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 Swim
Comments: I always have a problem with going out too fast. I made myself go slow the first 50m and get into a good rhythm. On the way back I passed my first swimmer. Still trying to stay relaxed, I passed 2 more by 150. Got into a lull at 200m, with nobody to pass, then I got passed myself. Passed 2 more people the last 100, catching the draft of the person who had just passed me. What would you do differently?: May have started out too slow, but I stayed relaxed the whole time and never felt like I was going too hard.  Transition 1
Comments: Holy cow was it cold! Debated on whether or not to wear socks. Decided against it even though it meant cold feet. I'd rather them be cold and dry than cold and wet. Did go with the arm warmers though. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Bike
Comments: The cold wasn't that bad once you got moving. Armwarmers did the trick nicely. And my feet went numb, so they weren't cold. Well, they were, I just couldn't feel that they were. So no biggie. Plan was to go easy the first 3 miles, spinning around 90 RRM, then drop the hammer the rest of the time, with a gel at 9 miles. For some reason I didn't feel particularly strong at first. Maybe it was the cold, but my legs just didn't cooperate on the first lap. Second lap was about a minute faster. Guess it just took me a while to warm up. Played tag with somebody on a road bike. I tried to pass but didn't have luck. Finally got past him going down the hill at the end of lap one, then he passed me right back. That didn't make me happy. I caught and passed him about 1/2 a mile into the 2nd lap, then I started hammering to remove any chance of him catching back up. At this point there were people doing their first lap on the course, including my favorite sight in triathlon - mountain bikes. Started picking people off in bunches. That was fun. Spun up the last hill pretty hard, then dropped the hammer going down the last hill. Got close to 40 mph, whizzing past people. What would you do differently?: Can tell I've been riding the majority of the time on the drainer. Hills got to me more than I would have hoped. Still, I was in the top 20% overall, best I've ever done. Me likey the new bikey. Transition 2
Comments: Got the bike shoes off ok, but I had to sit down to get my socks on. Could not feel my feet at all. Took some tugging and wriggling to get them on. In doing so, I forgot to take off my arm warmers. Everything else was fine. What would you do differently?: Space heater?  Run
Comments: Feet were bricks when I left transition. Maybe that was a good thing. I was pretty nervous about how this run would feel with my limited volume since December. Having something to think about other than my achilles was probably good for me. Legs felt really fresh when I started - maybe there is something to that tri bike. I felt great. Every time I passed someone, I would move on to the next one. Got passed once by a guy in a puffy green hat, but he wasn't in my age group. I run these trails all the time when we visit Shannon's parents, so there were no surprises. I knew every hill, every turn. I loved it. Before I knew it, I was at the turnaround. 10:54. That would put me at 21:52. Still feeling good, so I went for a negative split. Feet finally thawed out at the 2 mile mark. That's when I went for it all. The last mile really hurt, but I dropped the hammer anyway. Crossed the line just 12 seconds short of my 5K PR. What would you do differently?: Remember to take off the arm warmers in T2. I had to carry them for 2.5 miles after I took them off. Maybe I could have cracked that 5K PR if I had tried to stay with the guy who passed me, but I'll take what I got and be happy with it. Considering how little run volume I have right now, I'd call this a great run. Post race
Warm down: Walked over to see the boys and inlaws. Then grabbed the camera to take pics of the BTers going out and coming in. Cheered on everyone as they finished while chewing the fat with Steve and Kirk. Literally chewing the fat - they had donuts at the finish line! What limited your ability to perform faster: Swim was good, but didn't push it that hard. Bike volume is there, but too much is on the drainer. Need to get outside more and get some more strength for the hills. Run volume isn't there yet. No telling what I'll be able to do when I have my running legs under me. Still, I set a Sprint PR by about 5 minutes. I'm not going to oomplain about a thing. Event comments: Dallas Athletes went all out for this one. A cool race shirt and a hat in the race bag, Irish music playing during transition check in, and a guy playing the bagpipes during the entire swim. And of course, finish line donuts! Easily one of the best races I've ever been a part of. Last updated: 2006-12-29 12:00 AM
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United States
Dallas Athletes
45F / 7C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 38/287
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 6/33
Up at 5:15. Decided against the prerace shower since Houston was sleeping in the room next to the bathroom. Just got dressed while munching the usual Oatmeal Raisin Clif Bar. Everything was already in the van except for the bikes. Got them loaded up no problem, then went to the store for a bottle of water to fill my Aerodrink.
Temp said 40. Yikes. Shannon's parents lived about 2 miles away from the transition area, so it was a quick drive. Not a lot of time to worry about the weather.
Got there about 5:50, plenty of parking spots at that time. Got marked up and found a primo spot on the end of the rack. Took my time getting everything set up right. By that time plenty of BTers were showing up. Besides me and Shannon (swatson), there was Steve (sblack), Steve (doughboy), Marcy (dodgersmom), Laurie (tri_it_cajun_style), Kirk (markquiet), Jim (texoma), and some friends from north of the Red River - Danny (dww2) and Gino (gino2u). Then jockstrapping were Aaron (jeepfleeb), Chris (camy), and Kenny (tent96).
Spent several minutes outside laughing about how cold it was going to be, then went inside to the pool where it was nice and warm.
Did a lap and a half in the pool, then walked outside to see how cold it was going to be. Yowza. Not cool.
Quick trip to the bathroom, then in line. Saw Danny jump in and immediately lose his chip strap. Yikes. Luckily somebody found it and put it in his running shoe. Sucked down a gel, BSed a bit with the folks in line. Got my goggles in once it was getting close. Heard someone yell my name (Laurie I think). Gave a quick "I hear you" gesture, and then it was go time.