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 Swim
Comments: This swim was awesome!! I started out behind everyone to avoid the fray of the mass start. Once I got going felt immediately focused and in a great groove. The only problem was at the first bouy when about 4 ppl in front of me all switched to backstroke and made it really hard to get past them. I actually had to stop completely and change directions at one point because between all of them they had made a complete wall that I couldn't get through. Otherwise I felt great...free all the way...sighting still needs a little work but was much better. I had a ton of fun on this swim and I'm pretty sure I managed to pass someone from all 3 waves in front of me! (I know for sure I passed ppl from the 1st and 3rd waves so i have to assume there was at least one person from the 2nd wave in there somewhere but the blue caps and white caps were really hard to tell apart in the water). I still felt awesome as I came around the last turn and was able to push it a little harder and saw myself passing quite a few people. Very cool! Made it out of the water in 17 min.! Not quite my 16 min. goal but really close. The run up the beach to transition was a little rough. What would you do differently?: I think next year I'm going to work on starting in the crowd. I'm definitely a strong enough swimmer to do so now, but I've been afraid to ever since my Stroke and Stride start. That one wasn't even that bad, I just used up too much energy at the start. I think now though I'd be able to do a mass start w/out messing up the rest of the swim and I think it could definitely help my times. Even so, I beat 100 ppl in the swim and that just sounds cool and makes me happy! :)  Transition 1
Comments: Uneventful, but took a bit longer than normal to get my shoes on since my toes were still a bit numb. What would you do differently?: Not have numb toes?  Bike
Comments: Hello my name is slowpoke! lol My bike computer said this course was actually over 27 miles and that I averaged well over 16 mph. I like that number lots better than 15.5! Ouch! This was definitely not a good ride for me though. It felt ok, but I know I didn't go all out and I could've pushed harder. Since this wasn't a big race for me I didn't taper at all and didn't prepare much mentally, so I guess I should be happy w/what I got. I can't wait until next year when I'll hopefully have a brand new road/tri bike and then I'll be speedy! :) I was only 15 minutes behind the top splits for my age group, which is pretty cool considering I'm riding a mountain bike! I did manage to catch some air on the speed bump on the res. road...much to the entertainment of a few spectators standing there. :) What would you do differently?: Get a new bike! :) Truly there are lots of things I could've done better in this race. I could sit and rationalize all day, but I think I'd rather let it go and focus on the races where I did well. (And a note, in case anyone is interested....the bike splits for the tri and the du are listed together....so I actuall beat more ppl than it looks like. I was 233/289. :)) Transition 2
Comments: My rack partner's bike had flopped over in front of my spot and her aero bars were long enough that I had nowhere to get my bike in. I had a hard time maneuvering her bike w/one hand while trying to shove mine in but managed to get mine to where it would stay w/out knocking either one over. Definitely would've been quicker if not for that though! What would you do differently?: Figure out a better way to work around other ppl's bikes. Or just get faster and beat her to transition. :)  Run
Comments: Well we all know I need to work on running! No mystery there! I was very close to being the slowest runner out there (274/290). Really though, this was a good run for me. My goal had been to get under 12 minute miles and I managed to do that. Barely, but I did it! This is all the more incentive to really work on my running in the offseason though. If I ever want to be competitive in this sport (and I like to think that some day I will be), 12 min. miles aren't going to cut it. It's frustrating to see all the people I worked so hard to pass on the bike go flying by me on the run like I'm barely moving. I'm not upset though. This was only a minute slower than my standalone 5k last weekend and I was able to run a lot of it. I did intervals at the beginning since I was having a hard time getting my legs moving (somewhere around 1:30 run, :45 walk) and for the second half I ran most of it. When I would feel a need to walk I would give myself a place I had to run to before I could walk, so that mentally I wasn't instantly giving in when I felt tired. When I started walking I'd give myself a place where I had to start running again. Overall it worked well and I felt good. Surprisingly this run felt fast. Not that I felt like I was running fast but when I saw the finish I found myself thinking "wow, here already??" Total opposite from how I was feeling on my 5k last weekend. What would you do differently?: Had I known there would only be one aid station at the half way point I might've carried my own water. I like having water every mile. Anyway, I couldn't have asked for much better for this particular run. I'm hoping that if I keep running regularly that by next summer I'll have at least semi-competitve run times. Post race
Warm down: When I crossed the finish line the guy announcing (who happened to be Chris Leigh...I don't know who he is but apparently I'm supposed to...I guess he's won a couple of ironmans...and his autographed helmet and jersey auctioned off for $600 so apparently someone knew who he was)....anyway, he announced my number and said "here comes number 442...who is...number 442 is...ummm...nameless! Phantom runner!" Hmph. So after I got my water and finisher mug I went back to the transition area and got a piece of paper and a pen and wrote "442 (phantom runner): Lacey Dodge :)" He laughed and re-announced me, which was nice. Got my breakfast burrito (which looked good but tasted kinda gross) and walked back up the run course a ways to cheer on the final runners. What limited your ability to perform faster: Mental preparedness is apparently a bigger issue than I gave it credit for. Considering that I had only signed up for this race a few days beforehand (and I was PMSing...lol) I wasn't mentally in race mode. In a way that made the race more enjoyable since there was a lot less stress involved, but I can't expect PR's in a race where I'm not fully engaged. Also the fact that I didn't taper didn't help anything. I worked out hard all week before this. This was all for fun, so I can't get down on myself for not having my best performance ever. Gotta keep reminding myself of that. Event comments: Both race directors for this race were really awesome people and were just so genuinly happy to finally see their race happening. It was really cool to be a part of it! I was nervous at first since this is a brand new race from first time RDs but it was super well done. My only suggestion would be a later start time. In my opinion there's really no reason to have a 7am start time for a sprint in the middle of September. Even a half hour later would've made the set up and the time before the swim much more comfortable. Otherwise it was a beautiful day and a great race! Last updated: 2007-09-13 12:00 AM
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United States
Overall Rank = 200/256
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 10/11
Woke up at 4:00. This sport really has made me insane! Not long ago that would've been bedtime! It still took me until 5:00 to leave because i'm always totally brain dead in the morning and slow getting ready no matter how much I plan in advance. Got to Boulder a little before 6 and it was still totally dark. Got my transition spot, hit the porta-potties right before the huge line started, and then went to pay since I had forgotten my check book the day before. Then went to the bike support ppl to pump up my tires, rode around a bit, and then went to watch the sun come up over the reservoir. Though I would've liked a later start so I wouldn't have to set up in the dark and the cold, it was a really really beautiful morning and the sunrise was amazing! It actually didn't feel all that cold to me after Steamboat, so once the sun was out a bit I was fine in my my tri clothes (though I was getting lots of funny looks from people wrapped up in coats and blankets and shivering!!!) While watching the sunrise I found myself thinking about how much I love triathlon and how happy I felt just being out there. Me being happy says a lot since less than 2 years ago I was so depressed I often felt suicidal. This has truly been a life changing summer for me and I just love it!
I got in the water for the last 5 minutes of warm-up time. Swam out to rope line at the edge of the swim area and back. Used the swim out just to get used to the water and the way back to really focus on my swimming. It really helped me to get in the right mindset for the race. The only problem was that they called everyone out of the water 5 minutes before the start. The air was a lot colder than the water and the sand was freezing. Since I was in the 4th wave I still had 25 minutes to wait and my toes ended up going numb in the sand. A lot of ppl in my wave stayed in the water, which probably would've been smart. Darn my incessant need to follow directions!!