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 Swim
Comments: OK, so this wasn't really a swim. They told us not to go further out than about 50 feet because there was a nasy riptide past the first sandbar. Well this is where all the waves were breaking so it was nearly impossible to swim at all. Every time I'd start to swim, my goggles filled up with water. Then I'd get a 9-foot wave over my head and I'd get knocked into the sand...and my goggles would fill up with water. Most people walked until there was enough water to swim in. At a few points I saw people being carried toward the shore by waves. Then about halfway thru I heard a guy yell...HOLY SH!T WHAT IS THAT!!! It was a 12' wave, and it broke all over us...I got whacked in the face by hands, feet, and water. Rolled on the sand. Got back up, tried to swim again but it was impossible. Everyone was walking. By about 700m, I was so tired of fighting the waves that I just decided to kick and get there. Got out of the water about 50 feet before the exit as everyone else was doing the same. Ran up the beach to transition. What would you do differently?: Not swim.  Transition 1
Comments: My wetsuit came off easily except for the last leg. Wind was blowing and I was trying not to lose balance. But I still had a good T1. Forgot to drink Gatorade though, so I went out on the bike leg with no nutrition. What would you do differently?: Not forget to drink.  Bike
Comments: Wow...the wind was just absolutely insane. I had to fight alot. It got so strong at some points that I was barely going 13mph while fighting as hard as I could. I didn't get passed alot though. I probably passed as many people as passed me, so I was happy with that...because I know my bike fitness still has a long way to go. This was also a college regional championship so I gauged my performance on that. I had passed a Gator guy in the first few minutes of the bike and then he passed me later on and was GONE...but on lap 2, after riding with the wind and hitting 28mph (wow!!) I caught him and blew by him like he was standing still. He must have used up all his energy fighting the wind. I passed a Gator girl too. So I was pretty happy that I got past a few of these obviously in better shape college kids. Neither of them repassed me. What would you do differently?: Nothing...this was about as hard as I've ever had to fight and I almost hit 20mph while doing it. Chilly Willy bike course was the same (just half of it) and the wind wasn't as strong...but I still went faster this time. So I'm happy about that. Transition 2
Comments: I almost forgot to take off my helmet, but this time I did NOT forget to drink some Gatorade. Also took a gel in T1. Brought my bottle of water with me while I ran. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Run
Comments: Another wind-fest. Running into the wind was crazy. My tri suit was just about dry. My pace felt great but my times kept saying high 8's and even one low-9 minute mile. That's why I believe the course was mismarked. At my fitness level right now, I don't believe I would have run a 9 minute mile. I heard more than just a few people saying their run times were insanely slow...and then the guy who said his GPS said almost 7 miles. What would you do differently?: Nothing...I think I was going about as fast as I could...it was the course that should have done something differently...like be correct. Post race
Warm down: After finishing, I waited til Jess finished. She had a decent time as well, but, like me, was disillusioned by her run time. Had a bunch of water and Vitamin Water...didn't puke up the VW this time...LOL. After Jess came in, we went to get something warm on and collect our gear. We looked at the standings and saw that she had won her age group and I got third in mine, so we stayed for the awards. They took forever to start the awards ceremony. UGH. What limited your ability to perform faster: The course. The wind. Event comments: This was the first time for this race, so I guess it was just a case of newbieism...but sheesh, what a debacle. If I ever want to do this race again, please just effing slap me. Race was delayed, shortened, mismarked, and unorganized. Awards ceremoney took forever to begin, results were sketchy. It just wasn't a well-put-on race. These guys must have learned how to do stuff from those Buttar.com idiots over in Orlando. UGH. I hope the rest of this race series goes a bit better than this race did, cuz I may be doing one of their races on August 4th in a different location. This race was definitely NOT worth the 100 bux it cost me to do. Last updated: 2007-02-19 12:00 AM
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60F / 16C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 57/200
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 3/6
Jess and I woke up, got dressed and got ready to go. I stuffed all my race things in my bag and we were about to head out the door when Shane came home from work (0430). We all chatted for about 10 minutes and then we headed out the door to get coffee and stuff before we headed to the race site.
While driving on 275, I came over the Frankland bridge and waves were splashing over onto the road. This is Florida...we don't have "waves" here. Well we did this morning!!! Wind was insane, blowing my car all over the place. When we got to Fort DeSoto the wind was just crazy. Jess decided to test her disc wheel to make sure she wasn't gonna get blown over. I debated on whether or not to do the swim, or just switch to the duathlon. RD said they were probably gonna cancel the swim. So I decided to wait. 10 minutes before race time, they decided to keep the swim, but shorten it to 800m and make it a linear swim instead of 600 out, 300 along shore, 600 back. So I decided to do it and not switch to the du. I needed to test my new wetsuit. It was cold on the beach, we waited til way after 8am (start was supposed to be 7am). Water was warmer than the air so we all waded and waited.