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 Swim
Comments: The first 200m or so was pretty choppy, as folks spread out and the group got themselves sorted out. I got kicked in the arms a few times as I was taking a stroke, but thankfully none of them were near my face. As I approached the first buoy, I was shocked at how easy the navigation seemed compared to last year. Throughout the whole course I was able to hold the inside line and swim right next to the buoys, which was great. About a third of the way through the swim I found myself next to another guy in my wave, and we pretty much stayed side-by-side for the whole swim. But, he was on the outside so he had to accelerate at each turn to stay alongside me. Halfway through I was still with the rest of the pack, and we started to pass swimmers from the wave before us (which started 5 minutes earlier). Two-thirds of the way through, I felt a bunch of folks hitting my feet, and the front swimmers from the next wave barreled past like a freight train. I guess that's what I get for swimming the inside line! Unlike last year I had no trouble navigating to the exit markers, and before I knew it I was out of the water and on my way to T1. Since I had not worn a watch, I yelled to a spectator asking what time it was. He told me that it was 8:38, which pleased me because it meant that I had done the swim in ~28 minutes, assuming we started on time. This was a 7:57 improvement over last year!  Transition 1
Comments: T1 went pretty well, although I still have a hard time getting my wetsuit off quickly. The transition area was a decent distance from the water, so I ended up walking part of it to catch my breath. Once I got to my rack I took my wetsuit off, which was complicated by the fact that I forgot to unzip one of the ankle zippers. I got my shoes on with no problem, put my helmet and sunglasses on and ran for the exit. When I got to where you could mount I made my best attempt at a flying mount, but I was not going that fast so I thought for a second I might fall over while getting started. What would you do differently?: (1) Remember to unzip ankle zippers. (2) Run a bit faster before jumping on the bike.  Bike
Comments: The bike leg went pretty well, and I was able to sustain a much higher pace that I had planned to. Unfortunately, during the bike leg one of my earlier mistakes came back to haunt me. When I grabbed my drinks this morning I grabbed some Gatorade, which I don't usually use because it ties my stomach in knots. About two thirds of the way through the ride, I had two episodes where I though I was going to vomit on the bike. Thankfully I was able to make it to T2 without doing so. What would you do differently?: Follow the cardinal rule of not using anything on race day that you don't usually use, and stay away from Gatorade! Also, bring a cooler full of ice to leave in the car, so that I can get my drinks ahead of time and be sure that I have what I want. Lastly, I'm not entirely satisfied with the Hammer Sustained Energy, so I need to work some more on my nutrition plan for longer (+3 hour) events. Transition 2
Comments: T2 went well as far as getting in and getting my bike stuff squared away, but after that things started coming apart. After I put my running shoes on I accidently stepped on the wrist band for my Forerunner and broke it, so I could not wear it on my wrist. Then I started to leave without my number/hydration belt, and had to go back and get it. After those two things I was flustered, so I just grabbed the Forerunner off the bike and took off, thinking that I would figure out what to do with it as I ran. What would you do differently?: (1) Get a backup wrist band and keep it in my transition kit. (2) Put the wristband in my running shoe, so maybe I won't step on it next time.  Run
Comments: The run leg was where I really paid for my Gatorade mistake. I walked the first part of it to catch my breath after my T2 escapade, but when I tried to run my stomach started hurting really badly. Then to make matters worse, Mother Nature started calling, and not in the way that men can usually take care of quickly and easily. So, I ended up walking almost the whole way. But, I made peace with my situation, and took the time to enjoy the nice scenery and the words of encouragement from other runners. I did, however, manage to run the last half-mile or so, so it looked like I finished strong! What would you do differently?: Stay away from the Gatorade! Post race
Warm down: After crossing the finish line, I went to the transition area to dump my number/hydration belt, then made a mad dash for the porta-potty. With that taken care of, I met up with some BT folks and we headed over to the pond for a quick dip to cool off. Grabbed some food, and then hung out at the BT tent to watch the awards and listen to the live band that was there. What limited your ability to perform faster: Making a stupid mistake and drinking something that has given me issues in the past, and that I usually avoid. Event comments: Right up until T2, I had a fantastic race going. If I hadn't had the stomach problems, who knows how well I could have done in my first Olympic triathlon? Last updated: 2006-12-26 12:00 AM
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United States
Sun Multisport Events
Sunny
Overall Rank = 504/584
Age Group = M3539
Age Group Rank = 53/57
Friday night I started packing my race gear, since I was going to spend the first half of Saturday down in Falmouth, then head back up to Lakeville to meet up with some other BT folks. As in races past I used the list that I store on my Treo, but part way through packing I noticed that most of the list had disappeared. So, I must have gone over my bag 10 times, convinced that I had forgotten something!
Saturday morning I drove down to our friends house in Falmouth and we spent part of the day at the beach. While we were there I decided to go out for a quick swim, and after 16 minutes of getting battered by the waves I was back on the beach. After lunch, I headed back to the house, got my stuff together and hit the road for Lakeville.
Once I got to the race site in Lakeville I checked in and got my number and goodie bag, then hooked up with Denise (DK) and Joe (Ontherun) for a swim in the pond. Denise and Joe did a complete lap of the pond, but I just did a shortened loop since I had swam earlier in the day. We then hooked up with a bunch of other BT folks and headed out to dinner. After dinner I drove up to my aunt's house in Bridgewater (15 minutes away) to spend the night.
For some reason I had trouble sleeping Saturday night and kept waking up. By 5:30am I had given up, so I got up, got my bag together and headed down towards the race site. I stopped along the way to grab a bagel and some drinks at Dunkin' Donuts. I had hoped to find a convenience store open to get some Powerade to mix with my Hammer Sustained Energy, but they only had Gatorade so I went with that.
Once I got to the race site I set up my transtion area, then got body marked and hung out with the BT crowd. While we were hanging out, Joanne (tri_again) came by and was looking a bit flustered since her bike had a flat rear tire. While she checked in Max and I fixed the wheel, and she was good to go. Just before 8:00 I grabbed my wetsuit, cap and goggles and headed over to the pond.
Before the first wave started I got my swim gear on and jumped in to acclimate myself to the water temperature. I did a quick out and back swim, then got out and waited for my wave to start.