Swim
Comments: This was a good swim for me, 1st time I've started more in the middle of the group rather than the end so there was a lot of bumping but I was able to catch some feet several times and draft. Im not very good at it but I went from feet to feet and passed several people this way. The swim exit is fun, I swam in really shallow and a volunteer picked me up, asked if I was doing ok, and sent me on my way. What would you do differently?: Practice practice practice my swim, I'm pretty darn slow in the water but this was my best effort. Transition 1
Comments: I've been making slow progress on T1 over the season, picking up little tips here and there and this was the best one for me I think. I'm still slow getting the wetsuit off but this time it didn't stick too badly and I was able to get most of it off by just stepping on either side until it wsa right at my heels, then had to pull off with my hands. In socks and bike shoes fairly quickly and grabbed the bike and jogged to the road. What would you do differently?: Get the wetsuit off more quickly. Bike
Comments: I like this course a lot, it's just challenging enough without beating me up. Going out, I felt pretty good, a little wobbly at the beginning and up to speed and in aero bars quickly. Passed quite a few people on the flats and the 1st hills. Finally caught C-cic, she was looking really smooth on her bike! Rang my bell for smiles as I went by, trying to get some distance on her, she always catches me on the run!! After the turnaround, what's this? A headwind??? Hmm, no wonder I was feeling so good on the way out. I had put my bike number in the wrong spot on my top tube and it was rubbing my legs and makeing a weird noise, I'll fix that next time. A good ride back and my back only started to hurt in the last couple of miles. What would you do differently?: I was a little bit down on fluids by the end of the ride and probably pushed a little too hard. So, more fluids and a little less effort. Gotta save more for the run. Transition 2
Comments: I like this transtion mostly! I rode in, a volunteer grabbed my bike and helmet and told me where to go. Up some scary (in bike shoes) steps and here's another volunteer to help me to a chair and she dumped out my bag, took my bikes shoes and probably would have helped me put on my running shoes if I'd asked but I thought I could probably handle that myself. Shoes on, hat on, number belt on, gel belt on, and away. There is a scary carpeted part to get to the run that I had to be realllly careful on, didn't want to turn an ankle before I started! What would you do differently?: This was good for me so not much. Run
Comments: Ah, the run.....I felt pretty good but was a little worried about maybe not enough fluids and the morning was getting hot. I settled into my pace quickly though and watched people pass me. They were mostly people I'd passed on the bike. I've got to work on my running in the off season!! Sipped on gel every 15 mins just like a training day and walked the aid stations for water. I was fine on the way out until the turnaround and then started to heat up so poured water on my head at the aid stations to try to cool down. Saw C-cic catching up to me after the turnaround so was running scared the rest of the trying not to get caught. Ended up too hot and had to walk 3 times for about 50 yds to get breathng under control. My goal was to run the whole thing but didn't do it this time. Happy to see the finish and get some more water. What would you do differently?: Stay up on fluids and maybe start a little slower. Go a little less hard on the bike and save some energy for the run. Oh and practice during the off season! Post race
Warm down: Grabbed a water bottle and downed it pretty quickly. Watched C-cic finish, she was catching me, we walked around and said hi to our other team members, picked up bikes and wet bags and rode back to the car. What limited your ability to perform faster: A little bit overheating, not enough water on the bike. Event comments: This is the 2nd year I've done this race and I really enjoy it. The volunteers are very good, there are some scary carpet covered rock areas but if I walk over them, it's not too bad. Post race isn't up to much really, grab a bottle of water and/or soda, I didn't see anything to eat at all. It's a good one though and I'll go back next year for sure. Gotta get through that run! Last updated: 2007-09-01 12:00 AM
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United States
3 Rivers Road Runners
85F / 29C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 158/206
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 12/15
Got up at 3:30am for usual pre-race breakfast of oatmeal, banana and coffee. Had packed the night before so all I really had to do was get dressed and put the bike and stuff in the truck. Sis C-cic was driving again (Big thanks!!) so all I really had to do was show up at 5am and then sit and enjoy the trip.
Sipped on Heed for most of the drive and we arrived in time to get marked, pick up packets and go set up transtion. It was a lot more crowded this year, I think this race is getting a lot more popular. I like it because of the downstream swim, the website says "Fast times Baby" and it's true!
Not much of a warm up, crawled into the water over big slippery rock and swam against the current for a min or 2 then stumbled out to make room for other racers, it's a small starting area and I wanted to go from almost the back and not have to fight the crowd too much. I was really dizzy climbing out of the water and has to sit on a rock for a few mins.