Playtri Olympic - TriathlonOlympic

Overall, it was a good swim. I came in under my projected goal time for the swim. I 'm sure I could have improved my time had I not swam so far out from the bouys and hugged them a little more. Also, I did really well not letting other people knocking me bother me. I actually held my space better than I have in the past. I did have one moment when some of the guys caught up to me, when I started to get a little anxious. But, I just flipped on my back for a few seconds, caught my breath, and decided that I needed to think of them as just another woman :) and hold my ground. So, I flipped back over and nudged back when I got nudged. No problems! I actually could have pushed harder in the swim, but I just wanted to keep it at a nice and steady pace with controlled breathing. I really do enjoy swimming in open water once I find my space and rhythm. I rather like not having anything to look at when my head is in the water- it's kind-of comforting. Maybe it's because I grew up swimming in lakes and have lots of good memories of those times.

I would probably start myself a little more toward the front in a wade start like this, because the hardest part was at the beginning trying to navigate through everyone to get my space. Running starts I'll still stay more to the back, because you're more likely to get trampled in those starts if your not the fastest swimmers. I also need to try to do my usual bilat breathing, because I found that I went back to my old every right stroke breathing. One more thing, swim closer to the buoys. I probably tacked on another 50-100m by swimming out away from them.

LOVED the wetsuit strippers!! They were great. They had my suit off in a matter of seconds, whereas it would have taken me a couple of minutes! :) Good transition for me. I had a long way to run to my bike, but I was able to get there pretty quickly.

I was 4/17 for T1.

Nothing that I can think of.

Missed the #1 bike split in my age group by :18 seconds. So, I am VEry pleased with this part of the race. :) The bike is definitely my strength out of the three. I didn't realize, until Craig (docshock) pointed out to me later, how VERY little I drank on the bike. My aerobottle was still pretty much full at the end. I guess I need to be more aware of my drinking. I usually drink quite a bit during my training rides, so I must have just been too focussed on other things and forgot during the race. I'll do better next time! :) I did take a gu, as planned. Everyne who knows me, knows how SICK of the wind I have been lately; so today's wind didn't make me very happy. But, everyone else had to suffer the same as me (except for that one girl that I saw drafting the entire way to past the turn around), so I sucked it up. I was just thankful that I wasn't doing the HIM.

I did better than my projected goal time. :)

Drink more! Other than that, I am pleased with my effort level and pace.

I was a little slower than I thought I would be, but I still did 6/17 for T2. So, that's not too bad.

Put my shoes on a little faster and put my race belt on as I'm running out of transition instead of at my bike.

Awful run!!! After about the first mile, I developed a side cramp. I haven't had one of those since I first started running. It was a stabbing pain that I just couldn't get rid of! I would walk and stretch my mid section to help ease it. It would feel a little better, but as soon as I would start to run again, then it would flair back up. So, I would run as long as I could tolerate it and then walk again. I had to do that until it finally went away right before I got to the turn around. By that time, my legs were completely exhausted, so I kept up the run/walk pattern. I think the if I hadn't had to walk so much for the side cramps, I would have been able to get into my typical running rhythm. But,the starting and stopping seemed to make me feel the fatigue more than usual. I came in way behind my planned run goal time! :(

Regardless of the run, I am very pleased with my overall race. I did the best I could with the circumstances.

I have always heard that your breathing is what causes side cramps, but my breathing was good all along. So, the only other factor that might have brought them on was the not having enough to drink on the bike. Maybe I was a little dehydrated. So, I will make sure that I am well hydrated before my run.

I didn't do much of a cool down. I walked around little and did a little stretching. I mostly stood around talking to fellow BTers and others that I knew, and waiting to see my husband, Raegan (rgill), and other BTers doing the HIM come in on their bikes, head out for the run, and finish!


My side cramps on the run.


The one area in need of improvement would be the post race food. They didn't have anything except for bananas, oranges, bagels, and some pretzels. That's fine for a short race, but my husband and all of the others doing the HIM should definitely had more to refuel with than that!

I really enjoyed meeting and talking with all of the BTers that I just knew online. It really makes the race atmosphere fun when you can cheer on others with a group. It was nice getting to know each of you and look forward to seeing you at other events! :)