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 Swim
Comments: Waited for the masses to start in front of me (I'm just not real crazy about swim contact) and sought out some clean water. Found it after hitting the gas to get past a few crooked swimmers who were in my path. Course was very well marked, many buoys so sighting was easy. Although for some reason I didn't sight as well right after making the first turn. Got kicked in the chest on the turn, just glad it wasn't my head or face. Water was a little gacky and visibility was nil, but I still enjoyed the swim. I liked how they had an inflatible light house (it didn't actually light, but was just very big and noticeable and easy to see) on the shore where the swim exit was. Swam until my hand hit bottom, then stood up and slogged/ran toward T1. Saw a guy taking pics right as I was making some terrible face...I really hope he didn't snap that pic, I'll be all over the internet! :/ What would you do differently?: Swim faster!  Transition 1
Comments: Path to T1 was through the woods: pine needles, 'gum balls' (sweet gum seed pods), sticks, roots, small stones. Careful! Wiped the grass and other crud off my feet, slipped on my bike shoes, helmet, number and sunglasses and was away with Rico for our ride. 116th What would you do differently?: Not much, I don't think. Maybe could've hustled a bit more getting my gear on.  Bike
Comments: The first part of the bike is the long road(s) out of Lums Pond State Park, complete with speedbumps which were mildly annoying. Delaware is flat, flat, flat, for those that may not know. Not much in the hill department. So it meant sitting the whole time and just going. And reminding myself that I was Cajun powered today (last night's pre-race meal), LOL!! I actually started getting a little bored and had to fight to keep my attention on what I was doing and not looking at the little spots on my aerobars (inner voice(s): oh, what's that on my aerobar? Infinit? I guess I should've cleaned the bars when I cleaned the rest of my bike. oh, I'll wipe it off now. no you won't! pay attention to what you are supposed to be doing, racing!!). Saw my new race official friend once on the back of a motorcycle, and saw my newbie friend and gave her a big cheer (course was a lollypop-ish out and back) while I was returning as she was going out at one of the points where bike traffic is going both ways. Overall happy with the bike. What would you do differently?: Maybe should've pushed a bit harder, would've liked to see my average speed be over 20 mph for this race. Corners and speed bumps were what cost me some time, and probably the occassions when I wasn't 100% focused. Still trying to find the right balance of pushing but not killing myself. And I guess I'm not really sure how I will know I found it. Transition 2
Comments: 170th One of these days I'm going to practice getting out of my shoes and hopping off for the dismount instead of stopping. Struggled with my socks more than I would've liked. What would you do differently?: IDK, had different socks?  Run
Comments: Legs didn't feel too bad at the very first but that eventually changed. They felt tight and unhappy, but the thing I battled more was my breathing. I just couldn't seem to get it under control even when I was going slower. Pace ended up being terrible even though my legs felt better at some point (miles weren't marked and I didn't have my Garmin on) and I could pick up a little speed. Loved the course, though. Went over a variety of surfaces, areas and conditions which I enjoyed, especially being in the woods. Grass/open field. Cinder/open field. Cinder/woods. Dirt/stones/mud/woods. Pine needles/woods. Paved road/woods. Dirt/overhanging shrubs creating a tunnel. Course was fairly well marked but there was one confusing point where a lot of people went the wrong way (not me, thankfully, but the guy who had just passed me). Of course I got passed by a lot of people. I was counting how many but was getting discouraged and frustrated so I stopped. Ugh. Was very happy to cross the finish line (got my name, home town and tri club announced, cool!) and get my medal. What would you do differently?: Run faster. By my estimation, if I could’ve held onto the 10:3x min/mi that I have been doing in training I would have been 12 or so places higher in the overall standings. Post race
Warm down: There was post-race food that looked great but I just can't eat when I'm done racing. Started talking to, coincidently, a woman from my same home area! Funny! Then she mentioned looking at the results, so we went over to the results tent where I was shocked to see the results being displayed basically real-time on large flat-screen TVs! The software they use for the timing and displaying the results was also showing total time, splits, and AG/division placement! I was very impressed! I was also very surprised to see I won 2nd in the Athena division, woooo!! Headed to transition to grab my stuff, took it to the car and changed into dry clothes, ahh! Milled about waiting for the awards to start and contemplated how I was going to get a pic. Answer: ask a random stranger, LOL! Shook hands with the 1st and 3rd place Athenas as we took to the podium (my first actual podium pose/shot in my life! The other races I did that I won placement didn't actually have podiums). I was stoked! All in all a good day, and a perfect day for racing, weather-wise. In the 70s, slightly overcast, not too humid. I was mostly happy with my results. Happiest with bike (but still would've liked to be faster), OK with swim (again, want to be faster) and least happy with my run, especially since I have been running more and making some gains. But like I said, my breathing was my limiter on the run. I just felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I don't know if it was my asthma kicking in in spite of my inhaler use or if it was bronchio spasms or what. What limited your ability to perform faster: The run and not being able to breathe. Event comments: It was an extremely well run, organized event with lots of nice amenities that surprised me at a sprint race. But then again, Piranha Sports race organization is very well-developed in the tri-state area and puts on quite a few events per year, so I imagine they should have it down pat! Profile Album Last updated: 2012-01-30 12:00 AM
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United States
Pirahna Sports
73F / 23C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 179/245
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 2/6
Awoke to the dilemma of what to eat. I learned late last night that my sister and BIL who I was staying with have zero breakfast food that I typically eat pre-race because they are on a low-carb kick. Ugh, what a dummy, I should've brought something of my own but I thought they would have some food item I could eat. Nope. Grabbed a string cheese and ate a Stinger waffle. Ah, the breakfast of champions! Loaded Rico (my bike) and my bag and hit the road. I guess seester and BIL didn't have any interest in coming along, and I guess I don't blame them for not wanting to get up early and watch a bunch of people carry on in tight-fitting clothes!
Got to the race in good time and there was plenty of parking. RD was announcing important info over the loudspeakers which was very helpful with figuring out where to go, what to do, water temp (81), etc. Picked up my registration packet and goodie bag and went to get my timing chip, at which point I was asked to get on a scale to prove I was fat enough to register Athena (this is the first race I did that weighing in was manditory for Clydes/Athenas). Once they saw I was solidly in the category I was given a timing chip/strap and sent on my way. After getting marked, I took my goodies back to the car, got Rico and the rest of my stuff and went to transition to get set up.
The spots were pre-determined which made life much easier. I got a good spot on the outside edge. Chatted a little with the folks around me, discovered that the girl to my left was doing her first tri ever and lost 50 lbs. on her path to multisport. Very cool! I congratulated her on her accomplishments and wished her luck. Walked down to see the lake and do my ritual of scoping out exactly where I need to go for ins and outs for each leg. Well-marked and straightforward.
Met up with a triathlete from my area that I knew from a tri club Facebook forum but never met until today. He was planning on racing but at the last minute was asked to be head USAT official instead (he, obviously, is qualified). Good person to know, and I was glad to meet him, very nice. Next: National Anthem. Ate another Stinger waffle. Waited for du to start, then the males, then, finally, the females.
Not too much of one. Swung arms around, shook legs to get blood moving pre-swim.