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 Swim
Comments: Ditched the flip flops, waded in, no pre-swim, separated quickly-good pace with a middle group, incredibly difficult sighting, on the straight away noticed several outliers off track, by mid point seeing people struggling, last turn straight into the sun, half swimmers joining in, It surprised me to see people standing up, I had very little idea were I was relative to others or where I was on the course the entire swim. rocky, muddy, difficult exit, have a nice laceration on my finger, heard a few cut themselves badly enough to DNF. Maybe dredge out this area before the race? Could improve the visibility. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I really enjoyed the swim. I kept distracted by the tress on the shoreline, really felt stretched out and stroking well despite being somewhat disorientated. No hypoxia or anxiety. Swam with folks who were swimming at the same pace most of the race.  Transition 1
Comments: As everybody else reports, long jog to T1 What would you do differently?: Not drip blood all over my handlebars  Bike
Comments: 4 or so miles into some hills I slowed down enough so that everyone could pass me. I'd like to think I helped many with motivation. " Catch that guy slowing on the hill" Wet socks make for cold feet, but overall very comfortable. Really great people out on the course. Bike computer decided to die at the start, but you know it only distracts from the scenery. The ride back was a blast! What would you do differently?: More time in the saddle leading up to the race. Tough to do in Southern Arizona in the summer. As I type it's approaching 90 at 7 AM. I have a 14 year old road bike. Any advancements lately that might warrant an upgrade? Transition 2
Comments: Didn't get my shoes unbuckled in time. Ended up on the mat with one shoe still clipped. Ran with one shoe on. Ran out wandering why my hat felt so heavy. Took a mile to realize I had left my headband on, now heavily soaked in sweat and water. Socks bunched up. Had to stop 50 feet from T2 to readjust. What would you do differently?: Anticipate earlier  Run
Comments: I started off feeling great. A little sore in the hips but was feeling that I could get in a slow but steady stride. 1st section slight downhill built my confidence up and then......... The hill totally crushed me. Most big men were walking. I walked nearly all the hill, but found my desire again on the return. Again feeling good, and then.... I ran out. Flat out ran out of leg muscle energy. totally bonked. Really crushed what had been a great experience for me. I hobbled in totally deflated. What would you do differently?: Lose 20 lbs, commit to run hills until I transform into something else. Post race
Warm down: Just wanted to leave. Did remember my flip flops What limited your ability to perform faster: Desert Heat prior to race Event comments: There is a flat and beautiful road to run on to cap a great race. Instead tradition has demanded that the weary triathletes suffer up a 1.5 mile 400 foot elevation gaining hill, changing the race from spectacular to miserable for many, even the very fit. Last updated: 2012-08-13 12:00 AM
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United States
Mountain Man Triathlon
Sunny
Overall Rank = 196/294
Age Group = Old but not Out
Age Group Rank = 15/20
The family joined me (thank you so much) for a drive up Saturday morning from Tucson. I had spent the week " tapering " Read, no workouts for 5 days; and "carbohydrate loading" Read, abandoned restraint in eating for a week. Had a suite so that the family could watch the Olympics in the next room, Had mac & cheese, obsessed with my gear one more time, went for a light jog on the NAU campus, soaked in the tub, slept well, woke up at 4AM to silence and a surprisingly calm & grateful demeanor, turned off the 4 alarm clocks, drank a strong coffee, sipped on a Hammer Perpetuem Latte, watched the sun rise.
Set-up casually, people watched. Sipped on CR333 half evil endurance fuel ( raspberry )At the last minute a late participant added his stuff, which crowded everyone, but there is always room for fellow triathletes right? Turned out not to be a problem. As I was in the middle of the rack and am big (both in height and girth) I couldn't keep my bike up from the saddle,so I spent the last minutes trying to figure it out. Used my sweat band to secure the saddle to the rail which worked well. Had issue with wetsuit staying zipped, some helpful dudes helped me out, walked with flip flops to the starting ramp