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 Swim
Comments: Since I never got into the water before the race start I wasn't sure what to expect. Once I was face down in the lake the cool water felt really good. My stroke was good and I felt strong in the water. The wet suit really helps me. Before the first turn my goggles fogged up. I swam with them fogged until I went off course pretty bad and decided to flip over and lick the lens'. Then when I got to the first turn I stopped to ask the boat guys which way to go... the bouys confused me but after a quick redirect I didn't have any trouble the rest of the course. What would you do differently?: Put bodyglide under my arms in the arm pit area.  Transition 1
Comments: Coming out of the water my family was right there and I stopped for a few seconds so they could take my picture. I ran to my bike and quickly, but not carelessly, did everything I was supposed to do. The main differences was popping a GU and drinking several big swigs of water. What would you do differently?: I would go faster. As I get comfortable it will become second nature.  Bike
Comments: I felt really good out of tranistion but there were some hills at the beginning of the bike that had me worried. I was going 14 mph at few points and my legs were tired within the first 3 miles. In fact it seemed that the first of the course was uphill to varying degrees. I just regrouped and my legs responded. In fact I started feeling stronger and stronger. There is a long around mile 16 that is slightly down hill for 2-3 miles and I was averaging 28mphs with very little extra effort. That is triathlon heaven if there is one. I also drank powerade sips every 2 miles in an effort to stay on top of my hydration/nutrition. I ended up drinking almost my whole aero bottle. At times my stomach twisted but it went away and I drove on. I came in off the bike feeling absolutely great. I knew I was going to have a good run. What would you do differently?: This was my best race-bike ever. I don't think I would change anything. Transition 2
Comments: I took a good extra minute in this transition. I put socks and my Garmin 301 on. I also ate half a GU, washed it down with water, then ran out the run chute. What would you do differently?: Just cut down on wasted seconds. Nothing much really.  Run
Comments: I left for the run feeling like I was going to hammer (or at least tap really hard). I was so happy to have my tank so close to full I could hardly keep from smiling..... well that came to a screaching halt. Right at the first hill I realized there was a flaw in my plan. I had never practice running on hills. It became quickly apparent this was going to be difficult for me. I decided to walk up the hills that were to steep for me. It seemed more energy cost-effective. To make a long story short I finished with lots of room for improvement. Once past the turn around the miles back seemed to go by a little quicker. I would also like to comment on the run in on the levee.... I have never been at a race where people are lining the path cheering for you, yelling and ringing bells and clap-sticks... it makes all the pain go away. I loved my 30 seconds of that. Even though my time was abysmal I gave it all I had. Once I resigned myself to having to walk at times I was in a much better mental state. What would you do differently?: I think running stadiums would help here. I just needed to get better at hills. When I was on flat ground it was fine but those hills lock up my glutes. Post race
Warm down: Ran straight to my family who were waiting for me. Drank water and went to pee. What limited your ability to perform faster: The run was my limiter. Event comments: Here are some quick notes/observations: - early in the bike I was having a little trouble with my quads burning and feeling like it could be turning to shit, when two bikes slowly passed me side by side. One was a Fuji and the other was a Canonndale.... I said something to the effect "great, now I'm getting passed by camera's"... after getting a chuckle out of that my pace picked way up and it turned into my best bike in a race ever. - On the run, if I saw someone I knew coming the other way and I was walking, I would start jogging then call out to them, say hello, then after they passed start walking again.... rediculous isn't it :) -I didn't see any overt drafting...and I was looking hard so I could complain about it, but it just never materialized. -My underarms are sore from where my racing jersey rubbed. It was really uncomfortable on the run when the sweat would seep into the area. -I have never seen more police and volunteers on any bike course. -At the swim start the MC annouced there was a "dog" in the water...I found that funny. -My goals for this race were to go sub 3 hours, average 18.5 on the bike, and run the whole run no matter how slow.... I obtained 2 out the 3. -My nutrition was just about perfect. No cramps, just the unused hill-running muscles. -There were two sprinklers set up along the way....I managed to run right past both and not get a drop on me by either one. Last updated: 2005-12-27 12:00 AM
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United States
S2F Events
78F / 26C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 598/1700
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 131/164
We (my family and I) drove up to Memphis on Friday. It was about time for a mini-get-away so we had planned this trip for a few months. None of my family has seen me do a triathlon yet and this was my "big" race for the year....it was time.
I tried to take it easy but I have to admit to being a little nervous about the scale and scope of an Olympic distance with 1700 participants. I also didn't want to make a bad showing in front of my family (although other than DNF they would think I did great :) ).
I managed a 3 mile run Saturday morning and felt great but as the day went on my legs were pretty tired.
We did meet the BT group at Spagetti Warehouse and enjoyed the conversation and the carbs. If I had to guess I would say there was at least thirty people there.
I can never sleep well before a race. Mainly because I don't want to over sleep. I got up at 0450 and started loading up my gear while eating a cliff bar. Then my wife and I got the kids in the van and drove out to the site.
After getting bodymarked I went to find a slot for my bike, set up transition, spoke to several people and mentally went over the two transitions several times in my head b/c I was doing things a little different for both.
After watching the pro's go off with my wife and kids I put on my wet suit and stayed close to the swim start. My number was 742 so I had a little while to wait which was comforting yet gave me just enough time to think about what was coming up, and time to think if I was going to be up to the challenge.
Almost too soon it was time to have my number called and fell into the line that filed us to the swim start. I questioned myself on why I was doing this and wondered if I was crazy... Then I was tapped on the shoulder and told to go...felt like that first jump out of an airplane.
I only stretched for warm up....