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 Swim
Comments: I suck at swimming so I knew I'd get whipped soundly by this group. Within 20 seconds I was all alone and never had another person around me. Swam (slowly) by myself for the entire time. No chance at drafting at all today. While going down the shoreline I could see the spectators when I breathed. They were on the bank watching me stroke along and probably thinking, "This dude is really slow." Positives: Sighted well and with 5 minutes between waves, nobody from the following wave caught me. My time goal was 9:00, I missed it by 1:29. (Really disappointing) 12th out of 12 against the elites. What would you do differently?: Wish I could say swim faster, but it ain't happening for now.  Transition 1
Comments: My swimming sucks, but I can transition pretty well. 7th of 12 against the elites. Fought with the helmet strap a few seconds, never got it right, but it didn't matter, it was time to go. What would you do differently?: Nothing really. Time goal was 1:15 and I beat it.  Bike
Comments: With the elites well on their way, I had no one around me for most of the bike course. Felt like I was in an individual time trial; just me and the bike against the clock. Caught some of the Juniors that had started off first, but you don't brag about passing teenagers on mountain bikes and ill-fitted road bikes. ;-) Pushed about as hard as I could. Just mentally kept asking myself if I could go harder and kept answering the question. Nice, smooth roads were a joy to ride on and the weather was great. A very pleasant ride. Cornered pretty well, but slowed down too much while being cautious and it cost me some time. Drank about 16oz of G-ade Endurance and shot a get; my only nutrition & hydration for the race. Brought it in fast and dismounted cleanly at the line. The volunteers always get panicky when you come in fast, but I got it done right. What would you do differently?: Not much really. My time goal was 51:00 and I missed it by just 12 seconds. 12th of 12 against the elites. (Those guys ride 25-26mph) Transition 2
Comments: Another decent transition. 7th of 12 against the elites. Calves wanted to cramp a little when I dismounted. Weird. What would you do differently?: Nothing really. Time goal was 1:15 and I beat it.  Run
Comments: Came out of T2 running hard and getting the breathing and striding rhythym going. I've learned it takes me a 1 mile or so to get settled in. During that time, the legs get the feeling they want to cramp as the adjustments are being made. Always get a little nervous that something bad is going to happen, but it manages to pass and I can focus on finishing the second half strong. As I was going outbound, the elites and juniors were coming inbound and I saw a few more runners on the course. Other than that, I was pretty much by myself. Again, it was just me against the clock. *MINI RANT ON* How hard would it be for the race organizers to put 3 (just three) staked signs out on the course at specific points marked with "Mile 1", "Mile 2", "Mile 3"? Not a big deal, but I'm thinking it sure would be nice. *MINI RANT OFF* Got close to TA and heard the crowd, kicked it a little faster into the finish. What would you do differently?: Nothing really. Just like the bike; I pushed as hard as I could at that point in the race. It's always easy to type the words, "I should've/could've gone faster", but actually doing it during the race is a lot harder. I have no way of confirming it, but I "know" I ran the last mile faster than the first mile. A great sprint time is all about running all 3 miles FAST. I did the best I could. Time goal was 21:30 and I missed it by 27 seconds. 12th of 12 against the elites. Post race
Warm down: Caught my breath as the volunteer chased me down for the chip. (Almost seemed like they thought I was trying to steal it.) If you're running all out, you just can't stop within 2 yards after crossing the finish line. Found the family and friends, and snapped a couple of pics. Walked around, got some water, something to drink and a piece of pizza. Snagged some free Clif Bars and other goodies for later. What limited your ability to perform faster: Nothing really, other than general ability. Went as hard as I could. Can't say I "raced with" the elites, it was never close. I can say I "started with" them, but that's it. It was a different sort of race experience; basically me racing against the clock, and it will probably be the only time I get to do it. BTW, one of the elite guys was the overall winner with a 1:05:47. Folks, that's smokin' fast. Event comments: A well run race, a little cramped for space due to the small venue, but they pulled it off. One more year here and they plan to move to a new place in '09. Lots of food and drink and fun. Good community support and volunteers will keep this race around in the future. Last updated: 2007-08-19 12:00 AM
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United States
80°F / 0C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 139/618+
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 18/45
**DISCLAIMER**
I am not an elite or really fast athlete. I was allowed to enter in the "Invitational Wave" for this race based on my AG win in a sprint earlier this season.
I decided to take advantage of this opportunity because it may be the only time it happens, and it would be kind-of fun to the start the race in front of an 800+ field instead at the end or in the middle.
Though I'm not that fast, I went into this race with the training and a determination to post the absolute best time possible. No holding back, pushing hard the whole way, risking blowing up, and collapsing at the end.
I knew I couldn't compete against the elites so I established personal time goals that would stretch my abilties. This race would be the culmination of an active season with some successful efforts and pretty much meeting my goals.
For comparisons, I'll log my rankings where I would have placed had I raced in the AG, but mention in the RR how I compared to the elites.
With that DISCLAIMER out of the way; here we go...
Went to bed at the regular time at 10:00, but woke up around 1:30 a.m. Struggled with sleep while getting pumped up about the race, dozed a little, finally got up and hit the road. Arrived well before 5:00. I was the first one there, even beat the volunteers. I was the first one body marked and in TA, but it didn't really matter because we had assigned rack spots.
The lost sleep would be factor, but nothing could be done about it.
Performed all the standard routines to get set up and ready. Very relaxed because I had tons of time.
Stretched some, shot a gel, swam about 200 yards.
Bumped into Luke and Kiley from BT and chatted a minute. Knew there were other BT'ers here, but there's no way to find them or know them.
Normally the Invitation Wave starts first, but this race hosted the Junior Nationals so they started first, then us.