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 Swim
Comments: As anyone who looks at my blog knows I have been sick coming into this race. Lots of coughing and congestion. I took a decongestant race day but right as we got into the water I started having a coughing fit. Like almost throwing up coughing fit. I never puke so it threw me a little. This was to be nothing more than a catered training day due to my illness the week before the race. Anyway, only 59 people in my age group. WTF? There used to be like 300. Nice to not be in a beat down I guess. Plan was to go an easy pace and not let my HR get out of control and not cough. This was pretty piss poor for me but I did take it easy for sure. The course is bizzarre. You swim along the beach then go out deeper then across then in. It felt like I was fighting to get out and across. Most people agreed. OK Now I looked at the race results and only 6 people out of 59 went under 30 minutes so I feel less bad about the whole thing. I certainly didn't feel like 35 minutes. Oh well I guess that is what I get for sketchy swim training at best. What would you do differently?: Swim more :)  Transition 1
Comments: This went pretty well. Wetsuit off helmet and glasses on, off I go. Had shoes on the bike. What would you do differently?: This was good. I really did have primo rack spot. We had light, it was in the middle and towards the bike out.  Bike
Comments: So, once again due to illness, the goal was to treat it as a catered training day and not let my HR get too high and start a coughing fit. I am pleased as can be with this. Its really hard to keep my ego out of the equation on the bike. If I started getting winded I backed off and kept telling myself to back off. If I had any chance of doing any running at all I needed to keep this easy. I was VERY conservative. I drank all of my 40oz of skratch I had. I ran out about 4-5 miles from the end of the bike. Turns out my bike computer is off....its short. I tried to enjoy the course and not get too caught up in it all. What would you do differently?: I played this perfectly. Ultimately it would be preferable to not be sick the 10 days leading into the race. Transition 2
Comments: Well during my bike ride about St. Petersburg (I can't claim to have tried to 'race' it) I decided to not take my feet out of my shoes like I usually do because I didn't want my feet dirty for the run. Thing is that the 20 yards in front of the transition area was ankle deep sand. Also you dismount on bricks.....yeah not so good for walking in bike shoes. Seriously slippery. I walked CAREFULLY across the bricks, limped across the sand carrying my bike then continued to limp into transition. My bad ankle did NOT like walking in bike shoes. At all. Got to my spot and took my bike shoes off then toweled my feet off, socks and shoes on, hat and race belt on, ate a gel and off I go. What would you do differently?: I don't know what the correct shoe decision is. I really struggled in the bike shoes but I was glad to not be barefoot in that giant sand pit outside of transition  Run
Comments: Yeah I knew this was going to be a suckfest. Friday I could not go up a flight of stairs without getting winded. Had not run in 2 weeks. It actually did not start as a disaster. I started on a 4:1. I took a bottle of Skratch with me. I think I mad e the first mile marker in 12:xx and I was shocked. I dropped to a 3:1 by then. Walked over the bridge and ran down it. I wen tover the bridge and someone says "You are run walking I am following you" Then she says OMG SUE OTT!!! Turns out it was a friend from Plant City named Jackie. She has a lot of energy :) She would not leave me. This would have been a lot worse without her. She told me her husband had died in february from a brain tumor and got me up to date on all the PC folks. There were some people on the course giving out beer so I had some and that made her laugh. turn around and go back, got some more beer, Jackie played hopscotch, we yelled at Sarah Haskins dad (He had "Sarah Haskins Dad printed on the ass of his tri suit thus inviting us to yell at him) Last mile I saw Missy Daly and yelled for her. I didn't really get winded til the last mile. Good times. My feet were really hurting and so was my ankle. To be honest those shoes are probably dead but the best pair I have right now What would you do differently?: Not be sick, run more, get thinner Post race
Warm down: Got a cool towel and the coolest medal ever. Sat a bit then because Jackie et all had gotten VIP passes they gave me one and we went in the VIP tent. Really nothing looked appetizing so I had 2 beers :) Saw Michellie Jones and her new hubby after the race and chatted with her a bit. Too cool :) What limited your ability to perform faster: Being sick, bad feet, too fat, not enough training although I thought I had turned t around until I got sick Event comments: I will always hold this race in a special place. Lots of memories. Always well done and world class. Last updated: 2013-11-23 12:00 AM
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United States
5150 Triathlon Series
88F / 31C
Sunny
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 46/59
I have a soft place in my heart for this race. It was the site of the first big BT get together in 2005. So many friends. Good times. Gone of are the days of those big get togethers I guess. I went over friday to pick up my packet to avoid lines and do the expo thing without it being too crowded. I got some new Newtons. I was not sure which new model corresponded to the ones I like. Can't wait to try them. The Childrens Tumor Foundation had a booth and they gave me a hat and a new tri top to wear so YAY!!! I met up with Missy Daly and her friend Martha and we went and had a cold one in the hotel bar and then to dinner. It was late by the time I got home (for me) and the puddies were NOT happy that their dinner was delayed!!! Saturday I met my buddy Tom and we went to lunch then dropped our bikes off and had a little swim. I went home and just hung out with the cats and made myself some dinner. To bed early for a 4am wake up!!
I made some muffins or breakfast the night before and gathered my bottles etc. I actually woke up at 3:40 and just got going. I have never done this race from home before and I was nervous about finding parking. I got in a great garage the day before and parked there again. Gather my stuff and schleped the 1/2 mile to transition. Body marked and got my stuff set up. There were lots of nice women in my age group. Se just chatted and gabbed. Tom came and used my bike pump. I left him with his tri protegee and used the porta potty and sat in a chair to get my wetsuit on. No pesky sand.
I walked over to the swim start and found a place to sit. I drank some skatch as I waited watching the sun come up and thinking wistfully of Christine who loved this race and of Terri who loved a good sunrise. It was quite beautiful on this particular sunday. For some reason they put the old ladies in at 7:10 this year for which I am grateful.
Walking to the venue :)