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 Swim
Comments: I had a very good swim. 2nd in my AG, 7th in my Genter, and 74th overall. There were points where the water was 2-3 feet deep with lots of sea grass and my hand was hitting the ground. Kind of annoying, but they mentioned it in the pre-race briefing and told us to just keep swimming....at times, I couldn't even pull all the way through w/o digging into the mushy bottom. I was still able to site straight, keeping my breathing and arm rotation under control . I caught the 2 waves in front of me and ended up in a 'limbo' area where there weren't any other swimmers around me. Never felt crowded or smashed in the channel. What would you do differently?: Gone out faster. I made the poor assumption that were would be some faster swimmers in my wave (25-29 and 30-34 F went out together). I hung towards the left middle of the pack and got caught up in the start. I also was unsure of the swim exit, so I had to take a quick pause as closed in on the beach to see exactly where I needed to go.  Transition 1
Comments: 3 words- WET SUIT STRIPPERS. Awesome! They had my suit off in like 10 seconds and I was on my way. 1/3 mile beach run pretty much sucked for us non-runners...but it was nice to do it and not have to worry about undressing myself at the same time. Once I hit the pavement, it was back to the parking garage and up to the 2nd floor where my bike was racked against the wall. Transition was pretty clear b/c I was quick out of the water, so the rest was pretty uneventful. I ran out with my shoes on my bike and got into my shoes once I hit the straight away on A1A. Good call b/c folks were slipping coming out of the garage running with their bikes. What would you do differently?: It was my first saltwater swim and I learned later on that I probably should have taken more time and really rinsed off my face. I felt like I had salt in my contacts the rest of the day.  Bike
Comments: Road was bumpy in places (mostly on A1A) and some large potholes as well. There were also reflectors that bridged the road from the shoulder, and they seemed like they could throw you off your bike if you hit them the wrong way. Overall, though, flat bike. There was quite a bit of wind on portions of the Naval Air Station. Had a granola bar, a gu, and a bottle of nuun, then munched on my piece of gum I taped to my aero bars earlier that morning. What would you do differently?: Push a bit harder in the middle miles. I lost some of my concentration and wasn't paying attention to my Garmin/HR data. I did catch up a bit in the last 5 miles or so, but I think I could've gone faster on this VERY flat course. Transition 2
Comments: Fast time considering I had to go up 2 levels of the parking garage. That coveted rack spot against the wall was helpful. Didn't encounter too much congestion. Again, lots of volunteers directing racers and the sprint distance traffic. What would you do differently?: Nothing, I don't think. Fastest T2 time in my AG.  Run
Comments: My running is where I need the most work. The course was flat, the volunteers were plentiful and positive with their cheers and clapping, but I was miserable. I felt fueled and hydrated, but I just need to work to move my butt a heck of a lot faster. The course did cross A1A and Roosevelt, but police were there and stopped traffice both ways for the racers. What would you do differently?: Train more off the bike. Post race
Warm down: Nothing really. Got my medal, my transition stuff, and we headed back to our room in Key West. They had good food and snacks and apparently a good post-race party on the beach, but we didn't stick around. What limited your ability to perform faster: My running ability (lack of). Event comments: For a 1st year race, a huge well-done goes to the directors. Great job! Kinks weren't visible to racers (or at least to me). I'll be back in 2011...running 9 minute miles next time around. Last updated: 2010-12-07 12:00 AM
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United States
Stay Fit Studio
69F / 21C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 126/232
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 7/24
Nothing fancy- stayed downtown Key West (on Duval Street), so we drove to the Marriott, parked the car, and unloaded to go stake out my transition spot. I had my normal breafast snack items (I'm not a big pre-race freak when it comes to food...just enough to fuel, but I don't get crazy with it).My wave went off at 7:30, so we got there around 6:35. I didn't want too much time waiting around, but wanted 'just' enough to get a good spot and get on the trolly to the race start 1 mile down the Gulf. I did, however, end up not having space on my assigned rack, but the volunteer told me a could set up against the wall (transition was in the Marriott parking garage and I was almost up to the 2nd floor). The wall spot was a blessing in disguise as I ended up with plenty of my own space. A few others followed suit and set up in a similar fashion.
The trolly dropped us off at the Ibis Bay dock, which proved to be the perfect place to get in my wetsuit. I also changed my timing chip from the plastic band they gave us to my ankle road ID. Glad I did. Heard folks who lost theirs during the race b/c the plastic band snapped. They were letting us swim to the floating dock for the start about 500 yards down the way (but not required...some folks just walked down the sidewalk to the dock where they had 'helpers' get you down a wire grate when your wave was called). I'm really glad I took this opportunity because the water was a little cooler than I anticipated.