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 Swim
Comments: I'm still having terrible OW issues. I was pretty calm getting into the water and just kept telling myself it was just another swim...you're just gonna swim for about 25 minutes, no big deal, much shorter than most of my swim training days. I hung at the back of the pack, and slowly started to try to swim. I tried to get my head in the water I would come out gasping for air. So, I free-styled with my head out and then did some side-drill swim, so that I could breath but still actually move through the water. At about the 2nd buoy I wanted out. I thought to myself, I don't want to do this anymore. I stopped and held onto a surfboard to catch my breath and collect my thoughts. Then I looked over at Dee, a friend of mine who also has bit OW swim issues. I watched as she held onto another surfboard, and then she started swimming again. She's not quitting, and I can't either. I took a deep breath and started again. I backstroked, freestyled with bilateral breathing until I couldn't catch my breath, then side drilled until I could. There were lot's of rests on the surfboard but I would only do it to the count of 10 and take off again. My navigation was actually pretty good, probably because my head was out of the water most of the time. My breathing was horrendous. I cut a deep gash in my foot on the rocks on the boat ramp, but didn't know it until after the race. What would you do differently?: Grrrrr. Everything. I have got to get a grip on my OW fears. I also should learn the sidestroke and/or the breaststroke for recovery breathing. I'm at a complete loss at what else to do, I really thought I had come farther along than this.  Transition 1
Comments: I had made two flashcards in advance...one for T1 and one for T2. It had everything listed in order (bullet point format) so that I didn't have to think...just do. It worked great. As I left T1 supporters in the exit tunnel clapped and cheered me on. That was a great feeling. One guy told me I had a great bike. That was cool. What would you do differently?: I didn't run up the hill to transition because I was out of breath. If I can get comfortable enough with my swim, then I believe I will be able to run/shuffle up the hill to transition instead of walk.  Bike
Comments: At about mile 11 I dropped my chain on a hill trying to get into the granny ring. The chain then wrapped itself around the bar next to it. I had to get off and try to fix it. This also happened on one of my training rides and thankfully Keith was there to fix it. I spent several minutes trying to get it back on, but it was difficult to hold up the bike, move the chain, turn the pedals to pick it back up at the same time. After several minutes, the cop that was in the car that was pacing me (I was the last bike on the road) got out and asked if I had dropped my chain. I told him yes and I was having a hard time getting it back on. He helped me fix it. Now, I totally realize that I probably would have been DQ'd for that. I think there's a rule about not accepting outside help. However, I didn't place and I was the last rider, so it's not like I beat someone else's time by accepting the help. That being said, I have got to become more familiar with my gears so that 1) I don't drop it as ofter and 2) if I do, I can fix it myself. The whole gear fiasco took at least 5 minutes. I did really well with hydration and nutrition...I took a swig of HEED or a gulp of Gu every 15 minutes. What would you do differently?: I need a lot more practice on the hills to build my endurance and become more familiar with shifting on hills. Transition 2
Comments: Again used my little index card so I wouldn't forget anything.  Run
Comments: My lower back was killing me coming off of the bike. This has never happened before after a ride. It has happened during/after a long run (10+ mi) when I start to get fatigued and my form goes down the drain. But I'm not sure why it happened today. I tried to shuffle run, but had to walk a lot. My left foot was hurting, too. I thought it was a blister but later found out that it was that cut from the boat ramp. My 12 yr old son Brandon was my run support the entire way. He was so sweet. He told me many times how proud he was of me and that I was smashing last year's time (not completely true, but it sounded good at the time). when I was walking he would encourage me to run a little (how about running just to that tree? he would say). He also gave shout-outs to the other athletes on the loop. My husband was waiting for me near the finish area and told me that there were some friends wating at the line for me to finish. The announcer shouted my name and I shuffled faster through the chute and heard the most wonderful sound in the world...the timing chip beeping across the mat. I got hugs from lots of fellow BT'ers THanks guys for waiting for me! but the best hug of all came from Wendy...You are so cool! What would you do differently?: I defintely have to train for longer periods at a time so that I have some energy left to actually RUN THE RUN. This is absolutely my bigget time killer on race day and I want to do better. Post race
Warm down: There was no warm-down. I was exhausted, my back was killing me and my foot was throbbing. By now the clouds had all moved away and the sun was beating down on me. I wanted air-conditioning and I wanted it fast. What limited your ability to perform faster: Because I had so long of a period between last years tri/training and this years training, this was like another 1st tri for me. But the upside is that I really learned a lot more about my athletic abilities and deficiencies this time around. I have a better idea what I need to work on. I need to practice pushing my "comfort zone" more and realized that I can push it and survive. I'm also an insomniac and last night was no different. I need to get some sleep! Event comments: I still love this race and hope to do it every year. There was plenty of water on the run course (last year they ran out) so that helped a lot. All of the other athletes are so supportive that it makes DFL a little easier to swallow. Last updated: 2007-05-14 12:00 AM
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United States
75F / 24C
Overcast
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 5/5
Well, buckle up because this is gonna be a really long race report. I'm gonna start with this same event last year...it was my first tri. I finished DFL, but that was totally okay because my only goal was to finish. My race report is posted here on BT so you can look it up and read the juicy details. After last years race, I had a plan. I wanted to do two more sprints and then start training for the Charlotte Marathon. My marathon training plan included biking and swimmming, so I thought it would be a perfect transitional training plan. But then came the month of August, 2006. On August 9th my younger sister died suddenly. She was 38 and had a 13 yr old daughter. It was an incredible shock. That very same day, my husband's employer of the past 10 years announced they had filed bankruptcy. The nation-wide company was completely liquidated within 3 months. It was an incredibly stressfull period. If all that wasn't enough, our oldest son had just started his first year of college ($$$). Just getting up each day took all the energy I had. Married, two kids, a job...I couldn't just stay in bed and cry, there was much to be done every day. All of my training and racing plans went right out the window without a second thought. I wasn't sure if I would want to do anymore races, ever. The months muddled by and there were good days and bad ones. I started to realize that although my life would never be the same, somehow I had to adapt to this new life without my sister, whatever that was. After the holidays I returned to the LBS where I had ordered a new road bike after my tri, and hoped that it hadn't been sold yet. It was still there, and I took that as a sign that it was time for me to get back into racing. I bought my Fuji the first week of Jan and got a swim/tri coach the first week of Feb. That gave me a solid 12 wks of training for Cane Creek. With 5 months off of any and all exercise, I was starting over as a newbie once again.
I got up at 4:30 a.m., took and shower and packed up the car. Ate 1/2 ww bagel with 1 TB peanut butter & 1/2 banana 2 1/2 hrs before swim start time. Sipped gatorade throughout the morning and took 1 gu right before start. Set up my transition, saw some old friends and made new ones. I wasn't very nervous.