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 Swim
Comments: Dave and I started together this morning. We were both pooped, but it was great to start the adventure of the last day with him just like IMFL. :) Whooo Hoooo! A new pr at this distance, by 3 minutes! :) Lap one was pretty uneventful other than the last portion was cold...the sun wasn't on that part of the lake yet and you could feel the difference. Lap 2 was no issues at all and the sun warmed up that last section that was chilly to me. I tend to find my groove on longer swims and just stay there and the good news to me was my groove was a tad faster than I've ever had in a race of this distance. Can I just say Whooo Hooo once more!!! What would you do differently?: Not much. My sighting was decent, and for being tired, I am very pleased with this swim!!!  Transition 1
Comments: Damn, I was so tired. I knew it was going to be a long day and I just didn't care about being fast. At all. Seriously. At all. What would you do differently?: I should have actually tried to work on t1 skills. I soooo didn't.  Bike
Comments: Holy crap. Another tough ride. I met Jami on loop one during a nasty climb grinding away...and finally settled into a groove. I made it back to the transition area to grab my bottle and Steve was waiting there...he'd decided to pull the plug after one loop (itb issues!) he held my bike for me when I hit the porta potty, put more sunscreen on my neck and shoulders and sent me on my way (an angel in transition, he was). I think I climbed a bit better on the second lap (until the end of lap two...was getting fatigued) and actually enjoyed this half of the bike. Until it dawned on me I still had to run. I am most happy on my bike, and while I was fatigued, and challenged, this was my favorite part of the race. What would you do differently?: Well, if I was racing, it would have been a very different day. I really just wanted to survive the hills and be safe. I did that...I got lots of climbing in, surprised myself that I could actually ride this course and I am hoping all that climbing will pay off in spades come Placid. If I race TTT again, I'd try and amp up the second lap to improve my time. Transition 2
Comments: Tired tired tired. Hot hot hot. Tired Hot. That about sums it up. Felt good to get off the bike, but that run....oy. Not too horrible, but certainly not speedy. Did I mention I was tired, and hot? :) What would you do differently?: Speed it up if I was racing. Always room for me to improve in T1 and T2.  Run
Comments: Holy crap! I was right to dread this run. I walked a LOT! It was pretty damn hot out there, the hills surely had grown overnight and my quads were bitchy. I ran as much as I could. My plan was to keep my hr about my IM hr-150. That was very easy to spike on all the hills, so I just kept walking when need be. One chick freaked when she came across a BIG snake crossing the trail, and the horseflies were happy to munch on us stinky runners. I peed at the first turnaround, saw Steve (fresh, clean, showered and smiling, the bum) and was so happy to be on the FINAL lap! I met a nice guy from Cleveland and we walked together (too long I'm afraid) for about 15 minutes. I saw Marie twice (my hero!) Mindy, Eric, the Speedypants couple and my new friends from my rack, my roomies Bonnie and Paul and of course Ranger. He caught me at mile 10 and we finished this beast together. I just love racing and training with Dave. He and I bring out good stuff in each other, and it's been such an honor to be inspired by him for three years now! We saw people being taken off the course, teammates looking like shit, still working together to get it done, and lots of other folks out to put the TTT to bed, along with racers just in it for the half. We finished that last mile in a steady run, and crossed the finish line together holding hands. What a fantastic way to finish this crazy crazy hard weekend of training!!! I am a very blessed girl to have shared the experience with two of my very close friends and training partners Dave and Steve. Very blessed indeed! What would you do differently?: Run more and walk less. Not have been so chatty with the nice Mr. Cleveland. :) Considering my motivation for the weekend (hill experience and confidence boosting) not too much. My quads were trashed by the end of this last run, so it's not like I was sandbagging a ton. I WILL hill train and trail run to improve on the run. :) Post race
Warm down: Muscle milk and headed straight for the fantastic, amazing, wonderful Turkey Creek icebath to submerge the toasted sticks in icy cold water. Smiled from ear to ear. Survived!!! I also did get a massage after the river that was FANTASTIC! Best thing ever!!!! I had no idea my glutes were so angry! :) A BIG thanks to the bestest chauffeur EVAH, Steve for riding up that damn hill every day after the race to get the van and pick Dave and I up with our gear and bikes. I felt sooo bad for all folks that had to ride back up to the lodge after those races! What limited your ability to perform faster: lack of hill training, no running on trails. I'm a slow runner! :) Event comments: Other than the fact that some aid stations ran out of cups/water (it was too hot for that to go down) the race directors did a great job over the weekend. Lots of food, massage available after every race, and being on time with everything. Damn, that was tough tough tough. I am so amazed at those who actually RACED this thing. I kept thinking on the bike...holy shit...Ryan and Alaina and Marie are RACING! Oy! I am very proud of myself for managing this weekend. I really was scared after the first race tour of the hills Steve took us on of not being able to complete it, doing something stupid and getting hurt, or (gasp) having to walk Fiona up hills at some point. I was very cautious on the downhills, didn't kill myself pace wise (never a problem for me really) and managed a couple pr's on the swim. Considering I slept like crap all weekend, that equals success to me! It was great to be at the awards dinner with Badass Co-ed defending champs Ryan and Alaina, and to see Marie get her award for 3 OA female! And to watch the rest of the crazy racers get their awards, most of whom had the IM stick up the butt walk going on! :) Overall, this was one hell of an experience. The vibe is great...everybody wearing the same jersey all weekend, hanging in the river after the races, getting to know your rack mates (and yes, I made a facebook friend or two) cheering your new friends, as well as the old on out on the course, and just enjoying the challenge of the weekend, whether it be to survive or win! Awesomeness. I dare say I will be in for this again. Last updated: 2011-01-17 12:00 AM
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United States
HFP Racing
85F / 29C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 216/350
Age Group = 40-49
Age Group Rank = 0/19
I was planning on getting up later but my roomies were up and at it at 5:15. Ugh. Had yet another crappy nights sleep too. Ate the usual, put on the grungy tri top and went to get the guys at 6. I think they were in shock that I was ready to go before them. :)
Riding down the hill from the lodge to transition. Goodness, it's hard to describe the lack of desire to race at this point. I was tired, the water was still cold, and I really was dreading the run at the end of the race. Looking around me I was not the only person feeling this way...everybody was slow moving (except those folks who were truly racing like the SpeedyPants Couple and Marie) and really didn't seem to care...just like me!