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 Swim
Comments: I was in the 3rd wave and noticed that everyone in the earlier waves was starting way to the left which is where you went to through the corral and swimming straight out a long way from the buoys. So I walked way over to the right with one other girl and lined up right along the buoy line. I had a straight shot up the buoys with no interference until I started catching swimmers from the wave ahead of us. Haven't swum in maybe a month but felt good if not that powerful, tried to stay stretched and long and brush thigh with thumb. Swim pace was slow at just under 2:00/100yds but it seemed to go quick. Nice big wind flags at the finish were easy to sight as the buoys were all lost in the glare of the sun. What would you do differently?: In hindsight maybe wear the full suit as my arms got wicked cold on the bike.  Transition 1
Comments: T1 time was promised but has not been published. I had taken arm warmers and a variety of jkts and tops but took neither with me (learnt my lesson there). What would you do differently?: Maybe wear the full suit.  Bike
Comments: Those areobars are interesting. Got down into them no trouble. Didn't have pads near elbows or hands on ends - just can't reach that far these days! These old bars do not have reach adjust which would be better for me so that might have to be the next purchase. However, felt very powerful and "fastish" in the bars. Recruited different muscles - gave me many new aches, mainly in my butt and hamstrings, and had to sit up a couple of times but I was enjoying the speed and passing lots of people. I did wonder if it would wreck my run but figured I'd just find that out. Didn't notice that my hands and arms were totally cold and numb. What would you do differently?: In hindsight take the arm warmers with me and put them on. For a ~30:00/10 mile ride it didn't seem like it would make a difference but it did. Either that or wear full-finger lightweight gloves. I'm sure that the aerobar death grip didn't help. Transition 2
Comments: Promised T2 time but not published yet. Had to have 3 gos at racking bike as couldn't get it to stand up in the trough. Normal change from bike shoes to trail shoes but realized hands were so cold I couldn't cinch down the speed lace thing. I held up the loop and kind of karate-chopped the cinch thing down tight enough. What would you do differently?: The clothing thing needs revisiting but this was a good general heads up. I've been racing all summer where these kinds of decisions weren't even necessary (105 deg one week at Winding Trails). Glad I didn't have to tie laces as wouldn't have been able to. Otherwise out of T2 in good order.  Run
Comments: I was so cold on this run. Was a bit rattled by the shoe thing and then my feet felt funny - similar to how they felt at the last chilly race I did. I thought it was the insole folded over but I'm wondering now if they were just numb. Was passing people all the time and hoping to warm up. Wasn't sure if I didn't really push to the limit on this run or if I was just so cold that I couldn't get any feedback. Was very strong at the end (thawing out). This is just a fun place to run - bomb the downhills and enjoy the scenery. What would you do differently?: The whole clothing/staying warm thing and focus more on pace and effort. Feel like had I focussed I might have been able to go faster but not sure if that is just hindsight. Post race
Warm down: Actually it quickly became a warm-up! Went back to bike and remembering that there were hot showers here I grabbed my fresh clothes and went and stood in a hot shower for a long time. Got a little rub at the massage station and then I sat in the sun and stretched. What limited your ability to perform faster: Maybe just not racing in a few weeks, feel like the run was a squidgy blur in my head, hard to tell, happy with my race. Event comments: As would be expected from the Hartford Marathon folks this was a classy event with some special attention to detail for the women: there was a table (I heard) coming up the beach where you could leave spectacles or anything else you thought you might need for the run up; the TA was also on the asphalt basketball court instead of on the dirt (yes that's 250-300 women and their bikes and their gear and at least 200 washing up bowls!!) all on one b'ball court! The finishers medals were very unique and thoughtful and the post-race expo had folks from REI, Dunkin' Donuts, Whole Foods, Sam Adams (yes, beer at 10 a.m.), Panera, Collinsville Bakery, Farmington PT etc etc. My first posted time was off about 4-5 mins from my time on my watch but when I told them that I started in the third wave that sorted it out. Shouldn't really be my responsibility to time my race and make sure the timing is accurate for an $80 entry fee - this correction lifted me from 12th overall to 3rd. I didn;t take my splits as they kept saying "you'll get 5 times" but that is a minor thing to pick at in an otherwise great event. I can really see it (hope it) becomes an annual fixture. On a day when there were 3 tris just over in NY (Bear Mtn, Hudson Greenway and Greenwood Lake), Hammerfest in Branford and the Danskin Women's in NJ, the turnout was great - without the clash of dates this could be a huge event next year. Last updated: 2007-09-14 12:00 AM
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United States
Hartford Marathon Foundation
55F / 13C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 3/253
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 1/52
Decided to do this race last minute as i) I love racing at Winding Trails and ii) thought it would be fun to race with 300 other like-minded women and iii) needed to blow off the cobwebs before Lake Compounce next weekend so drove up on Saturday and registered. Last minute reg. meant that I would go in the last wave (#3) and not my age group wave (#2) didn't think it would be an issue and I also got to drive the bike course.
Decided last night to put my old aero bars on my bike - I know that reaks all the rules re: new gear on race day but looked on it as a practise for next weekend - wasn't sure how that would pan out as did not ride them in practise and wasn't sure I could get down into them!!. Figured if it didn't work I'd just ride the drops.
1hr drive up to Farmington with a bottle of nuun. Dying to go to the loo so left bike near T1 and ran to the bathroom. Came back and heard the gal checking "bar end plugs" as you entered T1. Had immediate flashback to finding bar end plug in the back of the truck and thinking "oh look a bar end plug." (Der!) So had to scramble around and find one which I eventually did. Set up in our rack in a quiet corner of the TA - we were kind of hte overspill rack but it was immediately as you came in off the bike so actually a pretty good spot. The racks were kind of wierd "troughs" with slots for your wheels. After the race I figured out that the right way to rack your bike is to straddle it over the trough but I just stood my rear wheel in the trough and it just touched the slot. Chose sleeveless w/s over sleeved on hearing that water temp was 74 deg.
Ran a little bit. Stretched. Did manage to hop into the water and swim 50-100 yds before we got yanked out. More stretching on triceps and shoulders. Sand was absolutely freezing. Everyone was trying to keep their feet off the sand. Air temp was cold, I would gues in the mid-50s.