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 Swim
Comments: This was an OK swim, the first 500 were a little rough but then I found my groove. I didnt sight too well and actually ran into the cliff at one point, then I tried to sight using a swimmer to my left only to discover he was worse at sighting than me :) Did OK though, the borrowed wetsuit worked out great! What would you do differently?: Practice more OWS  Transition 1
Comments: Had a bit of a treck from the water to T-1 and it hurt my feet! Saw Tom when I got into T1, figured I didnt swim too bad because he is an awesome swimmer. Time included in swim time.  Bike
Comments: Right out of transition there is 2 miles of steep hill, followed by a bit of a down hill then more hill then Usery Pass. My good East side Cool Kid friends ride Usery often so I knew it was a tough one, and I actually enjoyed it! Found Tom on Usery and we rode together, it was nice to have someone to chat to. My derailler seemed to be working OK but also seemed noisy and I felt a few times like something was rubbing. Still, I was thankful to have my gears and just concentrated on getting up each hill. What would you do differently?: Practice on hills more! No wait, maybe it was better to just have to deal with them in a race! Transition 2
Comments: T2 was cool- they take your bike and then you find your stuff. I did notice there were chairs under the shade but they were all taken, so I got changed into my running shoes and by-passed the water. Time included in run.  Run
Comments: Right out of transition, you head up a super steep trail with switchbacks. I started out running- ha! that didnt last more than 5 minutes! Then I was walking like everyone else. Andy (Chile) flew past me at the start of the run. Near the top I started to run again then ran down the trails. All the time keeping in mind that I have a marathon in 5 weeks and better not get hurt. I passed a few people on the next hill then came up to the aid station, the lady passed me 2 cups- Gatorade and Water. I got mixed up and poured the gatorade on my head! Yuck, then washed it off witht he cold water- man that felt good as the temps were getting hot! Then I found myself on my own for a bit, I kept hearing a rustling type sound beside the trail and as this is snake teritory, I kept thinking a rattler was following me- turned out to be my race number rubbing on my shorts, Ha! The next part was running through a wash, it was deep sand and really hard to run in, felt like I was putting in a lot of effort and not going very far. I could feel the sand going into my shoes! Then out of the sand and onto a really bumpy rock trail. I could see a girl ahead of me and I was feeling good but I knew if I tried to go faster, I'd end up twisting an ankle or something, the very end if the run is uphill, over a log and into the resort to finish! What would you do differently?: Hmm- run on trails sometimes! Seriously, I train and race on roads usually, this was something totally different- a mixture of hiking and running- and I should probably have had trail running shoes! Post race
Warm down: They had a lot going on at the finish- good food ( I grabbed some Pizza and M&Ms) and a pool! I saw Tom, Josh, Jen and Brian finish- everyone just amazed me today, I got such a kick out of watching my friends cross the finish line. We all thought the course was super tough but I could tell that everyone had a good time! We got in the pool for a bit- nice and cool! Then collected all our stuff. I was very worried that the wetsuit wouldnt make it back over from Butcher Jones but it did, along with all my other stuff. Cool! I even gained a towel and a bike tube, but lost a water bottle! We stayed for awards- I got 3rd in my AG and got a cool beer cozy containing GU packets :) What limited your ability to perform faster: A year ago, I dont think I would have attempted this race. I used to not like being out of my element/comfort zone. This put me out there and I loved it! I'm proud that I finished it with a smile on my face. Getting 3rd in my AG and 9th female was just icing on the cake :) Event comments: DCB did an amazing job at pulling it all together. A year ago I would have put this course as "too hard" but I did it, and I look forward to doing it again!! And the best part: my husband is sick of working on my bike and agrees that we need to get me a new one. Woot! :) Last updated: 2008-04-05 12:00 AM
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United States
DCB adventures
90F / 32C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 9/33
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 3/9
*** This race report might be long- it was such an awesome experience!****
This race was not an Olympic distance, they call it an International. There was an Xterra MTB course and a road course for the bike. The swim and trail run were the same for everyone.
Got up at 5:30 and was out the door by 6, took about an hour to get to Saguaro lake. This race was a point to point, no central transition, so it was very confusing. I had stuff in various trash bags that had to be dropped here and there, it really required a bit of preparation :) I was in freak out mode when I ran into the BTers (Jen, Josh, Brian and Tom) at Butcher Jones Cove- you see I was having bike issues and was stuck in the big ring which was not going to work on the hills of this course. Luckily Josh had a tool and was able to quickly fix my bike (hubby and I had stayed up til 10:30 last night trying to figure it out). Yay- big weight off my mind! Then we had to go park, then catch a bus to the swim start. I was amazed that I didnt get lost!
Got to the swim start, into wetsuit and then it was time to get into the water. It felt chilly at first, I was wearing earplugs so it was really hard to hear. All of a sudden we were off in one big wave :)