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 Swim
Comments: This is probably one of the best swims I've had in a race. The waves were set up by time estimates and my wave had about 75 people. We started off a boat launch ramp, so there wasn't much room to spread out. I was in the middle about 3 people back from the front. Even with the tight start it wasn't too bad with the pushing and hitting. Although, after about 200 yards, I kept bumping into this woman. She probably thought she was racing with some pervert because I hit her on the backside 4 or 5 times. She wasn't wearing a wetsuit and was in good shape, which made for an even better swim. I was looking up every 5 breaths or so and was staying on a pretty straight line. I didn't get redirected by any kayaks or come close to the shore. My best sighting race ever. I was in a nice rhythm and felt comfortable. Made it to the buoy and barely broke stride making the turn. I then ran into a pod (group, gaggle, pack?) of people doing breast stroke. I had caught up to some people from the previous wave and they were obviously having problems. Got around them and hugged the buoy line to the second turn around. Last year I swam the course in 33:22, about half minute slower. But last year I came out of the water with a max heart rate and tired. This year I felt comfortable the whole time and relaxed coming out of the water. Overall a good swim. What would you do differently?: Nothing, maybe push a little harder in the middle part of the swim. Some people put down a faster time than the can swim to give themselves more time on the swim. I need to look for people going slower to give my self room to pass.  Transition 1
Comments: Here's where I could tell the difference on the swim. I was 18 out of 56 in transition and that was with putting on socks. I wasn't gasping for air and I was calm for the whole thing. Last year's T1 3:08, this year 2:04. I made up 1:30 on last year in the swim and T1. What would you do differently?: Learn to ride without socks.  Bike
Comments: After my last race, this was the part of the race I was concerned about. In my last race I had been next to last in my age group for the bike. It killed my whole race. I figured if I was going to have any chance of beating Paul, I had to have a good bike ride. I was just hoping he wouldn't pass me on the bike. He started 2 waves behind me in the swim and in swim practice I was 3 minutes or so in front of him. So I figured with the wave time and swim difference, I figured I had about a 9 minute or so lead. The bike started out pretty good. Although on the bike and the run, it always takes me 10 minutes or so to get going. If I push hard at the beginning, I never get my HR under control. The first lap went well and I started drinking my GU20. There was a guy from my swim wave that I kept going back and forth with for the entire ride. I would pass him on the up hills and he would pass me on the flats. This really helped me with my pace. Of course, I got to listen to the disc wheels go by for most of the first two laps but I kept to my race. Coming to the final stretch of bike, I passed the guy from my wave and pushed hard to the finish. I think I beat him into transition by about 30 seconds. I felt pretty good that Paul hadn't passed me but figured I gave up some of that lead time. Looking at the results, that's the first time I've averaged over 19 mph for an Oly. More important I think I did it without blowing out my legs. I ended up beating last years time by 4 minutes What would you do differently?: Different genetics. I'm not a good cyclist but I'm working on it and have gotten better over the summer. Transition 2
Comments: Another good transition. Beat last years by 10 seconds. Nothing exciting happened, just a nice smooth T2. I was 19 out of 56. What would you do differently?: Not drop my GU putting on my race belt. I didn't realize I had dropped it until mid way through the run.  Run
Comments: Usually this is my strongest event but I've been having foot problems and hadn't run my usual volume for August. I started out with the typical brick feeling but it took almost 2 miles to get into a good stride. I knew I would see Paul on the way back but I needed to be about a mile past the turn around to have a chance. When I got into stride, I picked up the pace and started feeling good. That's when I realized I had dropped my GU. I started getting only gatorade at the water stops to try and get in some calories. I hit the turn around and got passed by the guy from the bike. I knew I needed to pick up the pace but I had no more juice. I saw Paul about a mile past the turn around and knew I was in good shape. I saw my wife near the finish and was happy to cross the line as I needed a porta potty. What would you do differently?: Not hurt my foot. I ended up running 30 seconds slower than last year. This was not one of my better runs. Post race
Warm down: Crossed the finish line, where they gave everyone a nice wet cold towel and water bottle. Very nice touch. I then looked for my wife and went to watch other people finish. Ended up getting some pizza and talking for awhile. Looking at the race results, I ended up beating Paul but I think he was pacing himself for his race next weekend. I felt bad about not staying until all the BTers finished but I had to get home for family duties. I need to plan better next time. What limited your ability to perform faster: This was probably my best race for executing a race strategy if it at my speed you can call it that. The run was slower than expected but that was more from injury than anything else. Event comments: This is a good local race. They've been doing it for 23 years and they have got it down. There are some funky aspects to the race but they have worked with the community to limit the impact. It's well supported by volunteers and I always like the swag. This year they gave a blanket, running hat and running socks. Plus a towel and water bottle. All useful things and I can always use more hats and socks. Last updated: 2006-02-18 12:00 AM
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United States
Reston Triathlon
70F / 21C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 165/481
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 26/56
The pre-race activities started the night before the race. I've been training with Paul (Grems8544) and this race would be first time we've been in the same race. He and his family came over for dinner the night before the race. I figured if I gave him a lot of food it might help me the next day. I know that Paul is a lot faster than I am on the bike and I needed all the help I could get. We had a good time at dinner and I was in bed by 9:30.
I got up at 4:30 and had granola, an ensure and OJ. My favorite part of this race is that the start is about 3 miles from my house. Left a little after 5 and got a good parking place. This race has two transition areas, so I got my chip and set up my T2. Then I rode my bike in the dark down to the lake and set up my T1. I had a flashlight for the ride but it's still uncomfortable riding in the dark with a back pack full of stuff.
I used the ride down to the lake as my warm up. After getting set up, I walked around and talked to people. I saw Paul, Cindy (Bodycheck) and Gator Jamie. Also saw some people from work and some other local tri people. This isn't a big race and I was in the fourth swim wave. They started the event on time and my wave was scheduled for 9 minutes after the first wave.
On the way to the lake, I saw a woman working on her bike and asked if she needed help. She said that her chain fell off but she couldn't get it back on. I looked at the bike and saw that rear derailleur had broken off and was stuck in the spokes. I didn't want to say anything but I was sure she wasn't racing without a different bike. She took it to the mechanics on hand and they tried to turn it into a fixed gear. I saw her after the race and she ended up DNF on the bike. The chain wouldn't stay on. What a bummer for her.