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 Swim
Comments: Started with Shannon, Joyce, Dana, Jen. We let the real crazies start and took a few deep breaths before going in. Some people complained that they were pummeled and bothered during the race. I really had no issues in that regard - maybe the swim at Pike Lake had me well prepared for this! There was some congestion at the buoys, of course, and at the first buoy on the first lap, someone kicked my goggles, so they started to leak a little, but I fixed it and all was fine. I followed in people's bubbles for much of the swim. I was amazed at how smooth and strong I was feeling. My arms were a little tired for the second lap, but I just kept repeating "I am smooth and strong", and it helped. What would you do differently?: Not much. I was very pleased with my swim. Maybe a little better sighting on the second loop.  Transition 1
Comments: Had the help of a wetsuit stripper - very nice, no fighting with the suit! Didn't bother with putting on extra sunscreen - maybe I should have. :) Had some issues clipping in, but otherwise okay. What would you do differently?: Invest in some spray-on sunscreen.  Bike
Comments: Felt super strong for the most part. When I was feeling blah and sluggish, I knew I was needing food. I was taking on nutrition every 15 minutes, plus sipping gatorade the whole way. I sucked on my gel flask, but towards the end, I couldn't get the last bit out. Probably need to have two flasks, not just one for this distance. There was a very big and unfortunate pothole at the bottom of the big hill going across the river. I hit it at 65 km/h. Yikes! It knocked my bike computer sensor loose, so I stopped to fix it. I also lost the two water bottles in my seat cage. Fortunately, that was the worst I suffered. Another couple of people hit it and fell off their bikes and got injured! I was pretty rattled for a little bit, but I did finally settle down. I was in the lead for my age group after the bike! What would you do differently?: Watch out for potholes? It should have been marked! Transition 2
Comments: There was a traffic jam at the dismount line. Somebody stopped super suddenly in front of me, and someone crashed behind me, but I got through okay. A nice volunteer helped me find my spot and get my run bag open. No problems switching shoes, etc. Legs were stiff and did not want to run, so I walked my way out of transition. What would you do differently?: Must remember to stretch out on the last portion of the bike before entering transition.  Run
Comments: Ouch - that was a tough run. As per my pre-race plan, I put it all on the bike, and my legs reminded me of that every step of the way. All the people I passed on the bike seemed to zip by me on the run. I kept thinking I was behind my pace from last year, so I kept trying to get the pace a bit faster. I did manage a slight negative split on the run - a first for me. Walked through the aid stations, but otherwise kept running. Tried to "draft" off a couple people that were a similar pace to me, especially when running against the wind. (Thanks Greg and Ester!) Not sure if it made a difference - maybe psychological. "Sprinted" to the finish, but I had nothing left. Yup, I paced myself about right. What would you do differently?: More training runs leading up to the race? Post race
Warm down: Lots to drink plus fruit as provided. Walked a little, stood in the shade and stretched while I waited for Max. Got my bike out of transition and back to the car. Back at the hotel, had a quick cold bath for the legs. (I couldn't bring myself to do a full ice bath!) What limited your ability to perform faster: Running! Need to run faster! Event comments: I love this race! Thanks to Wade and all. Last updated: 2006-09-20 12:00 AM
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Canada
Sunny
Overall Rank = 287/622+
Age Group = F4049
Age Group Rank = 13/71
Saturday: little swim, little bike (once the bike issues were fixed), marked and packed everything, dropped off bike at T1, prepped water bottles and gel flasks, chilled out
Sunday: woke up 4:00 a.m. Ate breakfast. Showered. Double-checked everything and packed up. Dropped car off at T2 and went with Grant, Shannon, Wes, Joyce and Max to the start. Decked the bike with the bottles, food, bike computer, etc. Wandered off with Shannon, Jen, and Joyce to the "secret bathroom" (this one even had running water). Ate a banana, drank more gatorade, got on the wetsuit, went back to the beach.
Was originally thinking of going for a little bike ride, but the transition area and road leading in was far too crowded, so I didn't. Just checked the bike over - made sure the gearing was good to get up the hill, and whispered sweet nothings into the shifters... or whatever. :)
A little bit of a swim in the lake to get water in the suit and get acclimatized.