login
 Swim
Comments: This turned out to be my best event of the day. Later several people stated that the course was long and I tend to agree. At a mile swim event I did last month, I swam a 30 minute mile. This time I swam much better and straighter and ended up 4 minutes slower. Anyway, I started in the second wave and started in the middle/middle of the wave. I quickly got into my stroke with very little pushing or hitting. Then I followed a pair of feet for a 200 yards or so. Also, I was swimming much straighter and siting better than I had in any other race. I never ended up on the edge of the course with someone in a kayak looking at my like I was drunk. Quickly made it to the turn around buoy and headed back. As we were seeded by swim time, I didn't see many people from other waves. Only one from the waves behind us and maybe 6 or 7 from the wave in front. I remembered to kick coming into the beach, so my legs felt fine coming out of the water. What would you do differently?: Not much, I not sure I can swim a mile much better than this. It felt so easy after the current and chop at Eagleman.  Transition 1
Comments: This was a tough transition. It was about 50 yards across sand, then thru a baby wading pool and then across a parking lot to the transition area. I managed to get my HR way up there just getting to my bike. While running I got my wetsuit down to my waist and quickly pulled off at my bike. I thought the transition was slow but was the 9th fastest in my age group. Getting out of the transition was fun as you had to run up a grass embankment that was wet from the rain. Crossed the mat and got on the bike. What would you do differently?: The only thing would have been to not wear socks. I didn't think that was a good idea in the wet weather.  Bike
Comments: Just another race to confirm that my biking is my worst event. Although in this race it turned out better than my running. I decided in this race to push the bike and see what happens on the run. In most of my races to date, I've always wanted to make sure I could finish and took it easy on the bike. The start was up a moderate to steep hill to get to the loop part of the course. This didn't help my already high HR and it took most of the first lap to get comfortable. There was a long hill coming back to the start line and I dropped my bottle of GU20 on the first lap. Doh! That was about half my nutrition for the race. I came to the end of the first lap and heard someone yell out my name. It was Paul (Grems8544) cheering people on. What a boost it is to hear your name during a race. Coming around on the second lap, I saw a policeman had picked up my bottle and I yelled that I would get it when I went past him to end the second lap. He saw me coming and ran alongside to give me the bottle. He seemed like a little kid getting to play. I was happy because I had more to drink. The rest of the laps went quickly and I managed to chase down a few people. I thought I did pretty well and amazed myself with staying aero down the one long hill. Usually I chicken out and ride on the bull horns for steep hills. What would you do differently?: While I did ok on the downhills and the inclines, I still climb like I'm carrying a piano. I know what I need to work on. The distance is no problem, I just don't have the strength to hammer on the bike. Very frustrating. Transition 2
Comments: It was even more interesting running down the embankment than going up. Tip toed down and got to my rack. Changed shoes and out the door. If I would have had another pair of socks, I probably would have changed socks. My feet were sopping wet. What would you do differently?: Not much, 8th out of 23  Run
Comments: This is usually my best event but it was my worst of the day. Riding hard and doing a 1/2 two weeks before finally caught up with me. I was ok on the few flat parts of the course and the downhills but I was shuffling on the uphills. Also, by this time I was done with racing. I was tired and wet and mostly just wanted a beer. So, I shuffled along, thanked the volunteers, looked at the girls and cheered on the other racers. Usually I'm passing people on the run but got passed by more than I passed. I was really happy to finish. What would you do differently?: Not much. I know that I can run better than this but the plan was to push the swim and bike. It's good to know that I can just hold on for a 10k and break 9 min miles. Post race
Warm down: This race had what I think is one of the best finish line perks, cold wet towels. As you crossed the finish line, then handed you a towel that had been in ice. It felt so good. After that I got my chip off and they handed me a medal. I saw Paul (Grems) and talked to him. I also saw Skazi and talked to him about the race. He ended up with two flats and couldn't finish. Bummer. I got my wet shoes and socks off, then off for some food. Talked with Tim (Dareth) and congratulated him on his first Oly. Then packed up my stuff for the trip back to the parking area. What limited your ability to perform faster: This was a "C" race so I wasn't expecting a lot. The swim went better than expected but lack of hill climbing capability killed me again. Event comments: This race is put on by one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, Shandra Richardson, and it's fun to do her races. Her company, Fins,wheels,feet also does the Virginia Run tri. Shandra won the 25 to 29 age group at Eagleman, although she missed out on the Kona slot because the second overall female took the slot for her age group. She'll be racing at Lake Placid and going for a Kona slot there. The race was organized, started on time, the course was challenging without being too hard and was just the right size. There were plenty of people to race without being crowded. This is a good local race. You see a lot of people you know but you don't get the big exhibits or anything. The only quibble I had was with the start of the run. It's hard to get the legs going while trying to avoid falling down. Luckily the weather cooperated or it could have been an ugly day of racing. We ended up getting 5 inches of rain later in the day. Overall, I'm glad that I did the race and would gladly do it again. Last updated: 2006-02-18 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
Fins Wheel Feet Racing
73F / 23C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 150/411
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 9/23
This was a "C" race for me. I had done a 1/2 IM two weeks prior and had not done much training since that race. I decided no watches, computers or HRM. I would race by feel and push hard on the bike to see how it would effect the run. This was the easily the calmest I've ever felt before a triathlon. I knew I could do the distance and actually had a race plan.
My drunk neighbors woke me up at 3:30 when one of their guests was leaving. I was planning for 4, so I got up then. I had an Ensure, some granola and OJ. I checked my equipment one last time and left for the race. I had a 45 minute drive to the race site.
I got to the parking site at 5:15 and it was pouring down rain. It had been lightening earlier but it was only raining then. The weather report was for heavy rain all day with mixed thunderstorms. It didn't look like we were going to get to race. I hung out at the car until 5:30 when it miraciously stopped raining. I packed up my stuff and headed to the race start. The parking lots were 1.5 miles from the start. It made for a good warm up by riding to the transition area. I got there and set up my transition area. I was in the middle of the rack but close to bike and run exits, so I was happy with the spot. About then they announced that the water temperature was 78 and wet suits were legal. There were a lot first timers at this race, so I'm sure they were all happy. Got my wet suit on and headed to the starting line. Mandatory BT report - 1 trip to the porta potty, one trip to the woods.
I walked around and looked for BTers. I had written down numbers but was only able to find two Skazi and Tim Delong (Daereth). Talked with them for awhile and few other people that I knew at the race. Kind of bummed that we (BTers) were not more organized. Tim and I looked for Cindy (Bodycheck) but no sign. I found out later she was sick and couldn't race.