login
 Swim
Comments: See above notes on course, but the measurements were WAY off. The swim leg winner posted a 15+ min 750M swim, which is way off. Probably closer to 1K swim. I went into the swim with the idea of enjoying the experience. Which I did, for a LONG time. I swam mostly freestyle with a little bit of backstroke thrown in. SLOWLY, but that's OK, that was the idea. My sighting was awful because my goggles kept fogging up. I think I swam so far off course I almost was swimming in circles. Got into a decent rhythm about halfway through then started to tire a bit the last 200 or so (you know, the EXTRA 200). Last 100 was miserable; I felt like I wasn't even moving forward. Wait, what the heck was that???!! Oh, it's a good female age group swimmer who looks like she's swimming under water, passing me like I'm floating still (which I more-or-less was). Wife was worried about me because I took so long. She was ready to come into the water after me. "Finished" finally and felt OK standing up (remembered to kick last 50 to get legs warmed up). All-in-all, I experienced everything. Goggles fogged up, got kicked in the head, kicked someone else, went way off course, got climbed over by a chick. What would you do differently?: Swim harder at the start. Figure out how to swim in a straight line.  Transition 1
Comments: First transition so I took my time. Could've been faster for sure but I'm OK with it. What would you do differently?: Be quicker.  Bike
Comments: HYBRID BIKE TIME!!! Mounted bike standing still in mount area. Pedaled slowly to get going. The first mile and a half was on the access road in and out of the park, with a couple of sharp turns and speed bumps to it was a bit of a pain to start. Got out on main road and stared getting up to speed (target goal 20 mph). Wound up riding with two women through the whole race in a mini peloton without the drafting. The ride was about as I expected: I felt really strong at times and a little tired at times. Spent most of the time in the aero position which needless to say is a little awkward on my hybrid. Got a little numb near the sit bones about halfway through, so kept changing positions to alleviate. Really mashed miles 15-18 (about 21.5 mph), then had to deal with the access road again, this time with about 15 riders tightly packed at varying speeds. That was a bit frustrating but at least I got to rest a bit before the run. Waved to family right before dismount (newb alert!!!). Consumed about 40 ounces of watered down Gatorade, which was just the right amount. What would you do differently?: Not much. Maybe ride a little harder miles 5-10, but all-in-all I'll take over 19 mph on a hybrid with running shoes in cages. I think I won the Fastest Hybrid Bike Split award! :-) Transition 2
Comments: Stopped completely and dismounted. Ran down the wrong aisle with my bike (newb alert!!!). Had to stop because two finishers were chit-chatting and taking up the entire aisle. What would you do differently?: Go down right aisle, all else OK.  Run
Comments: Running is my strength so I was looking forward to it. I went out thinking "quick feet, quick feet" for the first half mile or so. Hamstrings were tight but no too bad. Got into a good rhythm early and started passing a few people. Got to turn-around in about 11 minutes then started pushing harder. Passed several more people. Took a quick drink stop at mile 2 and stretched hamstrings. Lengthened my stride a bit and made final turn for home. Started kicking a bit with about 400M left and loosely sprinted the last 150M. Finished alone so didn't push too hard at the end. PR for this distance...no complaints here! What would you do differently?: Very little, maybe not stop completely to stretch and drink. Post race
Warm down: Walked around, kept stretching. Drank a bottle of vitamin water, which tasted terrible. Warmed down maybe 15 minutes then packed the car and off we went. Tightened up a bit during the 75 minutes car ride home. Ate some salty chips during the ride. I typically don't eat much the first couple of hours after a hard exertion as it gives me stomach troubles. Ate like crazy the rest of the day. What limited your ability to perform faster: Everything about the swim (too long, swam in circles, didn't attack it enough). Event comments: Race seemed just a bit disorganized, just a bit. Mediocre swag, run cap is a POS that doesn't fit, so my daughter gets it. For my first, it was awesome. Two-thirds of the race went exactly as planned and set a PR in the run. Great support from my "experienced" triathlete family and a very low stress environment at the race. Lots of first-timers, too. Profile Album Last updated: 2010-08-16 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
Piranha
78F / 26C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 275/408
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 42/45
Spent the day before at the kid's event where my 8-year-old daughter did her first triathlon. So she is a triathlete before me LOL. Picked up packet at race site and walked the transition area. Stayed at a hotel a few minutes away. Practiced setting up transition at the hotel (with the advice of the 8-year-old experienced triathlete).
Had pre-race dinner of grilled chicken, potatoes, broccoli, and a Sam Adams (a big one!!).
Didn't sleep much the night (week) before the race, tried to go to bed really early (like 7:30). Fell asleep and work up at 9:00. I wanted the race to start then! I was so jacked up for this race I couldn't even figure out how to calm down. Fell back asleep for a little bit longer during the middle of the night.
4:30 got up, went to double D to get breakfast for the ladies and coffee w/ skim milk and sugar for me. Ate a Zone bar and an apple for breakfast for me, plus the coffee. Packed up the car and left for the race at 5:45.
Got to the race site at 6:10 or so, so we got a parking spot right next to transition. Had plenty of time to relax and set up everything in transition. Wife (experienced triathlete) and daughter (apparently now an experienced triathlete) gave me the thumbs up on the set up. Did the body marking and timing strap thing, remembering to put the strap on my left ankle. It's now 6:40 and I have almost 90 minutes until the start (ugh!).
Watched the HUGE line of people picking up their packets showing up 30 minutes before transition was supposed to close. Folks had forgotten their USAT cards and didn't have cash, or their ID (no ID, no race). I felt bad for them. The race organizers were not so organized and T didn't close until almost 20 minutes after it was supposed to.
Pre-race meeting announcing some road resurfacing on the bike course. There would be some areas where it would transition from good new road, to milled road, to good new road and everybody should slow down. Not me, I have a hybrid!!! National anthem, final announcements, it's time to go!!!
Warmed up by jogging around a bit. Normally would've done a little more but my shoes were in transition and I didn't want to run around too much in my bare feet (I'm like the polar opposite of the Five Fingers runner). Stretched a whole bunch. Got into the water (wading start) and was allowed to swim around a bit so I did that (I warm up very slowly swimming, so I wanted to get going there).