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 Swim
Comments: At last it was my turn. I kept telling myself to relax and just swim my race. I started out skipping breaths because it just felt good...until my heart rate shot up. I lifted my head up to see how far I was in the 50 m lane and I was still only half way and my heart rate was too high. So I slowed myself down and tried to find a rhythm. I didn't ever fall into sync with breathing until about 200m. Finally things were flowing along. I passed 2-3 people and only recall being passed once or twice. One girl blew by me and for about 30 seconds I hung in her bubbles and thought, "cool, I am drafting!". LOL Mostly, though we all stayed pretty evenly spaced. One thing that I told myself was that I was not going to go into any "negative" spaces with this race. I constantly want to beat myself up for not being faster and can drag myself with negative thoughts. I wanted to celebrate completion and not compete. I saw a sign made up that said "COMPLETE NOT COMPETE" and I loved that. What would you do differently?: I was sort of upset that all of my time in the pool did not find me getting to the end of each lane faster but I let go. I need to spend some time concentrating on speed and not just endurance in the pool. I am going to work on some ladders on long swim days to see how that works. Also OWS with the ESCKTC will help.  Transition 1
Comments: Little did I know that my time in the pool would pay off here. My legs were totally fresh and ready for the bike! YAY!! A victory!! I had to plop down to get my shoes on-ARGH! but other then that slapped everything on and was off for the ride. I crossed the mat and steered clear for a second to make sure I could clip in without messing anyone up and I did fine. What would you do differently?: I have to learn to get my shoes on without sitting down!!  Bike
Comments: This was my area today!! Many sections I was cruising 18-20 mph and loved it. I picked people off one by one and passed them. One stretch had a little wind but it wasn't too bad. My work on the bike has definitely been paying off I could have kept on going! I was especially happy that I took in water while maintaining speed. That was something that I have been so afraid to do until now. YAY!! In the back of my mind there was that little run thing coming up. I wasn't going to let it interrupt this ride though. ;>) What would you do differently?: I need to keep riding longer and longer rides to get faster. Also more work at race pace. Transition 2
Comments: Once again I plopped down to change shoes. I don't see getting this done standing up and clearly need to practice. If I was to come in under an hour today then shoe changing could have been a way to make up a few minutes easily! One funny thing was that I grabbed some Carmex to put on and it had totally melted sitting out on the towel. So I ended up with half a container spread across my face. LOL What would you do differently?: Again work on standing to change shoes. I feel like I lose time when I plop down.  Run
Comments: I started as a runner, have put in the most time running and yet this is still my weakest. It just ended up being a run as fast as you can and then walk type of thing. I got it done and in reflection it was stronger then my first tri last fall but I had hopped to knock out those two miles with either no or minimal walk breaks. One by one the stronger runners picked me off as I watched them slip out of sight. It was hot by now and I was tired but I was almost done. Before long I saw the finish line and was done! What would you do differently?: Like the other sports I need to practice more at race pace. Need to maybe back off some distance in place for speed. Also, and realistically, I have to lose some weight to speed up my run! Post race
Warm down: Got my medal, grabbed two orange slices and then headed home. It was starting to roast out there! What limited your ability to perform faster: Just need more experience and more practice. I need to take some focus off of distance and put it on speed in all areas. I didn't end this saying never again or that sucked like previous races. I was like cool!! I was questioning my motivation for picking out the olympic distance and REALLY wondering if I am ready for it. I am not talking nerves here I am talking can I REALLY do that distance? I think I can IF I don't even care about time. It simply has to be something I do just to complete it. I would have really liked to keep biking today and if I kept running I might actually have found a decent rhythm. Who knows. I am going to think about it and really evaluate my goals the next day or two before I decide. Other then waiting around and having to eat something all went well and I am happy! I feel my long hours are paying off. :>D After being home a few hours I noticed that I got sunburned. All of that time out there really cooked me. After I took a nap, I was thinking through things and found myself thinking that I just couldn't wait to do it again. I couldn't wait to try to get my shoes on standing, to bike just a hair faster, to run just a little stronger. Oy, oy, oy, how did I ever get so hooked on this? Lastly, I signed up for this race in the Athena category and came in 11/41. Even if I move myself over to my age group to compare I still come in the first half. :>D Event comments: Great race and course! I think that the venue was a little small for the number of people though and the wait was too long! I would rather they move it back to Tempe Town lake and have group waves rather then sit around and wait for 4 hours to start. Other then that though it was well organized and the volunteers were wonderful. Profile Album Last updated: 2008-04-20 12:00 AM
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Tri Scottsdale
Sunny
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I had such a crazy, busy week that my anxiety about this race was off the charts. I wasn't nervous about anything in particular, well maybe the clipless pedals a bit, but just didn't have a ton of time to think through things and that made me very anxious.
Finally last night after getting home from a wedding the kids and I held the 2nd annual mock triathlon where I could lay everything out and hold pretend transitions. Yes, the mock triathlon was complete with all of us running around the house pretending to bike, swim and run. :>D
I was up at 4 am for my pre-race routine. I had the usual peanut butter bread and coffee. It didn't take long for 5 am to come around and I put Tewonda (my bike) in the back of the van and was off.
By 5:30 I had my bike in the rack and my transitions set up. Finally a little calm washed over me. Then it was time to hurry up and wait! There was a kid triathlon first and then almost 1000 participants that began to race every 15 seconds. There was even an elite division and if you can imagine I was just oohing and ahhing over them. LOL
Around 9:00 I realized I was 5! hours away from my breakfast and I was hardly taking in any hydration. My stomach was totally growling and I was thirsty! I found half a bagel and a piece of banana at the finisher area and sat down to eat a mid morning snack. By the time I was done I drank a whole bike bottle of water+ nuun!! I need to plan better for nutrition for late starting events like this. But the refuel had me feeling strong again and ready to go.
Just before 10:00 my number was finally coming around. One thing I did better this time was warm up in the water a bit as I waited for my number to be called. Not only did it help to calm my nerves but it let me stretch my legs and get used to the water.