy to be done. Couldn't believe I had been out there for almost 7 hours. I wasn't sure what my run spilt was, didn't care, was happy to get my medal and finsih my first 1/2 IM tri. What would you do differently?: Nothing- I felt great ont he run until the last 2-3 miles. I'm not sure if I could have done anything different to feel better. Post race
Warm down: Nothing- after I finished I met Jim, Sue and Jess at the finish line. I was presented a Chiptole burrito which made me laugh. We waited around, I ate some Lance crackers, drank some fluids, and took pictures of me with the burrito. We waited for the awards ceremony since Jess, Jim and Sue all got 3rd place. Went back the hotel, showered and took a nap. Met jess and sue for dinner. I had a burger, fries and chocolate shake. I couldn't eat much of my burger- I didn't really have a appetitie and my tomach wasn't feeling too great. went to bed at 9:30pm and slept like a rock. Check out my photo album for some race photos- more to be posted later :) What limited your ability to perform faster: Nothing- more experience with this tri distance would help me go faster. I thought the run went well for my first 1/2 IM. My overall run time was 2:28, and my goal was to run the 1/2 marathon under 2:30 so I was pleased with that. Event comments: This race was pretty decent. I thought the scenary on thebike course was really boring and not very scenic. It was kind of fun running through the zoo (despite the fact that seeing the animals really messed with my head)and I liked that the run course was 2 loops. This race is good if you're looking for a fast, flat course, but is known to be windy on the bike. I would recommend it- it was a great way for me to finish off my tri season. The expo was small and I wish it was bigger, the post race activities were ok- nothing spectacular. Last updated: 2005-07-27 12:00 AM
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United States
multirace
Sunny
Overall Rank = 327/436
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 13/20
Woke up at 3am- ate 1/2 PBJ. I've never woke up before a race to eat and then go back to sleep. I don't think I'll try it again, because I wasn't able to fall back to sleep. I laid in bed until 4am and got up to get ready. I packed up everything the night before, so there wasn't much lef tof rme to do before race. Ate 1/2 wheat bagel with peanut butter and banana. Drank some Powerade. I wasn't really hungry since I had eaten at 3am, but figured it woudln't hurt to eat again. I met run4yrlif in the hotel lobby and left the hotel a little bit before 5am for the race. Jim drove to the race, while I played DJ. I played some great race jams- or at least I thought they were great. I had a little Beastie Boys and other godd stuff. Jim didn't care for the Backstreet Boys. I thought it was great "pump me up music" but he wasn't feeling it. We got to the race site- it was really dark, but luckily Jim had hhis dorky headlamp. We had to body mark ourselves, and I was hoping to get a cute guy to body mark me in the TA. But we were told that we had to be body marked prior to enterting the TA (which I found out later wasn't eh case- ugh!), so Jim body marked me in the parking lot. I overhead the guy who was parked next to me, and he asked a girl parked next to him if she would body mark him. I was so disappointed he didn't ask me to do it :( I got to the TA, racked my bike and set up my area. Saw Jess (tri_take_me_away)- her bike was racked in the row ahead of mine. I was so excited that we were close together. The had signs posted on the bike rack that the water temp was 74 degrees- wet suit legal. I was so happy! I was going to feel like a superhero in my wetsuit!! I love wearing that thing! After I was done setting up, I picked up my timing chip and pretty much just waited. Jess, Sue, Jim and I killed some time be taking pictures. Jess and I spent some time admiring our views of hot tri guys. There was one guy (#991- I remember his number being body marked on his arms vividly) kept walking past our rack. We both thought he was really hot. But then he kept walking by like he was lost. I didn't get it- the racks were CLEARLY marked with BIB #'s, so I wasn't sure why he was having issues finding his rack. It shoudn't have been a confusing process. I almost wanted to ask him if he wanted me to escort him to his rack, but decided not to. It was more entertaining to watch him walk around. Jess and I quickly realized he wasn't all that smart since he couldn't find his rack and could do nothing but giggle. At this point a lot of people were heading to the swim start, so Jess and I decided to make one last trip tot he bathroom before putting on our wetsuits. The wait for the bathroom wasn't too long. I was ahead of Jess, and when I went into my stall Jess was shouting words of encouragement to me- it was then obvious to everyone in line that I was trying to care of business. Pretty funny. We got done going to the bathroom, went back to the TA to put on our wet suits and get ready for the swim. I sprayed my legs with PAM and offered some to Jess. My wetsuit went right now but Jess was struggling. I'm not sure how long it took her to put on her wetsuit, but it was awhile. I wished I would have timed her. Some girls near me saw my bottle of PAM and asked if they could use it. I wasn't sure why they needed it because they already had their wetsuits on up to their waists. I gave it to them anyways, and they told me how much they loved PAM and started spraying it on the OUTSIDE of their wetsuits. It was crazy- they kept emphasizing how much they LOVED PAM. I didn't get it- I have never seen anyone spray the outside of their wetsuits with PAM. I thought it was weird, but didn't question it. Mayeb they thought it would make them go faster- who knows.
Didn't really warm up, unless you count the 1/4 mile walk to the swim start. When I got to the beach I realized that I grabbed my old swim goggles out of my bag. I brought 2 pair just to be prepared but grabbed the wrong ones. I guess that's what I get for trying to be prepared. I figured I was ok using them even though I preferred my new ones. The only problem I had with these goggles is that they would fog really bad. I had sprayed some anti fog solution in them and figured I would be ok. I went into the lake to pee with Jess. Yes- girls still go to the bathroom in groups, whether it's a restroom or in a lake. We saw a guy squatting in the water with a funny look on his face. He was sitting there for a long time. It really looked like he was taking a dump- they only thing missing was a newspaper and some grunting noises. We were scared to find out what he was doing becasue his actions looked suspicious, and opted to find a location away from this guy. We got done peeing, and watched Jim's (run4yrlif) wave start. The swim course was 2 loops, and we saw Jim coming out the water for his second loop. We yelled and screamed at him, and when he saw us he started to do some crazy dolphin dives to show off. He looked like a wahoo flopping around on land. I later found out that his crazy wahoo like tendencies caused his heart rate to get too high and he had to settle done. It was good entertainment while we waited for the swim. I wasn't really nervous at this point because me and Jess were having so much fun joking around.