Swim
Comments: I got kicked in the head a couple times and had a hard time getting out of the crowds. It seemed more than any other race I've done this year I felt really crowded and that was frustrating. What would you do differently?: Practice being more aggressive and swim faster :) Transition 1
Comments: Overall I felt good about this. I did sit down but I don't think it cost me too much time. What would you do differently?: Apply chamois butter - this became evident during the bike! Bike
Comments: I didn't notice till I was out on the course but my right aero bar and pad were loose so I spent the whoel race dealing with that plus my grip tape on that aerobar was coming undone. It caused a LOT of pain in my arm shoulder and I think may have caused so issues with me compensating while changed my positioning. Definitely more pain and chafing than I've had on a 56 mile ride before. Also, I haven't done so much flat riding, not having the downhills to recover was something I wasn't used to. I stopped once to stretch and adjust my shoe and once for a teammate. A good pace for me but a frustrating ride. I did stay in my HR zones and held to the speed I planned so I was happy with that. Awesome cadence too - yay! What would you do differently?: In retrospect I should have stopped to fix my handlebar issue. I had the tools but really debated if it would be worth it - still not sure. I wish I hadn't had to stop - I don't regret stopping for the teammate though. Definitely wish I had applied chamois butter - lesson learned! Transition 2
Comments: Long run out of T2 which accounts for the longer time. Also had to do a pit stop. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I was well hydrated so I was happy I had to pee - if only I could learn to do it on the bike. Run
Comments: I saw this line of people as I was coming in finishing the bike and wondered what that was - when I got close enough I soon realized it was runners - but a lot of walkers. Oh my god I thought, it really does look like a death march. I tried running and went out too fast and was determined not to walk. But the heat and humidity really got to me. That and I found it very demotivating to see so many people walking. I ended up running from aid station to aid station - at each alk break I poured ice down my bra, drank fluids and tried to persevere. I took one gel but otherwise just liquids - not sure if that was the best idea but it was all I could toelrate. Definitely needed to drink more at each aid station. Seeing so many of my teammates definitely helped though and I acutally passed 4 on the run - that made me happy. Despite what I felt was a bad run I was really happy to make up so much time on people. Also we had one teammate who was on her bike cheering like craxy - that was awesome! What would you do differently?: Not sure other than taking in more fluids - though I took in 4 bottles on the bike. Or maybe more food. Or maybe more mental toughness. Or a combo. Post race
Warm down: I was exhausted. I downed a coke and water then a beer. No protein. Also should have taken an ice bath. Post-race food was limited till much later. Recovery needed some definite improvement! What limited your ability to perform faster: Heat and humidity. I put in the training just that the conditions were tough. It was my first half so overall nothing to complain about. Event comments: It was interesting - I spent so many months training for this I thought I would be more emotional. Instead I felt drained and now have kind of a letdown feeling. Normal I know. Just working on trying to be happy with what I accomplished instead of focusing on not making my time goal. There's always the next race! Last updated: 2011-01-25 12:00 AM
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United States
Columbia Triathlon Association
Sunny
Overall Rank = 940/2500
Age Group = W 30-34
Age Group Rank = 47/131
Stayed at the team house - was up at 4:15 ate a banana, double checked my gear. Drank some coffee. EFS and a PBJ later on. Got to transition, set everything up and double checked entrance/exits. Did some visualization.
Lots of trips to the porta-pot but no real warmup otherwise. Tried to stay calm and focus on having fun. At one point our wave got moved up 10 minutes then back to the original time - that was annoying. No real warmup otherwise.