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 Swim
Comments: The beach start was really an experience. I never practiced running into surf, let alone big surf with lots of momentum! I saw Bri take off like a gazelle and I tried to follow him in. As I hit the water I was unsure of when to dive forward so I just waited for others around me to take the plunge. As I decided to take the plunge I was hit by a decent sized wave and I gulped my first couple pints of seawater. I swam with head out of water toward the first turn which allowed me to see the extreme backup that was occuring at the buoy. I ended up doggie paddling near the buoy as we all slowed to a crawl. It was like a herd of cattle, and I heard this guy next to me start yelling "kayak, where's the kayak!". He started flailing his arms like he was reaching for help so I grabbed the back of his wetsuit arm hole and pulled him out of the crowd toward the lifeguard who was paddling over to us. I finally made the first turn and then the swimmers started to spread out. I tried to get settled into a breathing/stroke rhythm, but it was tough. The waves were still fairly high flowing into shore so I only wanted to breath on my left so I had advance warning of water coming over my head. I swam what I thought was 50 meters or so then sighted the first of 2 red buoys which I assumed were the 100m markers and I was already on it! From there I gained confidence and just tried to keep a steady pace. I remember getting burned out at Skinny so I held off on kicking completely. There was a guy who was doing the sidestroke in front of me and I slammed into him by accident just as his leg kick hit me. We exchanged pleasantries. As I rounded the final buoy to turn in I peeked behind me and saw lots of white caps still in the water so I knew I was doing ok. I tried to catch some surf waves coming in but I missed them all. The current took me down the beach about 40 feet from the swim exit. THe swimmers in from of me stood up about 30 feet from shore so I did the same. I got hit by at least one more god size wave and fell forward. At this point my legs were jelly. I saw Desiree and Bri's family on the beach and they cheered me on. I looked at my stopwatch and saw 10:05 as I ran past them. I got my wetsuit down to my waist before starting to run over the sand dune, I left my goggles and cap on so I would not fumble with them when I was putting my running shoes on. What would you do differently?: Get some anti fog on my goggles. Try to use better technique rounding the first buoy, it was a real log jam.  Transition 1
Comments: The T1 time is deceiving. It looks like I stopped for a cocktail and read the newspaper, but in reality you have to run up the beach after the swim, run over a pretty large sand dune and down the other side to a paved walking path that leads to Transition. As I ran over the dune there were lots of specators and a bunch were yelling things like "the worts is over" and "you made it through". So I assume most people were dreading the swim portion, but I thought to myself that it was only 10 minutes of a 1.5 to 2 hour race! I grabbed my run shoes at the end of the sand path, then ripped off the cap and goggles. I saw a couple of people sitting next to the path trying to take their wetsuits off...why?!?!?! I saw a couple others washing the sand of their feet in pails of water...why?!?!? Seemed like a waste of time to me. I followed a couple of guys jogging at a relatively slow pace toward transition. I figured this was not the time to burn out my legs. I spent the time on the run rehearsing my transition tactics in my head. At T1 I got my wetsuit off relatively quickly, got the tri shoes on without socks, helmet on, sunglasses on and it was time to go. There was still a salt water taste in my mouth and a burning sensation inside my nose to remind me of what I had just done! What would you do differently?: Maybe run faster in the sand. I really went pretty slow to conserve energy.  Bike
Comments: From the moment I exited T1 and jumped on my bike, I knew it was going to be a good bike ride. There was almost no wind which was a blessing compared with last year's 15-20mph gusts, and my new bike weighs less than half of the hybrid bike I rode in last year's event! When there's no wind on this course, it is really fast. I passed a lot of people going outbound from the park and into town, and the only people passing me seemed to have disc wheels and aero helmets so they were serious cyclists, probably from the third wave of swimmers. My computer was reading 20-22mph for most of the ride. I shifted gears only a few times over the whole ride, staying as aggressive on the rear cassette as possible. I had nothing but positive thoughts this year, compared with some frustration last year that I was going slow and getting passed a lot. I Grabbed a Gel off my top tube at about mile 7. As I made my way back down the final road leading into T2 the little wind we did have was in my face so I hit my lowest pace of about 17mph. As I rode into dismount I saw 59 minutes on my watch and I knew I had just nailed this bike ride. What would you do differently?: Get a bento box so I have some place to store my gel wrappers and not accidentally litter on the course. Other than that, I felt like this bike ride was solid. A personal best speed. Transition 2
Comments: Nothing spectacular at T2. My quick laces were a little tight so getting the shoes on without folding the insoles was a problem. I threw my race number on and a dri fit tee shirt because I was cold from the bike. As I left transition Desiree was yelling encouragement from the sideline so I waved and gave thumbs up. What would you do differently?: Baby powder or pam spray on my feet to get into my running shoes, possibly new quick laces.  Run
