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 Swim
Comments: (Time is approximate, from my watch, for the time actually in the water - in the official results they added T1 to the swim time even though we hit timing mats not long after exiting the swim.) Waded in and floated a bit before the start. Warmed up the suit. Yeah. Wound up a little further back in the pack than I wanted to but didn't have enough time to move up. Oh well. We started and it was the usual washing machine really until after the 2nd turn buoy. I was trying to draft but was getting jostled on the sides, so just did my own thing and hoped for open water. Got that not long after we rounded the 2nd buoy. Sweet! I was able to get into a good rhythm and just kept popping my head up every so often to make sure I was on course and not about to run into anyone. Really felt strong and comfortable at this point - definitely could've gone longer and probably even harder. Before long I made the last turn into shore and swam til my hands touched the bottom. Got up and ran up a hill to begin the LONG (at least 1/4 mile) trek to transition. Glanced at my watch and was thrilled - my goal had been to be at or below 2:00/100m average and I beat that! What would you do differently?: Get in slightly better position at the start and pick up the pace earlier.  Transition 1
Comments: This time is also approximate since again, T1 time was rolled into the swim time in the official results. This also included that long run uphill to the transition area, so while the time looks dismally slow, nothing much else I could've done to move faster. Suit came off pretty easily except for the ankle with the timing band, but even that wasn't a problem (did it all standing up). BIG difference with tri bike shoes - MUCH faster to get on. What would you do differently?: Not much - this went more smoothly than I had imagined, considering it was my first wetsuit tri.  Bike
Comments: Well, I knew the course was going to be tough, and it didn't disappoint. Thank jebus I'm used to riding hills around home! Lots of rolling hills and several significant climbs. Saw a couple people walking their bikes up the biggest hills, but I did not. I was determined to keep on pedaling, and I did, even though it meant I had to stand up to do it sometimes. Just about all the climbs were followed by some AMAZING fast downhills, though, which made it all worth it for me. I hit a max speed of 42.3 mph! Rode in the aerobars for just about all the (very few) flats, rollers, and most of the downhills (had to ride in the drops instead on a couple so I had access to the brakes when I had slower people in front of me not leaving enough room to pass). Ate 2 shot bloks about 3 miles in and 2 more at around 15 miles in. Drank about half my bottle of water. Just right. Odd thing about this was that I was riding almost entirely with the men - only passed and was passed by a few women. Wasn't sure whether that meant I was way ahead or way behind the rest of the women from my swim wave (but there had been a lot of bikes still left in T1 when I got there after the swim, so I dunno). What would you do differently?: Nothing - while I would've liked to have seen a higher average mph, on that course (and my low bike training time lately) 15.8 wasn't too shabby for me. A compact crank would've been useful. Transition 2
Comments: Best T2 yet (except for my first tri, which had a much smaller transition area and I didn't have bike shoes). Tri bike shoes and Yankz on my running shoes made this VERY fast. Just switched shoes quickly, grabbed my visor and race belt, and off I went. What would you do differently?: Nada  Run
Comments: Website says it was 3.4 miles, results say it was 3.5, but the average pace they give is calculated based on 3.4, so whatever. Tough run, too - almost entirely on trails with loose gravel/rocks and some grassy sections. A few tough, steep climbs that made me want badly to walk, but I didn't. First mile was in 8:21, second mile was 9:07 (where most of the hills were), last 1.4/5 mile was 12:47. Part of it was well-shaded, but a lot of it (particularly the last half mile) was in the blazing sun, which drew a very fine line for me between staying just cool enough and overheating. Lots of water stops - took water from each and sipped some and dumped the rest down the back of my neck. Tried to keep the legs moving forward as fast as possible, but by the second half I knew I was running short on energy. Pressed on and just tried to take in the whole experience. Before long, I turned the last corner and had to hop a little ridge and run uphill to the finish. The announcer called out my name, which made me smile and gave me the extra boost I needed. Finished strong and knew I had left it all on the course. What would you do differently?: Nothing. The tough bike course took a lot out of my legs, but I'm still proud of the pace I was able to maintain despite that, the terrain, the hills, and the heat on the run course. Post race
Warm down: Got a bottle of water at the finish, met up with Travis, walked around a little, stood in the shade a little while, got some food (pasta and fruit), then stretched for about 10 minutes. What limited your ability to perform faster: Hilly course And I just have to say here - MAD PROPS to those who did the half-iron there today. I can't imagine riding 56 miles on those hills and then running 13.1. Amazing efforts by all who completed this race, in either distance! Event comments: VERY well-run race. Wish we weren't moving so I could do more of the CGI races this year! They didn't miss a thing. Very challenging, scenic course that made me feel like I really accomplished something. Last updated: 2008-02-29 12:00 AM
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United States
CGI Racing
60F / 16C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 197/442
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 17/30
Went down on Saturday for packet pickup...got my stuff, met Ron, hung around for the pre-race meeting, then checked out the lake. Drove the bike course - woah nelly. I had already known I was in for a challenging bike, but riding the course just reinforced that. Still, I wasn't nervous, just excited. Knowing the course was going to be tough, I was going in with zero expectations other than to have fun and finish.
Drove back home where I had planned to cook shrimp and whole wheat pasta for dinner, but a nasty t-storm blew through and knocked our power out. So much for that! Went out and got a shrimp scampi pasta at Uno's.
Tried to get to sleep early but as usual took a little while for that to happen. Probably got 5-5.5 hours of good solid sleep. Alarm went off at 4:45 and I hit snooze once but was wide awake anyway. Ate a Luna bar, drank a cup of soy milk, then Travis and I loaded the car and left. Stopped at Dunkin Donuts so he could get breakfast and we could both get (black) coffee. Ate a banana. Drive took about 45 minutes, not including the slow traffic to get into the park.
Got a spot about halfway down the rack and set up my stuff. Hit the portajohn and (sorry guys - you might want to stop reading here for a moment) had a "you gotta be kidding me" moment - oh yes - feminine issues had arrived early. Traipsed back to the car where THANK GOD I had "supplies" in my purse. Back to the portajohn to take care of business. (GUYS - Resume reading here. If you read the preceding, well, I warned you!) By this point it was a little after 7, so I lubed up with Trislide (that stuff is AWESOME) and put the wetsuit on halfway. Walked the 1/4 mile or so down to the lake. Travis took a couple pictures and then it was time for me to queue up (was in the 3rd wave), so I put the top half of the wetsuit on and headed over to the start area.
None to speak of, other than wrestling the wetsuit on and the hike down to the lake.