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 Swim
Comments: Let's just say I'm not good at the swim and I know where to focus my training this winter. It was rougher than I anticipated and I freaked out a bit as we were heading out - lots of water in my mouth, very murky water had me swimming with my head out of the water the entire swim (which is not how I swim usually). I kept thinking, "Don't change anything for race day," but I couldn't get my head into the water without panicking...something to work on. What would you do differently?: Swim more. Take lessons. Get some coaching.  Transition 1
Comments: Came out of the water and starting unzipping, pulling my cap and goggles into the sleeve like I had practiced...saw my mother-in-law taking my picture as I exited the water - that will be a nice shot. Ran up the beach and straight to the rack, pulled off the wetsuit and kept thinking, "Come on, move it", Put the helmet and glasses on, used some water to rinse off my feet and shoved them (without socks) into the shoes. Unracked my bike and ran out the gate to the mount area...stopped at mount area, clipped in and I was off. What would you do differently?: Don't know.  Bike
Comments: Great bike course for me. I have been training a lot of hills (just what happens to be around where I live) and this was so nice and flat. I felt great getting on the bike, getting my HR down and just pedaled. I forgot to start my watch at the beginning of the race, so I had no idea where I was time-wise...and then my bike computer wouldn't get going either (and i didn't want to waste time trying to figure it out), so i was going completely blind. I had no idea how far along the route I was, or how fast I was going, so I just went with how I felt - and I felt REALLY good. I passed a lot of people and never got passed (which made me feel a little better from the SLOW swim). When I passed a 17 yo, I really felt good. Drank steadily throughout the bike because the course was so nice and flat, i felt like I had the confidence to get some fluids in. I had a gel right at the end of the bike, came to the turn-off for transistion and there was my family and friends all cheering. Blew them a kiss and headed down the dirt road to the dismount line. What would you do differently?: Nothing - great ride. Transition 2
Comments: Don't try to rack your bike differently than you racked it all the other times, it doesn't work. Go with what you know. Got the helmet and shoes off, rolled the socks on, pulled the running shoes on, grabbed a quick drink. Realized that if I didn't pee, i would be thinking about it the entire run, so stopped quickly at the port-a-potty and headed out. My mother-in-law was right at the transition gate and my family was up at the top of the road - it was great! What would you do differently?: not much...maybe not have to pee?  Run
Comments: The last couple of bike/run bricks I have done (including this one), my toes have been getting numb on the bike. As a result, when I start running, it is a little difficult because my feet truly feel like bricks. It took about 10 minutes before the toes started to feel normal. I started off at what felt like a slow pace (and again, I forgot to look at my watch, or start a timer so I was flying blind) and decided I wasn't going to walk the entire route. Pushed my way through and while this time I was passed by a couple of people, I definitely passed more than passed me...quite a surprise to me because I didn't think I was that good of a runner. Ran out the the two mile marker, realized I only had a little more than a mile left and got pretty jazzed...I had decided earlier when I saw the 3 mile marker, I would put on the gas and go as fast as I could to the finish line. I saw the 3 mile marker and realized there was no more gas, so I just concentrated on keeping my pace. I am pretty happy that I left it all on the course. What would you do differently?: Figure out the numb toes thing. Post race
Warm down: Found my family and friends, got hugs and pictures and chatted until I started to get cold. Once transition opened, got my stuff, loaded up the car and we all went out for a late lunch. It was a GREAT day for me. After four months of training, I went out and finished what I started, I did as well as I could, I know where to focus my training in the winter and am very excited to go through this whole thing again next year. What limited your ability to perform faster: Poor swimming skills, numbness in my feet from the bike Event comments: As I mentioned - the volunteers were great. Being a slower participant, I didn't get anything to drink at the end of the race (they ran out)...which was dissapointing. Their web site was geared towards people who are from the area (satellite photos with no street names) and was confusing for those of us from away. Last updated: 2009-08-26 12:00 AM
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United States
Kennebunk Beach Triathlon Club
60F / 16C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 210/257
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 26/38
Toss and turned all night until about 1/2 hour before the alarm went off...woke up, packed up the car, grabbed a bagel and an apple for the drive and started out (the event was a 2 1/2 hour drive away). About halfway there, I stopped for a coffee at Starbucks...got it with caffeine (I normally drink decaf) and continued driving. As I turned into Biddeford, I saw someone with a nice bike on the roof of their car...stopped looking at the Google Maps directions and just started following them...they took me right to the event.
This is my first complete triathlon (had a DNF in July due to bike malfunction) and I was pretty worked up. Transistion opened at 9am with the race starting at 11am (how civilized). I must have walked from transition to my car and back about 7 times, looking for things, dropping off warmer clothes, and general fiddling.
Got my bike checked and got marked (note to self: lotion doesn't make the market ink stick too well) and found my rack. Started laying out my transition area and chatting with the other women set up near me (they had grouped the racks by age group). Walked down to the water (the buoys didn't get set up until 10:30 or so because the tide was still going out...but I wanted to see them to prepare myself for the swim) a couple of times, walked the start of the run once and then ate my bagel and babbled to the people around me.
At 10:30, we all decided to get our wetsuits on...nothing quite as entertaining as watching a bunch of people trying to get wetsuits on. There were four waves for the swim - first for young men and relays, second for older men, third for young women and the fourth for us older women. Had the race announcements and walked down to the beach for the start. The green caps (young men and relays) headed out to the water and they were off! Good god...I'm going to have to swim soon. I saw my mother-in-law and brother-in-law (how they picked me out of a bunch of yellow-capped black neoprened women, I will never know), got a quick hug and it was time.
Pacing around waiting for the start. It is a tricky thing getting to the race in enough time that you aren't rushed and late enough that you don't pace around like a caged tiger waiting for it to begin. Struggling into the wetsuit.