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 Swim
Comments: I've come to the conclusion that it's pretty hard for me to have a really decent swim in a Sprint. Things always bunch up at the first buoy, there are always too many guys sprinting out ahead for the first 100 yards before dying and becoming human buoys, and you can never find open space to concentrate on your form. Today, I was constantly swimming around people, but I could never settle into a smooth, powerful stroke as I do in longer races. Still, the swim leg is so short, it doesn't matter too much. What would you do differently?: I'd probably seed myself at the front of the pack so I wouldn't get blocked by slower swimmers. That's not easy to do, though. Guys who have no business in front always put themselves in front, making it hard to get in the front row at the start.  Transition 1
Comments: T1 seemed to take an eternity to me. Out of force of habit from doing longer races recently, I unnecessarily took the time to put on socks in T1, which I really shouldn't do for a Sprint anymore. I compounded my problems in T1 by struggling to click in after the mounting line. That cost me probably 10 precious on my bike split. What would you do differently?: Not put on socks in T1.  Bike
Comments: Considering the ideal conditions, I should have turned in a faster bike split than this. But after my recent blow-up in Memphis, I wanted to play it conservative and be sure I had plenty of juice for the run. In the end, it was probably the right strategy for this race. I didn't bother with my aero helmet for this race as I just wanted to stick to the familiar today. One thing I did differently was just stick to my infinit for all my nutrition-- no gels. I think that really helped my run, as I didn't have any of the GI issues I've had on the run. What would you do differently?: In future races, I'll definitely get back to pushing the tempo a bit more. Transition 2
Comments: Here's where I really cost myself a shot at going sub 1:20. I missed my rack, as I saw an identical T-bag to mine another row over, then had trouble locating my spot. Plus I was confused because my spot was on a rack that was split between two age groups. What would you do differently?: Get a better rack spot.  Run
Comments: I couldn't ask for anything more from this run, considering I just began running again 10 weeks ago after a nearly 6-month layoff. I felt strong, maintained good form throughout and, dare I say, even ENJOYED this run on a day with absolutely perfect conditions. I even had a good kick at the end to bring home one of my best runs in a tri ever. Clearly, I have no problems running shorter distance course right now, even with having done very little speed work. Now I just have to focus on re-building my base and translating some of this speed into my longer runs. What would you do differently?: Somehow dig for an extra 5-seconds so I could break 1:20? Post race
Warm down: I assumed the lotus position and embraced my inner donkey. What limited your ability to perform faster: Genetics. There, I said it. I just don't have "IT". :) Event comments: As always, Lake Mills was a great event and a major donkey happening. It was great to see and meet so many donks-- djdavey, morey1, jszat, jmwebs, AmyJoTris, firstnet 911, maggyruth, djdavey, 1stTimeTri, pjgrande, sgoehner, pjgrande, deannas, pseudoyams and others I just can't think of at the moment. It was also an absolutely perfect day for a race-- an almost unbelievable day, considering the non-Spring we've had in Wisconsin. I also got out of this race exactly what I wanted-- to rebuild my confidence in my run. I said going in there was no way I was going to be able to beat my time from last year. And yet, despite a sub-par bike and awful transitions, my swim and run were strong enough to help me beat my time from last year by more than 30 seconds. Now I just have to keep building on this momentum. Last updated: 2008-02-19 12:00 AM
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United States
Lake Mills Triathlon
74F / 23C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 186/648
Age Group = 40 - 44
Age Group Rank = 29/48
I slept soundly from 10:15pm until 12:15am. Then Scooby came a-grunting, wanting to be let out and that ended my decent sleep for the evening. So I kinda laid around with eyes closed until 4:30, got up and got on the road quickly to make the 45-minute drive to Lake Mills. On the way, I ate two bananas, some endurolytes and drank some Gatorade. Reaching the venue, I found a parking spot right next to jszat and biked on down to transition. But not before cuing up what would be my song for the day to keep inside my head for the race-- David Brookings' "Get Behind Me". I heard this tune while waiting inside the Sun Studio gift shop in Memphis for my tour to begin, liked it, grabbed the CD and went to buy it. The guy behind the counter says, "Hey, you're buying me." Sure, enough I look down at the cover of the CD, then at the cashier... and it's David Brookings. He then also served as our guide for the tour. Gotta like a musician who pays his dues.
I found a decent rack spot, but on a rack that was split between two age groups. That would cost me a bit later when I got confused trying to find my T-spot in T2. Other than that, just saw and talked to a lot of donks-- jszat, maggyruth, morey1, sgoehner, djdavey and others. Prior to race time, I was sure to get in the water for a quick dip just to see how cold it was-- let's just say it was "shrinkage" cold and I was d*** glad for my wetsuit. Still, I was prepared for worse. Before I knew it, it was time for my wave to go off.