Swim
Comments: I felt winded early on, probably around 200 yards out. The waves were picking us up and dropping us down. It was a tough swim, luckily it was also a short one. I didnt sight very well and found myself swimming to the left and right of the markers. There was alot of contact with the other swimmers. Mostly I was run over by the faster guys. After I passed the 600 yard marker I saw the yellow squiggley man. SOMEHOW I managed to make a right turn and headed for the start pier. I looked up to sight and saw a sea of yellow swim caps waiting to start. I looked to my left and saw MY GROUP all trying to climb up the ladder and out of the water. IDIOT. I turned and swam to my finish. What a bad swim. What would you do differently?: I would correct everything I mentioned above. Transition 1
Comments: I ran to the transition. Maria was running next to me cheering me on, THAT energized me. I had alot of butt'r on my ankles so my wetsuit came right off. I did take a moment to put on my garmin, helmet, sunglasses, bike shoes and off I ran. I ranked 11th in AG and 82 overall. What would you do differently?: nothing, I had a pretty good transition. Bike
Comments: I pushed it hard. I have not really been on my bike much since Florida so my quads were not too happy with me. The headwind slowed me to about 19mph and the tailwind pushed me up to 26. I didnt play around with nutrition or electrolytes. I kept the aero bottle on the bike and had it about half full. I dont think the ba-bumps are as bad on this side of the road as the are on the other (meaning the people doing the half yesterday were launching water bottles because they were going north and Im going south). What would you do differently?: nada Transition 2
Comments: About a quarter mile from the finish I pulled my feet out of my shoes. I was able to do the dismount without killing myself and ran my bike into transition. I went to the wrong side of my rack and became confused as too where my spot was. This cost me a good 5-10 seconds. I found it and racked the bike. Off with the helmet and on with the running shoes. I grabbed the race belt and visor and ran out of there. I ranked 7th in AG and 63 overall. What would you do differently?: I guess try not to get lost in T2. I did see where someone made a arrow to their bike on the grass with baby powder (way to think outside the box). Run
Comments: I had a hard time letting myself slow down. I was at a good pace (for me) and my legs wanted to slow, but I thought of how Maria couldnt run today, and how crushed she was. She motivated me to run hard. There was an aid station at 1/2 mile, 1 mile, and 1.5 miles. Each one I ran past I grabbed a cup of water and took a single drink. I got to see several warriors on the run, most were way ahead of me. There were several guys walking, always guys, never girls. I came back out to the main road and with a quarter mile to go I ran hard. I ran hard through to the finish line where Maria was there to greet me. What would you do differently?: nada Post race
Warm down: I had 2 hot dogs and some chips. We mingled with the other tri-warriors and hung out. It was a great event. Afterwards we all went out to the mexican place and ate lunch. What limited your ability to perform faster: not swimming well was the only BIG thing. Event comments: Setup Events does a great job with their races. I compare all others to them (except IRONMAN) as they set the bar. I hated it that my girfriend could not race this day but I was glad that she still wanted to come out. Last updated: 2012-01-16 12:00 AM
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United States
Set Up Events
68F / 20C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 113/378
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 17/43
I got up at about 4AM and fed my Golden Retriever. I picked up Maria at 5 and we arrived at white lake about 6:15. We got there early enough to snatch a parking spot inside the FFA grounds. Since the swim start wasnt until 8:24 I had plenty of time to mingle with the many tri-club members that were there. My transition area was very basic and I planned on giving it my all. Too bad I have not swam in the last three weeks. This ought to be interesting.
The two hours of walking around helped some and I figure I will warm up in the water.