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 Swim
Comments: It just did not go well in the swim. Having swam 8:38 for the same distance a month before, the 11:02 on for this race does not compute. I picked the inside line of the start hoping for a little push back into the pack from the crosswind and figuring that the field would stretch out over the long 500 foot leg so I could squeeze back in to clear the marker. It worked perfectly and was about the only bright spot in the performance. Other than that I fought the water the whole way and wanted it to be over. What would you do differently?: I thought I had trained enough in the ocean to become more comfortable but that must not be the case. My distance work has been for the Miami Man Olympic Race in the fall but I should work on some sprint work to keep the breathing in check. When checking the results of other racers I see about a two minute increase over the last race so apparently it was just harder or longer.  Transition 1
Comments: The brightest spot in the race! I was so upset on my first triathlon T1 I spent hours working through tutorials and practice sessions to make sure I improved on this one. The major changes were swimming in a tri top, dropping the socks altogether, and hanging the bike shoes by rubber bands in position on the bike. By the time I hit the bike I only needed to pop on the glasses and the helmet and I was off. It worked as I was 2nd in my age group and 68th fastest out of 728 overall out of T1. I can live with this. What would you do differently?: Hope for better luck on the rack placement lottery as running with the bike the longest distance out (and back) in transition has to take longer than without.  Bike
Comments: I was very happy with the ride. The monster bridge was fun, as usual, and the racers were appropriately spaced for me to jump frog from one to another like a video game. A lot of talk about the speed bumps took place before the race which I did not have a problem with (three or so out and again on return) except for having to get out of the aero bar tuck to absorb. I wish the race did not have to drop the two miles (8 instead of 10) with the venue change as it has become my favorite part of triathlons with the road closed for just us riders. As it turns out, the bridge/turns/bumps all made for an interesting course although I would favor the decision to include a second run on the bridge in Trilogy #3 in August if the construction is not completed by then. What would you do differently?: I am still new to the bike and cycling. I need to get at least three dedicated cycling sessions in per week and I think I will keep eating away at the time. Transition 2
Comments: Although it was not as fast as the T1 (3rd in AG and 220 out of 728 overall) it was a huge improvement over my first. Again, I had to run all of the way to the back of transition with the bike which probably cost me 4-5 second over running the same distance without the bike but this is the luck of the draw. I was out of the bike shoes while on the bike, passed on socks and only fumbled putting on the running shoe a little bit. Took a hint from the Bio Zen trainer and bolted with the ID belt and hat to put on while running. What would you do differently?: I looked at the results and determined that dropping 10 seconds would have taken me from 220 place to 109 in T2 time. I will reduce half of that on the next race with practice and flat out live with the difference as the top 75 in T2 were under 50 seconds and big Clydesdale like me just are not made to move that fast.  Run
Comments: Like the swim, I fell short of my plan by over two minutes. It looks as if the others in my classification also suffered similar difficulties as the run was on a tight, hot, dirt, and breezeless path. I was celebrating the idea of shade but I will return to the Crandon beach and parking lot path in a heartbeat. I did not eat a second gel out on the course like the first and know I was short on water in take. Obviously made a difference but everybody had to deal with it. What would you do differently?: I keep trying to convince myself that running in our So. Florida heat this summer is great training. A friend emailed me a picture of a triathlon in Wisconsin she did the same day and they are in wetsuits and the fans are in parkas and hoods. What would I do differently...quit my bitching. Post race
Warm down: Cool down was easy as I was able to hang out with friends and wait for my third place award. As usual I did not do anything but eat and drink and felt pretty good. I awarded my coach a treat on the long way back to Key West (he slept the whole way) with a stop at Boondocks in Summerland Key for a burger and a beer. I like warm downs! What limited your ability to perform faster: Me, myself, and I. Event comments: The race director took some shots from racers over the parking fee and some other BS. I think they did a great job and should be complimented in delivering another great race. If they could pull some favors with the road construction crews to get us back to Crandon in time for August they would really impress me. Great job! Profile Album Last updated: 2009-06-10 12:00 AM
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United States
MultiRace
85F / 29C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 206/728
Age Group = 40-44 (185+)
Age Group Rank = 3/
Being only my second triathlon A LOT more attention to detail went into this one over the first. I decided to review the new venue at the Miami Marine Park Stadium due to emergency road construction at Crandon and joined in on the Bio Zen clinic for newbies Saturday afternoon at the site. I wish now that I had attended this seminar before my first as it would have saved me a lot of time and embarrassment but I still picked up several tips that came in handy during the race. Just for the record, they recommend taking off the second day before your race to taper and do a light swim, bike, run the day before. The other interesting tip was to eat your big meal for lunch the day before the race and NOT the dinner to provide for proper digestion and to let the nutrients have enough time to do their job. Both were news to me.
Jumped in the water at the site to try and swim the course but had to keep it to the beach due to the day boaters tearing it up back and forth in the calm waters of the protected basin. I am glad I did this as I learned the exit was rocky proving the need to swim it out to the end and not touch and run the final 10 yards.
Given the fiasco in my transition set up on my first tri I decided to make the second one flawless. Instead of waiting around the hotel to pound the coffee, banana, and bagel my coach (son) and I popped out of bed, brushed the teeth and bolted out the door to use the drive time for dining. Arrived at 5:20am to get the first spot on the rack (bad luck again with the rack third farthest from the bike exit and return) and picked up timing chips and body markings. With the coffee fully kicking in I found the first item skipped off of my checklist...a flash light for the portolets. What a scene in the dark.
Warm up time: I took a ride up, over, and back on the big causeway bridge which was enjoyable as only three cars and a couple other riders were out at 5:50. Second item forgotten, bring night lights for the bike for races starting at the crack of dawn. Practiced the dismount and approach to the rack as this was not the nice grass of Crandon, instead it was a rough (and hard) asphalt. Jumped into the shoes and ran the first quarter mile of the run to find that was different too but more on that later. Returned to put the finishing touches on my T station and went off to the water to swim 100 yards before the first wave.