Comments: As I left T2 I read 1:01 on my watch. I knew at this moment that even if I walked some I could break 1:40. But we didn't come here to walk!! Last year I was so beat and dehydrated after the bike I had to walk a 1/2 mile or more. I was determined to keep up the pace this year and finish strong. My pace felt really slow for the most part, and the first 1/4 mile I fought off a right calf cramp. I got passed by a lot of people on this run, most likely I had just passed these folks on the bike a few minutes before! I never had any thoughts of stopping, just tried to keep a steady pace despite being passed. After the water station at mile 2, I picked up the pace as the course flattens out. The last 1/4 mile opens up to a huge grassy field like a polo ground with spectators lining both sides. I told myself to hold off on sprinting until I got about halfway down the field. I saw Bri on the left side cheering me on and I dropped the hammer. A nice strong sprint finish with everyone watching and a huge smile on my face as I knew I broke 1:40 with extra time to spare! What would you do differently?: I probably could have pushed the pace more on this run, but I did not want to risk a cramp or injury as I could tell my form was not perfect after biking hard. Post race
Warm down: Hugs and kisses from Desiree and a big high five from Brian and Brendan. I drank some water and just tried to catch my breath. I couldn't eat for a while, too thirsty! What limited your ability to perform faster: Still need to keep working on fitness improvements. My weight needs to keep coming down a bit more. Nothing in my preparation to this date limited me, I Was physically as ready as I could be and most of all mentally I Was brimming with confidence at this race, a far cry from last year when I was timid, out of shape and scared of failure. Event comments: Due to scheduling conflicts I may miss this race next year, but it is one I will set my sights on again most likely in 2009 with hopes of breaking 1:30!! I MUST ALSO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MY FRIEND BRIAN AND HIS FAMILY FOR BEING SUCH GREAT HOSTS FOR THIS RACE, BUT ALSO TO MY "COACH" BRIAN FOR BEING THERE THROUGH THE LAST 11 MONTHS AND 29 DAYS OF TRAINING FOR IT. SINCE 10/9/06 WE HAVE BOTH BEEN WORKING HARD TO IMPROVE AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO IT ALONE! MANY THANKS BRIAN! Last updated: 2007-10-01 12:00 AM
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United States
Piranha Sports
65F / 18C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 222/321
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 0/
The day before the race Bri and I drove with our families to Rehoboth Beach (South of the State Park). We donned our wetsuits and prepared to take a practice swim. Of the hundreds of people on the beach Saturday we were the only ones in wetsuits so it was awkward at first but as we reached the water my attention turned to the 3-4 foot breakers hitting the sandy beach and driving people toward shore. All Bri and I could do was laugh, we hoped it would not be so bad in the morning. We practiced for 3 seconds when I took my first gulp of seawater, and realized my nose plugs were not going to be of any help on race day. As we swam out further the waves were more predictable. After the practice swim we ran about 1/4 mile with our wetsuits unzipped to get the feel of running in them. The race would require a .28 mile run from the beach to T1 so we wanted to be ready for it. We ended the day with our ritual pasta and meatball dinner which was of course outstanding.
Awake on race day at 5AM. Breakfast was 2 bananas and a bagel with Jelly, 24 ounces of Gatorade. We drove to the site at 6AM and blasted some Linkin Park and Green Day to get us going. As we drove towards the park I noticed how gorgeous the sunrise looked, I was definitely more relaxed than last year. We got through packet pickup quickly, and got our stuff to transition with 45 minutes to spare, or so we thought. Last year I forgot my bike pump at the car and we were almost late becuase of it. This year it was the bathroom line. It was 50 people deep and neither Bri or I could hold it, so we were forced to burn 20 minutes in line. We rushed to get our wetsuits on as they yelled "1 minute to clear transition", we barely made it. Disaster avoided. By this time last year I was so nervous I could barely walk without my legs shaking. This year I was ready to rock, what a diference a year makes. We both ate two gel packs before the race, one 45 minutes before start, and one about 15 minutes before.
The warmup for this race was the .28 mile walk from Transition to the Beach. Most racers were wearing an extra pair of shoes and we were allowed to leave them at the entrance to the sand dunes where the pavement stopped. We both left a pair of shoes too, I felt sorry for Bri because he only had one pair to use for the whole race. We made our way up to the top of the sand dunes in bare feet so we were able to get a feel for the sand and how much "fun" it would be to run in it after the swim as it was taxing on the ankles. Bri introduced me to a guy named Andy who lost 140 pounds and is now an experienced triathlete. We made our way down to the beach, and it was a gorgeous sight. Spectators lined the swim exit, and the waves seemed to be about 3 feet or so in my best estimation. The racers had to walk down the beach about 300 yards or so to the swim start so as we were walking we got zipped up and got our caps and goggles ready. As I mentioned this would be the first swim without nose plugs so I was curious how much salt water I would drink. I Remember thinking as we walked about how much different this swim was going to be compared to Skinny Man becuase of the waves. I tried to remember my successful swims in Lake Huron and Ontario to keep my confidence up. Bri suggested we jump in and get the feel for the water so as we were doing so, the horn sounded for the Females to start. Dozens of red caps took off and flew into the water, and the race had officialy started. We were in the second wave, so we made our way up to the beach start and tried to stay loose for the 5 minutes we had to wait. INstead of trying to line up away from the first buoy like Skinny, I lined up about 10 people to the left of it and figured I'd take my chances with getting caught in a pileup at the first turn. The anticipation grew as the race director said "2 minutes.......1 minute........30 seconds.......uh oh, my goggles are fogging up!!!......10 seconds.......next time use anti-fog!! GO!!!!!!!