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 Swim
Comments: The swim went really well. Alot better than the 500m I swam in the sprint last month. It was a wade start and everyone went at once, no heats. There were probably 200 people total with the addition of the relay people. It was very shallow, so we could walk out probably 25m or so. There was a lot of bumping, rubbing, hitting, etc. This was alot worse than my last race. It probably took 1/3 to 1/2 way out to really get settled in a stroke. My breathing was a little off the first half, but as I rounded the buoy, I swallowed a little water and started to feel my stomach turn. I didn't puke, but sure tasted the peanut butter I had for breakfast. After the turn, I swam really well. Freestyle the whole way in. My navigation was a little off the first half, but the second half was a lot better. Overall it was a good swim for me. What would you do differently?: Navigation needs to get better and breathing needs to be better earlier. I didn't panic this time like I did last time, so that was plus.  Transition 1
Comments: We probably had to run 200 meters from the exit of the swim to the transition area across grass, sticks, gravel, ashphalt, etc. So I think that slowed the run portion of the transition down a little bit. My feet were covered in sand and dirt, so i spent a little time cleaning my feet off, so I could put my socks on. I am definitely glad I took the time, because I really like wearing the socks. Shirt on was a little struggle but not bad. I got the helmet on and squirted some gel in my mouth as I left the transition. I was towards the end of the transition, so the exit was pretty close. I didn't have run far in my biking shoes. I haven't mastered the jump on the bike part yet, so I had to stop and get on teh bike. What would you do differently?: Maybe have a bucket of water to clean my feet off. Overall, it was a good transition considering the distance we had to cover. I was a little tired after the run, so I had to get my breathing under check.  Bike
Comments: The course was pretty flat. I used the first half lap to get going and get some speed up. I then worked on getting some liquids in. I used 24 oz of Lemon Lime HEED for my drink. It was still cold as I put ice cubes in it. I tried to drink twice each lap and I think that worked for me. I stayed on the small ring about 2 gears from teh top. That seemed to work for me but on the last lap I went up a gear and really started to move so I should have tried that earlier. My speed stayed pretty constant around 18-19 mph but everyone else was so much faster than me, even the older guys. I have some work to do on the bike if I want to do better in this sport. My cadence was fine (I think) but just need to work on getting in a higher gear and keep the cadence. My seat was not comfortable at all and I rode mostly with my hands down on the drop outs. That kept me more aero but I need to get a more comfortable bike. What would you do differently?: Tried going up a higher gear sooner than halfway through the last lap. Need to get a more comfortable bike, possibly tri bike or lighter / comfortable road bike with aero bars. Transition 2
Comments: I had a hard time finding my rack position coming back into the transition area. I think there was another bike on the opposite side of the rack that I hadn't seen before I think that threw me off a little. Once I found my position, I racked the bike okay, stripped my helmet and bike shoes off really well. I used Fuel Belt Elastic Laces on my running shoes this time and that really helped my time. Also, they felt really good on the run. I grabbed my visor, took a swig of gel, and grabbed my water bottle. What would you do differently?: Go to my rack position faster. My transition area was setup pretty well so I thought I did pretty well this time around.  Run
Comments: My legs were a little squimish coming out of the transition area and once I got about 1/2 mile in, I felt really good. I started picking people off one at a time and I don't think anyone passed me once I got goign. The only guy that passed me the entire time, I ended up running with the last two miles and we finished at the same time. I felt great the entire run, me feet felt good, no blisters and my nutrition was excellent. I felt that I could have kept goign another hour or so. It was huge by passing all of the people that I did as that gave me a huge boost mentally, especially when you could talk to the people as you were passing them. Again, this was a huge mental boost. What would you do differently?: Not sure, as I felt great. I think I slowed my pace down a little the last two miles when I ran with the other guy. I probably could have passed him and kept up a faster pace. But overall, I felt great on the run. Post race
Warm down: Talked with family and friends. Took my recoverite and had a beer. What limited your ability to perform faster: I think the bike was a limiting factor. A new bike that is more comfortable and set up for me and more training on the bike will sure help me alot. Event comments: This was a nice race and a great local race for me. There could have been more drink stations on the run but I had my water bottle so that wasn't too big of an issue. Some more post race activities would have been nice but overall I think it was pretty organized, and on time. I will be back next year. Last updated: 2009-06-04 12:00 AM
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United States
Council Bluffs YMCA
70F / 21C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 107/149
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 18/21
Got up at 4:45 am. Actually Emma woke up at 3:30 am screaming, so I really couldn't back to sleep after that. I laid in bed until I decided to get up. I had already packed my bag the night before and laid out my tri shorts and sweats so they were easy to find. I love the feel of heavy comfy sweats!! Ate (2) pieces of wheat toast with peanut butter and drank a 32 oz Gatorade on the way to the race. Arrived at the race at 6;00 am and began to setup my transition area. I picked a rack about 3-4 back from the exit of the bike area becasue the other racks had really expensive bikes on them, plus I wanted to be on the end of the rack. It is much easier to find and lay your stuff out. I setup my area, talked to a few guys, went and scoped out the beach. It was pretty cold out and the temp was around 55 degrees. Got my body marked then decided to go the bathroom. That was a good idea and the lines were not very long. Went back to transition and saw my friend Ryan Bailey. He made the 3 hour trip down here to watch me race. He is such a great friend. They called the pre-race meeting at 6:50 am and the race was supposed to start at 7:15 so we all stripped down and went to the beach. It was really cold just standing there, so I ran back and got a t-shirt. They went through the instructions at 7:10, I stripped down, waded in the water and off we went.
I didn't do any warmup really. Some light stretching but that was about it really. My body felt loose and my nutrition seemed good, so I just kind of relaxed my mind and really tried not to stress out about the swim.