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 Swim
Comments: The course was rectangular until the wind blew the buoys out. I asked the announcer if the course had grown since the pro wave, and he said probably, but just keep the buoys on the left. HA! When the pros went off, the boats were still moving the buoys back in to position, but I think by the time we went, they had given up. The course felt 200-300 yards longer than 2,200. The 30-34 ladies went behind two waves of 40-44 men all in yellow caps. The buoys going out were also yellow, so it made sighting kind of difficult to figure out what yellow to look at. Also, what is it with 40-44 year old men? They all seem to know exactly how to elbow the most sensitive spot on the bridge of my nose! I am normally pretty nice in the open water, but by the end I was running over people. I'll admit it. I was playing by old school water polo rules. The water was definitely warmer than the "official" water temp. Overall it was a nice swim. I wish everyone relying on wetsuits to get through the swim would let me use rollerblades on the run! What would you do differently?: Be more aggressive going out. I got way off course at the Irongirl Atlanta and I think I let that get in my head too much at Memphis in May and Kansas. I need to rely on instincts more.  Transition 1
Comments: I had the perfect spot in transition. I only had to run with my bike for maybe 20 feet. Since there was a slight incline going out of transition, I decided to run in my bike shoes. Plus, without having to deal with a wetsuit, my T-1 felt pretty smooth. I didn't use the transition bag and my goggles went missing, but oh well. What would you do differently?: Not look around so much running to my bike.  Bike
Comments: Hmmm... The first 30 miles felt right on pace. My computer quit working at mile .2, so I didn't have much to go on except for feeling. I took a Hammer gel at mile 20 and 40 and drank approximately 30 oz. of water and 12 of Heed. I used Hammer anti-fatigue and I thought I had Endurolytes, but they may have been anti-fatigue capsules too. I felt my quad cramp in the right leg early on, so I decided to granny gear the hills and work the descents and flats. The first little out and back had horrible road conditions. There was one strip of smooth black asphalt in the middle of the lane everyone was trying to ride on. I had to dig deep for some positive thoughts, but managed to get back on the smooth roads and was fine. It was pretty uneventful except for saving one girl from a drafting penalty. She was up on my wheel for maybe 3 miles. I heard the motorcycle and told her to pass me if she wanted to avoid a drafting penalty. Hopefully that gave me some good karma for my next race. I really wanted to have a 20 average, but I also wanted to be conservative on the hills for the run. What would you do differently?: Attacked the hills a bit more. I feel like I gave myself a mental excuse for not working the hills. Transition 2
Comments: As soon as I got off my bike, my right quad locked up. I decided to take my time in transition and give it a little stretch as I sprayed down with sunscreen. I walked through transition to the run out trying to get it to loosen up. I couldn't find my endurolytes. What would you do differently?: Maybe stretch a little more.  Run
Comments: Wow. I knew my leg was going to hurt, but it was like there was a baseball above my knee cap. I shuffled around for the first loop and tried to hydrate and eat pretzels. Pretzels were the magic fix in New Orleans, but they didn't do it for me here. I just got into a happy place and said, "ok, it's not a torn meniscus like Augusta, so have fun!" The second loop felt better, although I was walking more than I would have liked. The volunteers were so awesome and the atmosphere couldn't be better. It was fun to see everyone on the second loop and be able to tell them that was the last time they would see me. My goal was to run under 2 hours, which I can do. My overall goal time was 5:30, so if I would have hit my run, I would have made it. I'm a little disappointed with my run especially since I've been training so much, but it is what it is. Maybe someday I will crack the code for a good HIM run for me. Possibly the lack of salt led to the quad cramp? At least it wasn't a sidelining injury. I'll take a cramp over any more time in physical therapy! What would you do differently?: I don't know. Maybe that 5K the weekend before was a bad idea. Maybe riding the hills so hard on Saturday was a bad idea... Live and learn. Post race
Warm down: I gave Chrissie Wellington a big sweaty hug after she gave me a medal. I wish I a picture! She is amazing and a true champion. I was on such a high after that my cool down consisted of smiling and blabbering. I walked around for miles trying to find the beer tent. Oh wait, there wasn't one! The thought of a cold beer got me through the last six miles of the run! :) What limited your ability to perform faster: Being a crappy runner. Event comments: I wish I could take this swim and venue, Augusta's bike course, and New Orleans' run and post race party. That would be an awesome 70.3. Camping was a cool experience and if my husband and I haven't started a family by next year, I will definitely be back! (or I may be the pregnant person racing). I will definitely bring my own adult beverages next year. Last updated: 2011-06-14 12:00 AM
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
80F / 27C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 580/
Age Group = 30-34 W
Age Group Rank = 26/
Arrived in Lawrence on Friday with a flat tire right outside the toll booth on I-70. Changed the tire and re-routed the GPS for Walmart. Bought two new tires. Hoping that didn't foreshadow any bike tire issues. Checked-in and bought my husband a bike jersey. Saturday - Watched the Ironkids. Saw a bike wreck, but the kid was tough and finished the race. I got lost walking to the swim beach and ended up walking the rocky shore line for miles! Swam about 2,000 and got sun burnt. Got lost on the way back to the campsite, but had a good time. Decided to ride part of the bike course and probably worked the hills a little too hard. I felt a lingering cramp in my right quad from a 5K race the previous weekend. Found a cut in my front bike tire, so I bought a new tire at the expo before I checked my bike.
Went to bed around 9 PM Saturday night. There was something awesome about sleeping in the back of my Element at the race site. So fun!
Woke up at 4:30. The wind was blowing my car and I thought, "oh crap." Then I remembered I couldn't control the weather, so get over it. I walked half a mile to the bathrooms to brush my teeth and put on my new Speedo Tri-suit (all the way from the UK). I choked down a bagel and some coffee. Luckily the raccoons didn't get all my food. I walked to T-2 and set up my run stuff, then walked to T-1 to set up my bike stuff. I went to the bathroom - there was NO LINE! I couldn't believe it. Then I went and sat down in the parking lot to stretch. I was able to watch Chrissie and the pros in transition. This event had a real mellow vibe to it.