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 Swim
Comments: I just read through my race report from last year, and it was like deja vu all over again. Very crowded throughout the swim. All clydesdales go in the 2nd wave with the 30-39 year olds, then I'm in the 3rd wave 2 mins later. It was very congested. "The waters getting warm so you might as well swim" Swam by the guys who were walking out from the shore way too long, then basically sighted on virtually every stroke to get around people - including the ones who were walking to take a break. I had no idea the water was so shallow until the first buoy. The sun was right in our face, so that complicated things. Rounded the 2nd buoy and there was a guy there holding onto it for dear life! I asked if he was okay. He said yep, and to my horror, he started swimming again. I just hoped he could make it to the next buoy.... Got hit in the head, and got a goggle full of water. At this point I decided to go wide to get some clear space. Definitely the right move and was finally able to get a nice stroke going and made up a bit of time. That all came to an end though at the 3rd buoy, turning back to the beach and the little bit of zig zag you have to do to finish the swim. Just swam with a catch up stroke to protect my head and finshed up. What would you do differently?: Keep my training up. Or should I say get my training up to snuff... This was over two mins faster than a year ago, but obviously lots of room to improve. We all had the same color swim caps, and there was a timing mat, so I think next time I'll just move up a wave.  Transition 1
Comments: Came out of the water and ran up the hill past a bunch of people walking. I was feeling really good at this point, and not out of breath at all. Probably because of the slow going finishing up the swim. Got to the bike, and had my normal trouble with the wetsuit off my feet. I'm really bad at that, and now it costed me my time goal. However, I was happy getting on my bike, and was able to get going with stopping at all. What would you do differently?: Figure out this wetsuit thing.  Bike
Comments: Got going on the bike pretty good. There were a lot of bikers out with the Duathlon going on at the same time. Drank Accelerade from my aero bottle (yay) throughout the race, but that little yellow thing went flying off the bottle at one point. Luckily it was a ways into the race, so I didn't lose any liquid after that. A number of people passed who I passed again. And one of the top females and I played cat and mouse, which helped me keep my pace up. I was faster up the hills than her, but she would eventually pass me on longer straightaways. I got caught on the inside down a long hill which annoyed me, because at the bottome is a 90 degree right turn up a hill. I was now on the brakes and didn't have my bike in the right gear, and couldn't go wide, so I had to take it easy here. I was getting tired towards the end, and my speed drifted off somewhat. Knew I was going better than a year ago, and as it turned out I was almost 2 mins faster than last year, but need to get faster. Overall, enjoyed the bike and had fun on it. What would you do differently?: Not much for this race other than keep training and working on the hills. Transition 2
Comments: Got off my bike quickly without stopping, so things were going good. "... and I hit the ground running." All along I had been debating whether or not to use a gel on the bike. I didn't, but then all of a sudden I decided to have it here. So I ripped it off the bike and had it with some water. more valuable seconds wasted.... What would you do differently?: Just get the heck out of there!  Run
Comments: My downfall again. This is now my 3rd year doing this race, and this run came right in the middle of them. I can't believe I was 2 1/2 mins faster two years ago - where did my speed go?!?! Saying that, I was also 25 lbs lighter then.... Just maybe that has something to do with it? Last year I had a very sore hamstring and limped through the run, so I was 2 mins faster this time. Got going, and had to stop almost right away because the tongue of my shoe was folded. It took me about a mile to remember to lift my knees more. I was dragging, and folks were passing me. But once I remembered that, my pace picked up, and I had a much better run after that, and actually passed some people back. Was pretty steady, then picked it up for the last 10th to finish up. Not happy with the running, but at least it's better than last year. What would you do differently?: Lose weight, train more. Post race
Warm down: Walked around, and ate & drank. HFP does a nice job with food after races (nice contrast to Pirhana who had nothing after the Pgh tri.) Nice and warm, and I was feeling pretty good quickly. Stretched some What limited your ability to perform faster: Terrible training the last month and a half. Too much traveling has meant that my training has just been sputtering along, and it shows. Event comments: Last year my time was 1:25:50. I figured I could beat 1:25, and be in the low 1:20's. However, I was really hoping I could crank it up and beat 1:20. I couldn't believe I came so close! Other than training better, the transitions were dreadful. Even with last year's slow transition times, I would have picked up 40 seconds and beaten 1:20. Lesson learned. Good organization by HFP. Definitely more volunteers this year than a year ago. Had an aid station half way through the run that was missing last year, and the registration line never seemed to get too long. Not bad at all for 700 or so racers. Last updated: 2009-07-28 12:00 AM
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United States
HFP Racing
65F / 18C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 84/345
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 10/27
Got up around 3:40, took the dogs out (why do they always wake up??), got gas and drove 2 1/2 hours to Akron.
Had a cup of coffee with me, so had that and a bottle of water throughout the drive, and started eating my normal cereal and a banana and apple around 5:00.
Made use of the facilities at the side of the road, and enjoyed the view of the stars and moon!
About 20 mins away from the race, I realized I forgot my aero bottle! Right then, All Star came up on my CD:
"I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed." How appropriate!
I was annoyed, and was thinking that there was a Performance Bikes nearby, but they probably didn't want me to stop by at 6:30, and my cousins and aunts and uncles probably didn't have one anyway if I stopped at their houses! LOL!
Got close to the race, and immediately missed the turn and had to drive through a neighborhood and come in some back way
"So what's wrong with taking the back streets"
Got to the tent and couldn't believe it! IDuTri.com was there with aero bottles for only $10! Very happy!!! It wasn't crowded yet, so got signed in and set up. I was getting hungry again, so an hour before the start had half a powerbar, then a gel 15 mins before the start.
"I could use a little fuel myself"
Ran for about 5 mins staying warm with my tri top, t-shirt, and jacket on.
"It's a cool place, and they say it gets colder"
A bit later (about 20 mins before the start), ran another 5 mins much quicker back to my car to get my swim cap which was in my swag bag!
"Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb"