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 Swim
Comments: I felt GREAT in the water (huge sigh of relief)! Yes, the swim was short. They are saying about 200 yards but even adding 4 minutes to the swim it would be a PR for me! I swam my race. I was not worried about what anyone else was doing. Kept my strokes nice and smooth. I was really paying attention to making sure I was fully exhaling in the water before turning to breathe. I drafted when I could, but my focus was on remaining calm and making sure I was breathing well. For some reason, the two waves following mine were young guys so before the first turn I was already getting passed by them. Usually I try to swim on the buoy line, but I know that's were the men would be so I stayed about 15 foot off. It actually worked to my advantage since I breathe to the left I really did not have to sight since I kept on eye on the people swimming next to me. I could not be any happier with this swim. What would you do differently?: Nothing! Considering the lack of time I have spent in the water lately, I do have to wonder how much faster I could have gone if I actually concentrated on swimming.  Transition 1
Comments: It was a long uphill run to the transition area. Ran the whole way. Saw Jill and Kelly and asked them to tell Steve I was OK after the swim. Took a little time cleaning off my feet since they were covered with grass. Also put socks and gloves on. Grabbed the bike and ran out to the mount line. What would you do differently?: Maybe bring an extra water bottle to clean off my feet. Other than that, not unhappy with this transition.  Bike
Comments: The course seemed hillier than I remember from last year. Loved the first 20 miles. They seemed to go by really quickly. Got to give my new 12-27 a try almost right off the bat! Really got into a great rhythm and felt comfortable on the bike. Stuck with GU or Infinit every 20 minutes. Took water at each aid station to refill my aero bottle. Miles 20-40 were tougher for me. Hills and wind made it tough going at times, but I was still having a great time. Past a few and got passed by 100's but considering I started in wave 3 of 14, that was not a surprise. Miles 40-56 were great. Just put my head down and hammered it home. Played my normal game of putting the remaining distance into terms I was familiar with. At mile 20 it was just one loop through Keller and Trophy club. At mile 30 it was the Trinity Trail. At 40, The short loop we ride all of the time. This really helps me. Lost my salt tabs at about mile 40 :( What would you do differently?: I really need to start incorporating intervals and speed work into my training. It's there, in my plan, but too often I just go and ride. Off season goal is to get faster. Not lose my salt. Transition 2
Comments: Decided to keep my shoes on since the ride up to the dismount line is uphill and I could not find a good time to take my shoes off. Also decided to change my socks from regular bike socks to my Baleaga running socks. They are a bit thicker and I wanted to minimize the opportunity to get blisters. What would you do differently?: I was pretty happy with the transition so nothing really  Run
Comments: Ugh. Hills, hills, hills. The first 3 miles were hard. I was scared that my legs would never come back to me. After mile 3, and an Espresso Luv GU I felt better and was able to run until Quadzilla. Going into the 2nd loop I realized that my stomach was not feeling all that great. At that point, It seemed like my body stopped absorbing the fluids I was putting in. My stomach felt all bloated and gurgly. I knew I had to drink, but found it hard to get anything down. I walked a lot of the second loop. What would you do differently?: I have to wonder if the Infinit was the case of the digestion issues because other than that, all I had was GU and water. It also may have been a lack of salt as I lost my Lava salts on the bike. I did start taking Endurolytes at the first run aid station but it may have been too little too late. Also, like the bike, I need to start doing intervals and speedwork. Post race
Warm down: Crossed the line, got my medal and went over to the BT tent. My biggest mistake of the day...not stretching after I finished. I am paying for that today. Waited for Steve to come by on his second run loop. I knew he was struggling so I wanted to make sure he was OK. I was getting a little worried as I expected to see him sooner than I did. At one point I walked to Medical to make sure he was not there. When he was not there (whew) I walked up a little until I found him. I asked if I could walk with him for awhile and stayed with him for about 1.5 miles through the woods. I broke off when we got back to the park and went to the finish line to wait for him to cross. I cannot be any prouder of him for sticking it out on a tough day on a tough course to finish his first HIM!! Hung out at the tailgate for awhile. Made the long trek back to the car and then the 4 hour ride home. What limited your ability to perform faster: I need to work on speed. That means not just going out and running or biking but doing it with a purpose. Intervals and speedwork need to become part of my training plan. Event comments: Again, Endorfun put on a great show! Swim course was well marked with plenty of buoys to follow (and the fact that it was short was OK with me!). Bike course was well marked and the aid stations were all in the right places. There were some road issues and all but one were marked. There was one bump (not sure which road) but it was littered with water bottles and aero bottle poufies. It was like riding through a minefield. Run was challenging, but the themed aid stations were fun. Thanks for having Endourolytes at the aid stations. That was a big help. I would have loved to have finishers shirts. I would gladly forgo a shirt pre-race to get a 70.3 finishers shirt. Next year...sub 7!! Last updated: 2008-01-06 12:00 AM
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United States
EndorFUN SPORTS
77.9F / 26C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 1631/1929
Age Group = w 40-44
Age Group Rank = 68/79
Got to Austin on Friday evening. Checked into the hotel and got registered. The registration process took about 30 minutes. No wait to get the race packet but the line to get your shirt, cap and check your chip was long. The room they used for registration was pretty small. On Friday they had everyone queued up in that room. They changed it for Saturday and had people come in in small groups. Slept well Friday night. Saturday went to the Jack and Adams pancake breakfast. Made a trip to Austin Tri Cyclists since I realized that I did not have an inflator for my Co2. Went to the park did a quick spin, a quick swim. Back to the hotel to relax for a few minutes and then to the awesome BT dinner. Great turnout, great food and great service! Back to the hotel. Last minute getting ready and in bed by 10. Slept good until 3 and then tossed until the alarm went off at 4:15.
Got to the expo center at about 5:30. Parked and got in line for the bus. There was a bit of confusion about the system. There were many lines but no direction as to which line to get into. We picked one towards the front and probably waited about 15 minutes. Our line seemed to move before any of the others but still not sure what the system was.
Got to transition and set up. Filled aero bottle. Pumped tires and chatted for a few minutes with the girls racked around me. Steve came to get me and after a quick stop to apply sunscreen headed to the swim start. Thanks to some advice from Kari Harris, I wanted to get into the water and swim a little to make sure I was more relaxed before the start. Of course, the thought that I would have breathing issues was on my mind. Swam a little and felt great. Got out, took 2 hits from my inhaler and watched the first two waves go and then it was time to boogie!