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 Swim
Comments: Coming into this race I had fears of hyperventilating in teh swim like my last race. I also had to grab a kayak in the very beginning and thoughts of quitting ran through my mind. Some of this was because I was in the front of the pack at teh start in my last race. So I knew that I would allow all the swimmers to start once the shot went off, then I would begin my swim. And this helped me mentally in this race. I started out slow like I normally do, allowing everyone to get going. I worked into my stroke and just focused on my breathing. And to my surprise I had no hyperventilation or needing to grab onto a kayak. I even passed a few swimmers in the beginning which defiinitely helped my confidence. Once I rounded that second buoy into the longest part of teh swim I felt good albeit I was getting passed by the wave start after me. But I learned to not let that bother me and just went about my business. I had one minor feeling of nervousness about halfway through the swim so I just slowed down and allowed myself to recoup, then went back at it. I know that I am not a great swimmer and I just let my body take my as fast as it would go. All in all I was the second to last in my age group, but I improved on my swim by 10 minutes which I am VERY proud of. I am certainly focusing on improving my swim in the winter months. What would you do differently?: I was happy with my start and happy with my swim. This was only my third open water swim and I was fairly happy overall. I didn't have to stop and finished with a better time then my last race. I need to improve on my stroke and just keep practicing.  Transition 1
Comments: I was feeling great after the swim heading into T1. There was about a 30 second jog up a hill to get to my bike which wasnt fun, but I felt strong so I just went all out. Got to my bike, got my suit off and packed into the bag supplied by the race committee and got my socks, race belt and helmet on. Grabbed my bike and jogged out of T1. Surprisingly the shoes clipped right in and off I went. What would you do differently?: Was happy with my transition, need to work on getting the suit off my ankles faster though  Bike
Comments: Once I got on the bike, the climb out of boulder beach awaited me. Thankfully I have rode that hill plenty of times and I knew how to pace myself. I felt strong and set a great pace that allowed me to pass by most of the people ahead of me. Once I turned right onto Lakeshore I tucked into the aero position to enjoy the slight downhill and then got into bike mode. There were lost of people out on the course and I knew it was going to be a fun bike ride. I focused on conserving my legs for the big hill at the end and made sure I sipped on my EnduroxR4 drink periodically to get some gylogen back into my muscles. I kept a good pace and actually worked into a small pack for a little while. I remember thinking to myself "so this is what its like to be in real triathlon bike leg!" I had fun switching spots with those in the pack and leading the group for a short while. Once we got out of the park onto the bike path I felt good and enjoyed having the new cassette that Mark put on my bike. The only mistake I made was heading out onto the road at the end of the path which was off the course! I was looking around and didn't see any racers, took a look to my right and saw everyone in the water channel! I had to turn around and get back on the course, maybe lost 30 second or so. Nothing big though. Once I reached the "big" hill pushed hard, stayed on the bike and got out of the saddle for some of it. I remember seeing a spectator near the top of the climb and he looked at me, I looked back and laughed. He then said, "and you paid to be out here!" That made me laugh and push me through the rest of the hill to T2. What would you do differently?: Make sure I know the course path! Need to work on pushing a little harder on the hills. Overall I was happy again. Transition 2
Comments: Once i got into T2 i recited my mantra that I had figured out early in the morning: 4th trash can to the right. Thank goodness I had figured this out because I was so amped getting into T2 that I almost passed right by my T2 spot! Got my bike into the rack, helmet off, nutrition into place, shoes on , visor on and off I went. What would you do differently?: Get elastic laces so I can slip my shoes on instead of tying them. Overall happy, just need to get faster.  Run
Comments: Exiting T2 I felt strong after the bike and was really excited to get my strength in triathlon: the run. I headed out of town with a plan in place: first mile or so let my running legs come to me, second portion keep a 9 min/mil pace and the last mile push it hard at 8 min/mil pace heading home. I stuck to my plan fairly well, I kept a good pace and battled through a few spots where my body wanted to walk. I did walk through the aid stations where I dumped water over my head and down my tri-suit to cool off. After each aid station I was revitalized and felt great. I lost my shotblocks about half way through the race but to be honest I dont think that they make a difference anyways. I drank my enduroxR4 drink as needed and took a few sips of cola. My next race I am going to try to run with out these items and rely on the aid stations. I'm hoping that this will help my time. For the last mile I picked up the pace and at times felt like slowing down. But i reminded myself that I would regret it later if I didnt push it hard. Overall I was happy with my run. What would you do differently?: Need to start out stronger and keep a better pace. I cant be scared to push hard throughout the 6 miles. I have run this distance plenty of times and I know that I can get my time below 50:00. Post race
Warm down: not much here, I drank the water they gave me at the finish line and also drank my gatorade recovery drink. What limited your ability to perform faster: This was a hilly bike course so I was expecting my time to be slower then usually. Overall I was happy with my second Oly distance race. I have a ways to go but I am getting better with each race. That is whats most important! Event comments: This would have easily been a 5 star race. The hang up was that they told us they would bring the bag from T1 to T2, which they did. But I waited almost an hour for my bag to show up. Then there was more waiting while the truck was unloaded and they had to sort through hundreds of bags. I was one of the few to actually help the volunteers unload the truck while everyone else watched us and bitched about not having their bag Pictures: http://www.zazoosh.com/members/viewGallery/6062 Last updated: 2011-05-06 12:00 AM
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United States
BBSC Endurance Sports
75F / 24C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 239/377
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 20/29
Normal routine, up around 3:30am. Tried to get down some calories through cliffbar, ensure plus drink, vegetable juice, banana and of course an espresso to make sure I get to the bathroom before I leave. I packed the truck the night before so I basically jumped in the truck and headed to the race.
I arrived just a little after 5am at which time T2 opened in Boulder City. I got my run gear set up(shoes, visor, towel, shotblock, EnduroxR4 drink and coke/water mix. Since this was a point to point transition I had the option to drive my truck to Boulder Beach and unload my gear for the swim, T1 and the bike. Or I could ride my bike from boulder city to boulder beach(about 15 miles) with my swim and bike gear on my back so I wouldn't have to ride my bike back to boulder beach after the race to get my truck. I decided to ride my bike in the early morning hours to boulder beach. And while I appreciated walking about 3 minutes to my truck after the race instead of riding my bike back to boulder beach, the ride was not so fun. I didn't have a light on my bike so I rode through the desert by the moonlight on a winding path where a coyote could have grabbed me and no one would have known until the first racer rode by on their bike! I wasted some valuable energy as well. But once I got to T1 i had at least an hour before the race began, so I found a place away from the commotion and put on my iPod and stretched, as well as mentally prepped myself for the race. I tried to visualize myself on the swim doing well and not hyperventilating like my last race. This certainly paid off as you will read in my account of the swim.