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 Swim
Comments: I am just a poor race swimmer. I have definitely improved my stroke in the last year, but haven't learned to race and haven't increased my speed at all. I wanted to really go "all out" for the swim, but in the beginning all that ended up doing for me was increasing my stroke count. After about 100 yards, I realized I wasn't actually making myself go faster so I just settled back into a longer stroke and lower stroke count, and just did my swim. I did good with navigation and stayed fairly straight and near the buoys. I got hung up by one guy who was backstroking and barely moving, so I had to tread water and readjust my position a bit to avoid swimming over him. A long run through the sand, and up a short hill was included in swim time. I actually passed more people on this run then I did during the swim. What would you do differently?: Learn to race. Swim faster. Learn to draft.  Transition 1
Comments: I didn't realize I took so long on this transition. Not sure what happened during this transition. I remember faltering with my balance just a bit when putting on socks and bike shoes, but it wasn't a minutes worth of faltering... What would you do differently?: Go sockless.  Bike
Comments: I was timid and conservative on the bike. I was a little more sure of myself on the second lap, yet my time was nearly identical. I don't mind riding uphill, although I need to do it more so I can strengthen my legs and go faster, but I'm very cautious on the downhills, and even found myself breaking a couple of times so I had that sense of control... that is just not the way to attack a course and win. I was having a little bit of trouble with my gears not changing smoothly and skipping gears a bit so I need to get a tune-up and probably need to practice shifting more on some hills to learn exactly when is the best time to change gears. What would you do differently?: Hill repeats to strengthen legs for hilly courses. Work with someone who can teach me bike handling skills. Continue to ride some hilly courses so I gain confidence on the downhills. Transition 2
Comments: Actually had to do the bike to run transition twice, and had to do a run to bike transition. On the first go round, I wasted about 20 seconds because I forgot to remove bike helmet and got sent back into transition to remove it. I also lost time because I went down the wrong aisle. I had a great spot in transition, very easy to locate and I just wasn't paying any attention. Both of those were dumb mistakes. The second time through on the bike to run transition, nothing noteable happened. On the run to bike transition I was very deliberate and took the time to make sure my area was organized for the next transition. What would you do differently?: Pay more attention to rack location. Remember to remove bike helmet.  Run
Comments: What happened here? I definitely wasn't going all out. Crazy how consistent my times were on the two laps though. I definitely held back on these runs for some reason. I can kind of justify it on the first lap, but have absolutely no excuse on the second lap. I actually remember coming up to a guy I know on the run and being afraid to pass him... what was that all about? Definitely not what you want to do to be competitive in a race. What would you do differently?: Run without thinking and push the pace... it's only 3 miles. Post race
Warm down: Drank some water. Talked with friends. Got my hamstring stretched by Dr. Nik's assistant. Played with Dr. Nik's daughter. Hung out at the awards. What limited your ability to perform faster: My head. Event comments: Blue Sky Sports put on a great race. The course was well marked and the volunteers were very supportive. The race is a bit unusual for a tri with the swim, bike, run, bike, run format but was still well orchestrated. They need to work out some kinks with the timing system and get the awards done faster. They actually handed out awards to a few people and then took them back after realizing the results weren't correct. Overall, I really enjoyed the race and I'm happy I got second in my age group, but I am critical of the race I had because my performance really should have been better. Last updated: 2007-05-02 12:00 AM
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United States
Blue Sky Sports
77F / 25C
Overcast
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 30 - 34F
Age Group Rank = 2/11
Had to get up really early to get the girls to Joey's house. I slept poorly (need to figure out how to get over my nerves) so I was up before my alarm anyway. I ate some instant oatmeal and loaded the girls into the car. I ate a cereal bar along the way. I saw Kraig and Courtney on their way to Clemson and had a laugh about that on the way. I dropped the girls off and drove to race site. I was there early... there were only 2-3 bikes in transition. I picked up my race packet, chip and got body marked and then took my time setting up transition. I realized I forgot my race number belt, and started calling myself Ron. I was able to improvise by using the cord of my work badge, so I took one final look at transition and then deemed myself ready.
I walked around talking to everyone I recognized and then made my way to the beach. I debated a swim, but decided against it... later thinking, I should always take the time to do it if there is time enough