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 Swim
Comments: This swim felt good, but that's the problem. It felt too easy because I wasn't going hard enough! I can do better than this. Sighting was good, breathing fine, just not enough push. No crowding and clear water most of the trip. What would you do differently?: Swim faster. I know I can.  Transition 1
Comments: I didn't run up the hill to T1 because of my foot. To the spectators and other athletes, I must have just looked sad as I walked up. Trying to save the foot for the run, that's all. After that, I got my helmet, shoes, watch and glasses pretty quickly. What would you do differently?: Not much. This was fine.  Bike
Comments: I really wanted a good bike split and think I got it. I came out of the park and really hit the gas. Caught lots of people within the first 3 miles. Then started to settle in for a longish ride. There were a few hills that I shifted to the small ring for just to keep the cadence higher. Been trying to focus on that. Around mile 7, I got kind of crabby about being on the bike. Seriously? Ate a couple more of the Powergel gummy things (cola flavor) and tried to HTFU. Remember, this is a race. I just kept my pace steady and tried to enjoy the course. I did see a pair of sandhill cranes which was pretty cool. Near the end of the course, I noticed THE hill up ahead. There was a horse barn with a dressage show right before it; nice horses! Then it was time to pay attention to the hill. About 100 ft in front of me a guy just tipped over. He was probably trying to unclip but was going too slow. He just laid there with his bike in the air as I veered around him. It was a tough steep little hill. Back into the park in uneventful fashion. What would you do differently?: Not get crabby about racing. No idea what that was about. This was almost a bike PR for Olympic distance. PR was at Buffalo, a much easier course. In all, this was a good bike ride for me. Transition 2
Comments: Average T2. Not jumping off the bike with the bum foot, so kind of slow. Had to sit down for socks and shoes. I wore the "magic" Nike socks, which may have saved the day. What would you do differently?: Nothing here.  Run
Comments: My goal for the run was to finish and not hurt myself. I think I did both. Just walked the wood chip trail. It was too soft and uneven to run and I really didn't want to run it anyway. Once I got to the top, I started my little shuffle that I call running. Emily passed me within the first mile or so. Then I just tried to enjoy the fact that I was running and not in pain (yet?). Met a older gentleman around mile 2 and we ran the rest, chatting the whole way. He was 65 and is doing his first IM at Madison this Sept. We walked the uphills and kept a steady 11:40 pace for the run. Could I have gone faster? Maybe, but it was nice to have someone to pace with. What would you do differently?: Aside from not being hurt, nothing much else to do. Post race
Warm down: Avg HR- 156 Max HR- 174 My foot started hurting in the last mile, so it was pretty sore after I finished. I went and stood in the water to try to ease the pain a bit. Then found some food. Hey, they had Boca burgers! Nice! What limited your ability to perform faster: My damm left foot. And a huge lack of training. I have not been training like I should have been. I could list a bunch of lame excuses, but no need to. This was the least prepared I've ever gone into a race and it sucked. Guess this is why people train. Event comments: Nice race and a great campground. My goal is to come back in 2012 for the half, as was the plan for 2011. Now that I've scoped out the venue and the course, I'll be more confident about the longer distance. The bike course is a bit rolly, but nothing too awful. Last updated: 2011-06-11 12:00 AM
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United States
Final Stretch, Inc.
65F / 18C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 169/196
Age Group = 40-49
Age Group Rank = 15/20
Saturday races are hard, esp when the Friday before it is the last day of school. We were late leaving and had to go to REI and packet pickup before making it to the campground. We met up with Joe, Kris and Diana for dinner and it was nice to relax a bit and hang out. Of course, it started to rain when we were trying to set up the tent. Finally got everything set and went to bed. Some noisy neighbors, chilly temps and a restless dog made for little sleep. It rained again in the night and we woke to a damp cold. Lovely. Breakfast was the usual PB bagel and coffee; skipped the banana since it was really not a long race. I really race better with less food, so I've been trying to scale it back a bit.
Pretty much none. We walked down the famous wood chip trail to the race site and I found a decent rack spot by the fence. Then Emily showed up and parked next to me. Good to see a friendly face! Joe, Diana, Kris, Iain, Bobby and Bob were in another spot, all doing the half. I did manage to take the bike out to check the gears and then we were off to the lake. Swam a tiny bit and the water was pretty nice. Kind of clear and not as cold as I was expecting. Guess the 3 days of summer we had earlier in the week helped the lakes warm a bit.