![]() Swim
Comments: A fog bank rolled across the pond making sighting the buoy impossible, so we all just headed in the direction we were told it was when the gun went off. After swimming awhile I noticed everyone veering left, and sure enough the buoy was over to the left about 50 yards that added a little to the swim :) After rounding the first buoy sighting got much easier. I got hit in the head a couple times, swam over some, drank a few mouthfuls of pond water, and inhaled some once, but the great thing was I took it all in stride, stayed with my stroke, didn't have to tread water or flip on my back the entire swim. I think I'm getting used to these open water tri swims :) It was really a great swim for me, I felt relaxed and focused the whole time, now I just need to work on my speed. What would you do differently?: Try to draft more, I'm not very good at finding and sticking with feet. ![]() Transition 1
Comments: I was feeling so good during the swim I forgot to start thinking about what I was going to do when I got out of the water near the end of the swim. I did this at Whitefish and it worked great, but this time I forgot. So, I totally forgot to strip my wetsuit down to my waist and remove my cap and goggles while running to transition. I got to transition, realized my mistake, and then fumbled around feeling stupid for forgeting. I got it off pretty fast though, put my shoes, glasses, and helmet on and was off. What would you do differently?: Not forget to take my wetsuit, cap and goggle off while running to transition ![]() Bike
Comments: I didn't want to push it too much on the bike, because I knew I had 24 miles to go and a 6.2 mile run afterwards, so I settled into a pretty comfortable pace and EVERYONE passed me. I definitely have alot of work to do on my biking, but this is the thing I love most about triathlons, I learn what areas I need to improve on and then get to focus on those in training. Oh, and I peed on the bike, yay me! I really needed to go and realized there were no port a potties on this course so... seemed like the best place to do it, I rinsed off with my water bottle, and it all seemed to work out pretty well :) What would you do differently?: Push harder on the bike, and work on pushing harder on my training rides. I really need to get over my recreational biking background and become a racer ;) ![]() Transition 2
Comments: When I got to transition someone else had racked their bike in my slot, so it took me a few seconds to try to figure out what to do with my bike. I just leaned it against the bike rack, but then it was in front of all my running gear so I had to reach around it to grab my stuff. I also had a little trouble getting my amphipod belt on. I usually only use a race belt in tris and it's light so I just put it on while running. The amphipod belt was not very easy to put on while running because of the water bottles, so as I left transition with my hat and belt I ended up having to walk to get it on. What would you do differently?: Not have someone use my bike slot :). Just take the extra second and put my belt on in transition. ![]() Run
Comments: The run started out feeling pretty good, but after the first mile my achilles/calves in both legs tightened up and were really painful, my left foot went numb also, and I hadn't had that happen since last winter. The only thing I could think might have caused it was the gravel surface, because when I used to have trouble with this alot I was running on gravel or snowy surfaces. My cardio felt really good and I could have pushed harder, but my legs just wouldn't let me. What would you do differently?: I'm not really sure what I could have done about this, maybe tried walking a bit because if I could have gotten the pain to go away I could have pushed harder and made up for the little bit of walking time. ![]() Post race
Warm down: Was greeted by Gary and Heidi at the finish. It was great to see them and have them cheering me on! Then I walked it out a little, and changed my clothes to wait for the awards/raffle. I won a really nice pair of TYR Nest Pro goggles at the raffle! What limited your ability to perform faster: Painful calves, and I need to work on my biking speed. Event comments: I really enjoyed this race even with the difficulties. I loved the swim, learned lots on transitions and the bike, and made it through the run with no knee pain anyway. The people were great, Gary was an awesome support and photographer, Heidi cheered me on every time she passed me, and I look forward to doing this one again next year!!!! Last updated: 2007-11-27 12:00 AM
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United States
Montana Campus Contact
Sunny
Overall Rank = 95/101
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 11/13
Stayed at the EconoLodge in Missoula and got a good nights sleep once the fire alarm from someone's burnt popcorn was shut off. I had just fallen asleep when it went off, but I got back to sleep pretty quick after listening to it go off for about 10 minutes. Woke in the morning, dressed, did some light stretching, and made myself a cup of oolong tea. I mixed my electrolyte drink, filled my bottles and got the last few things packed up. Gary carried everything to the car (I have an awesome husband! ), and I went down to the breakfast area and made a waffle with peanut butter and syrup. Then we headed to Frenchtown.
Arrived early to the transition area, and picked an end spot near the bike exit. Set up transition, got body marked, and chatted with tri folks. I got to meet Heidi(shoeless) and her daughter Carrie. It's always so much fun meeting bt'ers in person, and Heidi has been on every challenge team I've been on, so it was extra fun meeting her! At about 8:45am I put on my wetsuit and went down to the pond for a warm up swim. The water felt great, but it was pretty chilly waiting for the gun to go off.