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 Swim
Comments: I have been swimming a lot since this race last year, but haven't noticed a big increase in speed yet. I really wasn't sure what to expect with the swim. I started farther back in the wave than usual, and ran farther into the water than usual. Once I started swimming, I just swam. I hugged the buoy line the entire swim and don't think I got as off course as I have in past events. The lack of waves was a huge surprise to me after last year. I actually forgot I was swimming in a salt water bay. I remember being in the water and thinking, maybe I should be swimming faster, but I never looked at my watch so I had no idea how long I'd been swimming. I felt a little tired at the end and know I lost a few seconds as I started getting sloppy as I came in to the stairs, but overall I feel like I managed the swim well and was happy with my ability to swim so close to the buoys. What would you do differently?: Maybe try a wetsuit. I'm not sure if I would have been able to lower my time a bit with a suit. The water was very comfortable to swim in, but with so many others in wetsuits, I wonder if I'm at any disadvantage. I have made huge strides with my stroke, now I need to start figuring out how to add speed to that great stroke I've developed. Learn how to draft.  Transition 1
Comments: I had a long run into transition and felt like I did good coming out of the water and getting to my spot. I fumbled slightly with trying to get my shoes on but overall was very happy with my T time given my bike rack placement. What would you do differently?: Not much. I don't have the confidence in my bike handling skills to attempt to put my shoes on while riding so I can't think of much to change here.  Bike
Comments: My lack of focus setting up my T-Zone left me without a bike computer, but it didn't hinder my race at all. I just went out and rode as hard as I could and tried to avoid drafting. I was chasing Courtney at the beginning of the ride, so I had some incentive there and was trying to ride fast. I managed to pass a few others I recognized which was a boost for me. I drank one aero full of electrolytes and wanted to replenish my aero bottle but didn't want to waste time. Thankfully one aero full of electrolytes seemed to be enough. I GUed early in the ride and felt like I did good on my nutrition. I took the corners a bit more aggressively than I did on the course last year, but still feel like I need to learn better bike handling skills. I got swallowed by a pack of cyclists late in the ride and when I couldn't convince them to break up and follow the no drafting rule, I started overtaking them again. There was a course marshal watching the whole thing and I was worried I was getting a drafting penalty but was happy when I saw the results and wasn't charged. What would you do differently?: Just continue to ride more and try to add some hill repeats so I can gain strength on the bike. My goal was to at least match last year's bike split. I was worried that I wasn't as strong as I was last year, so I didn't set a high bar for myself... Apparently, I should have had a bigger goal because I beat last year's time by about 4 minutes. Transition 2
Comments: Again, I had a long run to my rack, but I think I managed it well. I fumbled slightly getting off my bike at the dismount line, but was happy with this transition. What would you do differently?: Learn to get my feet out of my shoes while still on the bike.  Run
Comments: Running still is my strongest sport. After a middle of the pack ranking in the swim, I was the 16th fastest in my age group on the run. Again, I hadn't set an extremely lofty goal for myself on the run and wanted to be under 50 minutes (barely but I did) and have an 8 minute average pace (didn't quite make that). I started the run and clocked a 7:42 first mile and told myself I should slow down and stick to my 8 minute pace plan. I got a bit hot on the run but managed that well with throwing water on my head at the water stops. I had a bit of an upset stomach on the run, so I was only taking in small doses of gatorade and water, but feel I hydrating adequately on the run. I had an extremely slow Mile 5 and even recognized how much slower my pace was before I looked at my split. I talked myself into picking up the pace again and tried to reach my goal, but the heat and tiredness had me just shy of the 8 minute pace. What would you do differently?: Not slow myself after the first mile and just run as fast as I can the entire way. Avoid the negative thoughts about hot weather and realize I can keep a 7:something pace even in an Olympic distance triathlon. Post race
Warm down: Walked through the finish area and enjoyed the cold towel I was given. Drank a couple of waters and met up with the NAMC crew. When I was getting ready to head back to transition I had some pain and numbness in my arches and was worried that I was going to suffer with an injury but I think I'm ok and ready to start running again but now know I need some new shoes. What limited your ability to perform faster: I was tired and emotional going into the race, but don't think it limited my performance at all. I beat my goal of beating last year's time by about 20 minutes, so overall the race was a great start to my season and a big boost heading into my next race. Event comments: I enjoyed the actual race a lot, but was frustrated with the expo layout. The distance between the packet pick-up area and the bike drop-off seemed so far. Under normal conditions, it wouldn't have even crossed my mind to care about the distance but I was trying to keep two young children with me and cool in the hot sun, so the set-up and lack of help and support from the race volunteers really hit me the wrong way. It is hard to avoid drafting and position violations on the bike course with so many athletes out there at once, but I enjoyed the course a lot. Last updated: 2007-01-02 12:00 AM
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United States
St. Anthony's Triathlon
80sF / 0C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1172/4000+
Age Group = 30-34 F
Age Group Rank = 23/156
My experiences at the expo on Saturday left me feeling very anti-racing... I almost walked away from the expo without ever dropping off my bike. I did finally manage to control my emotions and decided to leave my children unattended long enough to rack my bike. My youngest was up all night on Saturday so between short bursts of sleeping and lots of awake time, I began to actually visualize my race and when I got out of bed in the a.m. I had more of a racing mindset, but was so sleep deprived, I was wondering how I would actually race. I left my brother's house in Brandon without breakfast and was stuck eating a couple of cereal bars (yuck) on the 45 minute drive to the race site. I got to the race site, unloaded my gear from the car and walked to transition. I got impatient with the body marking line but managed to keep my cool. I was setting up transition and met up with Felix and totally got lost in conversation and the atmosphere of the race. I found a couple of other NAMCers in transition and we started towards the beach.
Walking from the T-Zone to the chip line... what a mess that was. Finally got my chip and found the rest of the women and late starting men in the club and met up with benton4. I stayed busy talking to everyone that nerves didn't hit me until I started looking at the swimmers and bouys. Benton4 and I went in the water only long enough to pee (gross, I know, but I wasn't about to stand in the port-a-potty line), so never had a real warm-up.