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 Swim
Comments: My first true open-water swim. Up until a few weeks ago, I had convinced myself that I had a phobia of being in the ocean (more than up to my knees). It's too quiet. You can't see anything. What if I turn around and am face to face with a shark? Seriously, I tried to watch an IMAX movie a few years ago about whales and I swear, it was like I was watching a horror movie. I covered my eyes the entire time! Suffice it to say, I was a little worried. A couple of things helped, though. Jim and I counted the buoys, 14, and I thought I'd just count them off as I went by each one. When I get nervous in swimming, I tend to forgot to blow out underwater and decided to concentrate on that as well, so I wouldn't be gasping for air every time my head came out of the water. I'd already been working on sighting during previous open-water swim at Mistletoe State Park, so I was feeling pretty confident about that. It was nice to be in the TNT wave and it seemed like as soon as we lined up and said a few rounds of "Go Team!" we were off. Took it easy on the way in becaus I didn't want to get my heart rate up too much and before I knew it I was at the first buoy. Things spread out a bit by the second one and it seems like they just clicked by in no time. Just kept to my plan of breathing and counting buoys and everything was fine. I was unbelievably happy when the pier came into view and pretty soon I was around the first yellow buoy. Sighting was great, had no problem with my goggles, only got bumped around a little bit ... and pretty soon I'm around the second yellow buoy. It took longer than I thought to get to the stairs, but, before I knew it, they were pulling me out of the water and the first thing I heard was Jim yelling for me. Gave him a kiss and a hug and headed to the transition area. What would you do differently?: Absolutely nothing! I had it in my mind that if I finished the swim in 45 minutes I'd be happy, so it's hard to second guess myself when I finished almost 10 minutes faster than I thought.  Transition 1
Comments: I don't know. It's kind of a blur. Props to Jim for the Skittles suggestion, though. Downed a handful and they got rid of the saltwater taste instantly. Just tried not to rush. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Bike
Comments: As a newbie, I'm hypersensitive about the whole drafting thing. So, for the first few miles, when I saw what seemed like packs of TNTers riding single-file, I just wanted to get around them as quickly as possible. Pushed it pretty hard the entire time, but the course was flat so it was manageable. Was able to down more Shot Blocks on the bike (the trick is to open the package beforehand, so you can just squeeze them out of the package with one hand), but I probably didn't drink enough. That's my downfall--I never remember to drink enough. Had no problems with the cobblestones at the beginning and end, and didn't try anything fancy mounting or dismounting. Thought it was funny that I passed the Poynter Institute of Media Studies at about mile 21 or 22. I work at a newspaper and get weekly emails from them. I almost wanted to stop and knock on the door! What would you do differently?: Nothing. Transition 2
Comments: Blur, blur, blur. I guess I'm one of those people who just doesn't take transitions very seriously. So sue me. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Run
Comments: The run killed me. I started the run midday and it was hot. Even though I've lived in Georgia most of my life, it takes me forever every year to acclimate to the heat and it just hasn't been that hot yet. I knew within five minutes of beginning the run that something was off. When I first started doing bike-run bricks in workouts, the only way I could keep myself on track when I started the run was to count my footfalls. I may not have been able to feel my legs, but I knew if my right foot struck the ground 85-90 times a minute that I was where I needed to be. So, for those first few months, even though I wanted to walk, I would make myself run and count for five minutes. By the fifth minute, I was feeling better and into a good rhythm. It's something that's stuck with me and so I, naturally, did it during the race and knew I felt all wrong even before the five minutes was up. I was able to run for the first mile and a half, but after that it was run-walk all the way. It was especially disappointing because I'd had the best 10-K run of my life the Saturday before, so I spent the week before St. Anthony's telling everyone that as long as I didn't drown on the swim and had no mechanical problems on the bike, I'd be great because my running was right on track. Ironic, huh? Depressing, but I guess two out of three isn't bad for my first Olympic distance triathlon. What would you do differently?: Make it so that I could control the weather. If I could, I would have made it 35 degrees and raining. Boy, would I have kicked everybody's asses! Post race
Warm down: What warm-down? I basically just walked around. Oh, I did take an ice-bath when I got back to the hotel. That was a good decision. What limited your ability to perform faster: The hot and humid weather on the run. Event comments: Stupid Florida weather! Last updated: 2007-05-06 12:00 AM
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United States
St. Anthony's Triathlon
82F / 28C
Sunny
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = TNT
Age Group Rank = 128/208
Jim got up before me, showered and went to pick up our breakfast from the lobby while I showered and changed. Downed half a cup of awful hotel coffee before heading out. Couldn't eat. Met fellow Augusta TNTer Bill in the lobby and walked to the bodymarking area where we got through the line much quicker than I thought we would and went to set up our transition areas. Bill decided to go back to his hotel, so Jim and I headed to the Vinoy, where I discovered a makeshift Starbucks in the lobby. I sank into a chair on the balcony and savored this most holy elixir while (finally) downing my bagel with honey-walnut cream cheese. Yum. Wisely rejected the carton of OJ provided with the hotel breakfast. Had eaten the banana earlier while being bodymarked. Sat around for a little while, getting nervous, until I saw an Atlanta TNT coach instruct someone walking by on the correct way to put on a wetsuit (the zipper, it turns out, does NOT go on the front). Laughed and forgot about how nervous I was. Headed to swim start a little after 8 (my wave didn't go off until 9:05). Discussed swim strategy with Jim. Had originally decided to start on the outside and aim for the first yellow buoy, but changed my mind after watching a few waves go off with almost no one on the inside. Best decision I made that day. When he asked about the bike, I told him I was considering pushing it a bit, just because the course was flat and I just sort of felt like it. When Jim asked me about the run, I said something like "Oh, I'm not worried about the run." Boy would that come back to bite me in the ass! Put on my wetsuit, splashed around in the water a bit, down some Shot Blocks (more caffeine--Yay!!) and headed down to the start.
Like I said, just splashed around in the water a bit. Tried not to take it too seriously.