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 Swim
Comments: First 200-300m was a little frenetic. The usual bumper-swim, but swimmers got strung out after that. After rounding the first buoy, I seemed to be all by myself--well, except for the occasional bass or trout that saw in the water! Then, right around the half-way mark, I swam into my ride--a swimmer which I drafted off of right up until the near the end. This was my first time swim-drafting in a race--and it was cool. Saves big energy. Once or twice, I thought I was going too slow drafting behind this guy, and I tried swimming around him. Low-and-behold, when I did that I swam the same pace as he did. So, I just fell back into his wake and cruised the second half of the swim course. What would you do differently?: Find a pair of feet to follow earlier!  Transition 1
Comments: Stripped wetsuit down to waist upon exiting water. Ripped cap and goggles off too. Jogged/walked to bike rack. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Bike
Comments: Bike leg felt great for me. Though I worried I was hammering away at the expense of my run; but I just have so much fun on the bike. I passed alot of riders, and was passed myself by some speed-demons too. Passing people always makes me worry that I'm working too hard. But, this being only my second race, and first at Olympic distance, I'm still learning about pacing myself between bike and run. Saw at least 2-3 folks with flats, and that always makes me sad for them--especially when you see the frustration on their faces. That's why I always install new tubes for races; and put on my special "race-only" tires--and inspect every square millimeter of the tread for punctures or cuts before the race. What would you do differently?: Pace a little easier to save up for the run. Had I known the course was so flat, I might have considered changing rear cogset to 12-27 or 12-25 (instead of the 11-28). Transition 2
Comments: Usual.  Run
Comments: Legs felt pretty worked from I hammering on the bike. It took alot of mental concentration to keep focused and not end up walking. I just concentrated on gait and cadence (and breathing). The run course was HOT, with the gravel having soaked up the heat and reflecting it back on us. Temps had reached the mid-80's by the time I got to the run. The dirt roads were very dusty--and while not quite technical in any sense--had lots of ankle-twisting loose rocks in the surface you had to watch out for. The slow rolling course also meant hill-training paid off. One thing I noticed was that the gravel amplifies the "footsteps" you hear from the runners behind you. Which is both motivating and annoying at the same time. The hiking paths at least were partly shaded which was actually kind of nice. Post race
Warm down: Just walked around the transition area, cheered on some of the other racers. Event comments: Great course for newbies, because the resevoir is warm and shallow in many parts. More importantly, the water is totally flat! Great organization, and nice fellow competitors. Good vibe overall. Would recommend it to anyone interested. Last updated: 2007-05-11 12:00 AM
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United States
Total Body Fitness
82F / 28C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 72/251
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 15/33
Woke at the ungodly--even for me--hour of 3:30am. Downed a bowl of cereal, packed my cooler with water and ice, hopped in the car, and headed out towards Stockton/Sacramento. I had packed the car the night before with my bike, and all my gear in my transition bag.
Left the driveway at exactly 3:56am, and driving at or above the speed limit the entire way, I arrived at the race by 5:48am. Way early...oops. The staff were still setting up the bike racks when I arrived, but at least I got a killer parking spot right up near the transition area.
So, I took advantage of my early arrival to have a breakfast bar and banana, visit the the head, have a look around the transition area to figure out where I wanted to setup. I found a slot next that slit the difference between the Bike Out, Bike In, and Run Out.
Hit the Registration area, got my numbers, affixed them to my bike, run belt, and wetsuit....yeah, wetsuit. No electronic-timing chip at this race, all timing was done manually. Weird.
This still left me with 45 min. to kill before warming up; so I just walked around and chatted with fellow rack mates.
At around 7:20am, I started my warm-up. Following Joel Friel's (Triathlete's Training Bible) recommendation, I did the events in reverse order. I went out for a 10-12 min. run at a very easy pace; followed by a 10-12 min. ride to check and make sure my bike was all in working order; followed by donning my wetsuit and going for a 8-10 min. swim in flat, bathlike-temperature resevoir.
Then, I realized I had forgot my swim-cap up in the TA. Ran up, got it, and got back just as the first-wave was going off. I was in the 4th wave, which kicked-off right at about 8:15am.