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 Swim
Comments: High hopes here after last week, I was actually pretty pumped. But ended up a lousy swim. I could barely keep my head in the water, I went anaerobic early, and never really recovered, never got back in sync. Spent most of the event dog paddling. Still finished better than I normally do in relation to the overall field. What would you do differently?: No clue. Half psychological and half physical here. Did pretty well the first 100 yards then fell apart.  Transition 1
Comments: Wetsuit came off easy again. But I was so winded I intentionally moved kind of slow through T1. What would you do differently?: Have a better, more relaxed swim!  Bike
Comments: Pretty good bike overall, did better than I did at the Du in April. Power meter gave off reasonable ratings throughout; I kept it around 160-170 NP throughout. Coming back into the park, downhill and fast, lots of curves, I actually hit a speed barrier. Saw it at the last minute and came up off the saddle, otherwise I might've had trouble walking afterwards. Spare gel went flying, along with spare tubes and tire irons that were in my (unzipped) saddle bag. Amazing the tires didn't go flat, because I hit that bump hard. What would you do differently?: Push even harder, I suppose, although I felt like I went as hard as I reasonably could without totally screwing up the run. Transition 2
Comments: Lost a little time here because I ran down the wrong lane once I got into transition. Had to do a U-turn at the end of that lane and run back to my spot. What would you do differently?: Well, I suppose going down the right lane might've saved 10-15 seconds or so.  Run
Comments: Overall decent run for me, so pretty pleased. As short as it was I pushed it pretty good. Had hoped for a little better, but I'm not going to complain on the results. What would you do differently?: Maybe skip the drink station and save the brief walk through it (took about 20 seconds). Post race
Warm down: Grabbed some water and walked around with TSW. We didn't stick around long. I grabbed a granola bar and then packed up...the Keystone Diner in Doylestown - and their cornmeal pancakes - awaited. What limited your ability to perform faster: Swim issues and transition were the primary factors. I was really excited about this swim, so to have it go off the way it did was very disappointing. Event comments: Despite the organization, closed bike course, number of volunteers, and everything else that Piranha does so well, I'm only rating this as average because of the "Tattoo Experiment" and Transition Area issues. I think the tattoos for race numbers and age groupings have that sort of Ironman "cool factor", but they sure did add stress to the pre-race set-up. Only one of mine actually worked (and took a lot of scrubbing by TSW to remove), and they left me woefully short of time to get set up in transition. Regarding the Transition area...might be something they should revisit and rethink in upcoming years. There's a small, steep climb coming into T1 after exiting the swim, which was an annoyance. But the bike mount is the real issue. The bike mount line is maybe 15-30 feet after exiting T1, and you have to mount on a grade that makes clipping in an adventure. I actually wandered off into the grass, with one foot in and one foot trying to find the pedal...very uncomfortable, and others around me were struggling too. Last updated: 2014-05-31 12:00 AM
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United States
Piranha Sports
53F / 12C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 161/282
Age Group = 55-59
Age Group Rank = 12/16
Following the gold standard here: up at 4:30, pre-race smoothie (Pom, banana, and peaches), bagel with almond butter. Then relaxing while I eat and thinking about the race. We were up and out pretty much right on time.
No warm-up, save for a bit of swimming just prior to getting started. There was barely time to set up transition after standing in line for a race packet and chip. Piranha introduced race tattoos this year for arm and calf marking, and let's just say, from this racer's perspective, they were not a good idea, actually added to pre-race stress trying to figure out how to make the damn things work. Definitely a cool idea - adds a bit of Ironman-type flair - but when you're trying to get set up and organized and you've suddenly got to figure out how to transfer a decal to your skin, all while listening to the race director call for the closing of transition for the pre-race meeting...well, I'd rather just have somebody with a Sharpie scribble the pertinent onto calf and upper arm.