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 Swim
Comments: This is the best swim I've had ever! Since we were in the last wave, I decided to hang back and go ahead and enter slowly, get my bearings, and then go. I knew I'd panic, so I was ready for that. I just hoped I would not end up stopping or rolling onto my back in panic. I didn't! I am so FREAKING proud of myself! I acknowledged the panic and just kept going. I didn't stop. I didn't go onto my back. I didn't let my heart rate get too high. I just kept going singing to myself. Finally I decided that my music was depressing, so I started singing Broadway Showtunes (which I do when I swim laps to count my laps). Hey, I'm a dork. I was pretty sure I would be last out of the water (since I was last in). I was okay with that, although I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. It wasn't! I think there were only 5 or 6 after me, but I wasn't last! Woohoo! Once I got back on track after almost swimming UNDER the second buoy and then realizing I was heading in the wrong direction, I swam in relatively quickly (for me). It was funny, though. I looked up to sight after passing the buoy and was like "Wait, where is the shore?" I saw a kayaker looking at me chuckling. She just nodded her head like "Can you believe this girl?" and pointed toward the beach. D'oh! I just laughed and said "Oh good lord! What a dork! Thanks!" and took off in the RIGHT direction! The course finished in a very shallow part of the beach. I swam until my hands hit the ground and then stood up to run. Rocky bottom! Ow! Ow! Ow! Owie! What would you do differently?: Sight more often as I round the buoy! What a dweeb!  Transition 1
Comments: I felt a little discombobulated on the T1 for some reason. One of my socks went on upside down and I couldn't get it turned around. What would you do differently?: Have my stuff laid out a little better. I had some run stuff on top of the bike stuff. That was dumb!  Bike
Comments: We headed out of the park and over a short part that was on grass/sand/gravel. My bike didn't enjoy that. Then across the street and into a construction area that was kind of confusing. They pointed in that direction and I entered what looked like a large parking lot with construction going on, and couldn't tell immediately where to go. I just continued across and finally saw someone on the other side. There were a few really tight areas where construction had taken the lanes down to narrow single lanes (and we had to share going out and coming in). Once we got out onto Lk Sammamish Parkway we were in traffic. As I approached an intersection the police officer motioned for the oncoming SUV to stop. He didn't and I nearly hit him! I yelled out "Hey hey hey HEY!" and then screamed at him (because he scared the CRAP out of me) as I whipped behind him (he had tried to floor it when he saw me, which is probably why I was able to get behind him...crap). The cop ran forward and slammed down on his hood and yelled "I TOLD YOU TO STOP!!!! YOU ALMOST HIT THAT LADY!" Fortunately he didn't, and after my heart climbed out of my throat I settled back into my ride. Whew! I felt very strong on the entire bike! My knee didn't bother me (I've had some minor knee problems) and neither did anything else. I had a 20 mile run planned for the next day, so I didn't push it like I think I could have. That's okay, though. I still felt really good and strong the whole ride. I was very pleased that I passed a LOT of people on the ride! One nice thing about going in the last wave, when you pass someone you know you're actually passing them and they aren't someone from a later wave. What would you do differently?: Nothing really. I might have used a few more choice words for Mr. Inahurry who almost creamed me! Transition 2
Comments: Much better in this transition! What would you do differently?: Nothing really.  Run
Comments: I had a great run! Got my sea legs within the first 60 seconds. The terrain was rather uneven, which wasn't fun after the bike, but I managed. I thought I was doing about 10 minute miles until Jiminy told me my first lap was 8:47 (I think). That was a surprise! I passed a number of people and only slowed when I hit the water stop because I started to choke on the water. Darn! I was able to kick on the final .25 mile, even though I probably shouldn't have considering the run the next day. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I did well on the run. I wish I were faster, but I'm not. Post race
Warm down: As I rounded the finish line I was greeted by cheers from four of my favorite people! Ann, Vinette, Lisa, and Roy were all standing at the finish line jumping up and down! Wow! What a neat finish! I got my medal and greeted them. We waited for Vinette to pick up her age group 3rd place. She probably would have been first, but she had a flat tire and had to stop and pump it twice in the last 4 miles! How cool is that? Before the awards they tossed giveaways into the crowd, which was fun. I got a bar of soup (ha), a big bottle of Hammer Gel (very cool) and an Amphipod thingy that fits on my race number belt to hold gels. After we finished cheering everyone for their awards we took off for Starbucks and the four of us sat around a table talking about what a great day we'd had, making plans for the future, and teasing Roy about his dimple (he's so cute). What limited your ability to perform faster: The fact that I'm not very fast, but I'm happy with my finish! Event comments: This was my first Budu race and I really enjoyed it. It was really nice to be in manageable waves. My one big complaint with Danskin is that the waves are SO big that I felt completely surrounded by people on the swim and it was freaking my freak! There were some logistical problems, but they didn't let it harm the fun and professionalism of the race. For me this was an important race because it was out of my comfort zone moreso than Danskin. I've done Danskin four times now, so I needed to get out and do another triathlon to show myself that I can. I am very proud of every leg of the race! I felt strong. I don't feel like I took any stupid chances. I feel like I competed only with myself...well okay, I did try to pass people, and I was thrilled that I wasn't last out of the water. But I wasn't feeling anxious after the initial part of the swim. Triathlons challenge me so that's why I do them. I don't "love" them like I love running, but I do feel proud about getting out there just because it ISN'T something I'm 'good' at. Last updated: 2007-08-25 12:00 AM
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United States
BuDu Racing
60F / 16C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 335/449
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 23/49
The alarm went off at 3:30 am and I ran into take a warm bath to warm up my muscles. I didn't sleep well and woke up a little achy. All my gear was already in the car so Roy put the bike on the car. I gave him the camera so he could be my official photographer. He's so cute!
After my normal breakfast of 1 cup Kashi Puffs and 1 cup Kashi GoLean, we headed out. I was quite nervous, so was really quiet on the way. I put on an album that had score music from the movies for some calm. After about 20 minutes I needed more beat, so changed to the soundtrack to Moulin Rouge. Nothing gets the heart pumping like Fatboy Slim (or Ewan MacGregor, for that matter).
We arrived at Sammamish Lake Park at 5:30. It was still dark out. I picked up my packet and a little girl marked me. She did a good job, too! Those numbers are NEVER coming off! It was lots of fun walking around Westlake in shorts this afternoon with my sex and age running down my leg in 5 inch tall characters!
I was the first one to set up my transition area on our assigned rack, so I grabbed the end. I set everything out and then waited around for my friends to come. Roy kept taking pictures (he's so cute). I chatted with another competitor about her experiences with Budu races, and Danskin (she did not do it this year, but had in previous years but stopped because of the number of undertrained people...she felt that made it dangerous for her).
Lisa, Ann, and Vinette arrived shortly after 6 and we chatted. The porta potties for the race did not arrive, so the 3 stalls were full. Ann knew of some other bathrooms far off, so we walked down there and got all nice and warmed up.
At 6:55 or so we headed down the lake. Lisa and I were in the last wave (9) so we had half an hour, but we wanted to watch everyone go off.
I stood and talked with Ann and Lisa while we watched the waves go off. The announcer was hilarious! Ann went off in the wave before us. Lisa and I waded out with our wave and took spots towards the back. Just before they called us off, she said "You are a fantastic swimmer!" and I said "YOU are a fantastic swimmer!" They counted down and we were off!