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 Swim
Comments: The course must have been long. I swam as well, if not better than, my usual and was stunned by the time. Everyone else I spoke with agrees, and I feel the results back this up. SO, in light of that, the swim went very well. I swallowed my gum on a deep inhale early on. Oops. Other than that, it was one of my best.  Transition 1
Comments: I really hustled and was the only person in my view running. I did not spare a second once I got to my spot and came and went much quicker than my neighbor. One of the first times ever that I wasn't the last bike on my rack to leave! 3/71 in AG!  Bike
Comments: Started out fast and passing like crazy. It seemed like I was passing the earlier wave ladies, right off the start. About mile 3 I dropped my water bottle and decided to stop and grab it since it didn't go far. If it had landed in the ditch I admit I would have left it, but it was right in the road. Not sure how much time I lost there. Otherwise the ride was good and strong. While the overall speed is not impressive, I will point out that I was near the top 10 percent and the winner only barely broke 20 mph, so it was a tough course. Transition 2
Comments: So, to recap, I dismounted and was obligated to run my bike the entire length of a very long transition, around the end, and back up through the middle aisle of transition to the 5th to last rack. Ridiculous. I am kind of surprised by how fast I was! I chugged as fast as I could, my shoes were slippery inside and out. 12/71 AG  Run
Comments: It was super weird to be on the run course long before the winner finished. This was a hard run for me, very hilly. I was passed by about as many people as I passed on the bike probably. It seemed like the whole run was uphill until the very end. Fortunately at one point a volunteer said "after the next crest, its all downhill" and he was right! I must have busted out a 7 m/m the whole rest of the way down the path, down the woodchips, and to the finish. I was SO glad to be done. I've ran worse, and I've ran better. I'm glad to beat a 10 m/m, but I really was hoping to do about 2 mins better. Darn. Post race
Event comments: For me, this was overall an excellent job done. I ranked well and I feel I earned it, after pushing myself. I didn't come close to my time goal, about half of which can be attributed to my long swim and Ts. But I wasted 2 mins on that run. In general, I have mixed feelings about the race. I liked the Friday afternoon pickup at the YWCA Midtown. The volunteers were very nice and the decorations, signs, etc, were nice. I didn't like: the Transition setup, the lines at the beginning, the lack of a volunteer at the bike dismount (?? I had to ask the spectators), and the post race food was strange. They gave us lunch boxes from D'Amico, which, while delicious, is strange at 10:00 am. Maybe try for breakfasty food? If we must wait to get into transition until the last bike comes in, offer a bag check. Then, when the last bike arrives, let us know! I am going to write up a note for the RD. Last updated: 2009-08-02 12:00 AM
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United States
YWCA
75F / 24C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 72/464
Age Group = F30-34
Age Group Rank = 11/71
I woke up to pouring rain and thunder and was sure this was going to be a disaster. I didn't want to miss out on the race, although I had joked earlier that I wouldn't mind them cancelling the swim - my favorite event. I finally decided I better get my move on and would at least drive to the event and sit in the car as long as I could and see what happened. Funny enough that by the time I got ready and into the car, the rain had let up and was just a drizzle on the drive.
When I got to Baker Park it was already 6:45 and I had to park pretty far away. Walked up to the race area and stood in some really long lines for body marking and then my chip. This was not the most impressive part of the event, sorry to say. It was a struggle to manage with all of my stuff (bike, bag, etc). And they weren't telling us what to do. I'm not sure if I could have dropped my things in transition first.
I did talk to some ladies in line and my Kilo was making me feel very rockstar. This is a newbie event and they were all impressed, despite that I tried to tell them it was no big deal. My outfit really matches, just be coincidence, so I think it gives up a very professional aura.
The transition area was a disappointment. It was EXTRA huge, unnecessarily spreadout IMHO. For T1 I would have to run the length once (as would everyone) but for T2, I would have to run the full length and almost all of the return length with my bike. At least it was set up by AG. The women in the later waves had a much easier time of it. I found Sarah (Slahmmer) and we got out stuff and headed to the beach.
Since it was pretty warm, and we were able to wear wetsuits (yay!) I popped into the water about 20 mins before the pre-race meeting. Felt nice to cool off and lube the wetsuit a little. Swam about 3 yards.