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 Swim
Comments: Pretty good chop in the water made this a slow swim. Usually I settle in and find a draft. Getting tossed around by the waves made it difficult to hold my body position and find a draft, so no drafting for me. Plus, my brain was occupied with timing my breathing between waves, so there wasn't much processing capacity left to think of all the swim form cues. No worries -- it was a nice day for a swim. What would you do differently?: Not sure. I'm comfortable in waves, but I think my form deteriorates in choppy water. I probably should have tried harder to find a draft.  Transition 1
Comments: I didn't want to swim with my tri-top because the back pockets are a litle stretched out and I didn't want them to catch water. So I wrestled the top on in T1. And "wrestled" is exactly the right word. What would you do differently?: Buy a new tri-top with tighter fitting pockets so I can swim with it.  Bike
Comments: I love this bike course. Nice rolling scenic terrain. Pretty stiff South wind the entire time. To me, wind is a mental game more than a physical game, so I just tried to relax in aero position and not get tense about the wind. There were a few fast descents with strong gusty cross-winds that gave me a few nervous moments -- I reverted to one hand in aero and one hand on a bullhorn for stability. The last 10 miles or so was a nice tailwind. I had the very beginnings of quad and hamstring cramps at that point, so I eased off on the final climbs to hold off the cramps before the run. What would you do differently?: Maybe drink a little more water and take a salt pill or two on the bike. Also had I known the run was going to be so hot and that I would be walking parts of it to cool down, I would have gone harder on the bike and used my energy there. Transition 2
 Run
Comments: This is where the race got ugly. My run is usually a bit weak, and I've had some Achilles injuries I've been dealing with for a few years, so I didn't expect a fast run. But within the first mile I was completely overheated. It became a trudge from aid station to aid station. I spent most of the run alternating between thirsty and nauseous. Thankfully, a few salt pills completely eliminated my cramps, so my electrolytes were OK. The volunteers and crowd were AWESOME! What would you do differently?: Do some heat tolerance training before the race. I was completely unprepared for the heat. Post race
Warm down: I didn't do a warm-down, but I tried to do a cool-up sitting in the shade and drinking a LOT of water. What limited your ability to perform faster: Heat. Event comments: This race is very well organized, and the volunteers are fantastic! Last updated: 2012-06-12 12:00 AM
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
94F / 34C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 285/
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 28/
No taper for this race, but my training had been going well, and I had just finished an easy week, so I felt ready.
Woke around 4AM and had my usual pre-race breakfast of granola, banana, and cherry Hostess Fruit Pie. I stayed in the campground next to the start so the AM prep was leisurely and relaxed.
The walk to T1 and T2 was the warmup. I usually like to do a short swim warmup to acclimate to the water temperature and to get my heart rate up a bit, but that was not allowed here. It was a deep water start, so treading water was the warm-up. Water was perfect without a wetsuit, but with a cross-swim chop from the steady S wind.