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 Swim
Comments: This had to be the second roughest swim of my race career (the Kona washing machine being the worst). We had choppy waves and what felt like a strong current. I struggled to get to the first buoy. It was hard sighting because you couldn't see over the waves. My group quickly spread out. After rounding the first buoy, there was tremendous sun glare. I couldn't see a thing and had no idea which way to swim. I treaded water and yelled to the guys in the boat asking them which way to swim. They pointed. I guessed at the direction. It really messed me up because I kept stopping, treading water, and trying to figure out where to go. Somehow, I found another orange buoy, which meant I was on course. Once around the next turn buoy, things got better. After the last buoy, I thought I was in the clear. That was when I ran into the barbwire-like weeds. At first I thought it was real barbed wire. I yanked it off of my face. Then my arms were getting stuck in the weeds below. I tried to swim on the surface and not dig too deeply. I was never so happy to get out of that water! What would you do differently?: I haven't a clue how I could've improved the swim. It just sucked.  Transition 1
Comments: I thought I'd have a problem finding my bike, but with Bob standing by the fence near my spot, it was easy. I didn't have to worry about being between the 6th and 7th flags. BTW, some woman had put duck tape across the isle on the grass by her spot. Very clever idea! I had a heck of a time removing my wetsuit.  Bike
Comments: The bike course was hilly. People passed me and passed me. There were a lot of USAT officials on the course but I didn't have to worry. I didn't stand a chance of drafting off of anyone. And just as I was feeling like I wasn't even racing, my chain fell off on a hill. I was pretty disgusted. That's when I told myself to just try and enjoy the rest of the race and stop worrying about my placement. What would you do differently?: I definitely have to train more. There is no question about why I do so poorly on the bike. Transition 2
Comments: I changed my socks in transition. I don't like to run with soaking wet socks. I figured I was here for the "enjoyment(?)" so I took my time.  Run
Comments: The run started out with a gigantic hill. I never train on hills. I knew it was going to be tough. And tough it was! I kept asking the spectators to give me a push. One guy said he'd run with me. He kept encouraging me and told me I'd recover fast once I got to the top. He was a big help. Once I got over that hurdle, the miles seemed to click by fast. I passed 14 women from my wave. About 5 of them (maybe more) were from the 60+ age group. I couldn't believe so many were ahead of me. Post race
Warm down: I was quite anxious to get over to the results tent. I thought that I had to be about 10th. Was I ever surprised to find out I was 27th. TWENTY-SEVENTH!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. Where did all of those fast old ladies come from? They were very stingy with the post-race food. They handed everything out in limited quantities. You got a small portion of chicken or ground meat in your wrap (if you wanted meat). The nacho chips were the best part. I guess it was the salt that tasted good. We headed back to the hotel for a shower and then came back to pick up my bike and stuff from transition. That was a 2-hour evolution with the traffic. We were extremely happy that the Hampton allowed us a 2-hour later checkout. Event comments: I was 607 out of 850 women finishers. Granted, this was the national age group championship. It's just a hard nut to swallow. Very humbling. I ran into the AquaPhor Guy that I see at all the DQ races. He asked how I did and said he knew he wouldn't make top 25 in his age group. He told me not to feel badly about being 27th. Wendy was 56th in her age group out of 113 and she's really good (2:39:26). Last updated: 2012-05-30 12:00 AM
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United States
USA Triathlon
Overall Rank = 1642/1988
Age Group = W55-59
Age Group Rank = 27/52
Bob and I decided that we should head over to Burlington really early since we expected parking to be tight. We left the Hampton Inn at 4:48 a.m. and arrived about 5:00 a.m. for a 7:30 start. We parked in the lot right near the start for $5. We figured we would most likely have to pay anywhere we parked.
As it turned out, Liz Carroll was parked right next to us. I couldn't believe it. I chatted a few seconds and she took off to meet her friends. I sat in the car trying to eat my oatmeal. I was so nervous for this race. I felt like I was out of my league with 60 women in my age group--more than I've ever had in an event in 31 years.
I then headed over to transition fretting about not being allowed to use my crate. (I had inquired about using a crate at registration and they said absolutely not--only race essentials were allowed in transition.) How was I going to put my shoes on without sitting down?
I was racked right next to Susan Wharton, who did not remember meeting me at Eagleman. She asked me my name and where I was from. One of her friends walked up and I recognized him as someone I see at the Stockton coffee place where we stop on our mt. bike rides in the winter.
I saw a guy on the next rack over with a camp stool. I asked if he thought that was legal and he said the race officials authorized it. How could that be any different than my crate? One of the 60+ men on the other side of my rack commented that he saw a guy with a crate a ways down the rack. That was enough for me; I sent Bob back to the car for my crate. He handed it over the fence to me and I placed it next to my bike. No one said a word...and I was happy.
I saw a guy wearing a piece of clear packing tape on the back of his neck. I asked if that was to prevent chafing. He said it was and offered me a piece. I stuck it on my neck but it quickly started to annoy me. I should've persevered because I ended up with the biggest wetsuit rash that I have ever had. It still hurts 2 days later.
We had to check our tri bags on the way to the swim start. I contemplated giving mine to Bob to hold but he said it would be easier just to check it. (That decision ended up being a big mistake. It took at least 20 minutes of waiting in line after the race to retrieve it.)
We were allowed to jump into the water for a 3 minute warmup before they called us to the starting line. I took advantage of that.