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 Swim
Comments: Didn't do very much swimming during the winter, but I've got a decent base of fitness from long runs & bikes, so I pretty much got through the swim just on fitness. So it wasn't extraordinarily hard, just slow. Almost 2 minutes slower than last year. Getting out of the water was not too bad, the tide was reasonably high so the bottom where we got out was fairly firm, not very muddy. I wanted to take my own splits including one for actual swim time (not counting the run from the beach to the timing mat), but getting out of the water I pushed the wrong button or buttons, so instead of getting the splits I wanted, I spent some of my time running to T1 trying (eventually successfully) to get back to having current heart rate displayed. What would you do differently?: More swim training to build strength and improve technique. I haven't used a wetsuit before, but am waiting for one to be delivered as I write this, so next time...  Transition 1
Comments: Best T1 I've had. Got back the 2 minutes I gave up on the swim. I've always struggled with getting my shoes on, this time I had a shoehorn and that made a lot of difference, I think. This is also the first race where I've used clip-on aerobars, which make it a lot easier to stage helmet & sunglasses What would you do differently?: Not much, just keep refining. Oh, and maybe socks (see T2 comments)  Bike
Comments: I knew the course pretty well from last year and Saturday's ride, so pretty much knew what to expect. Felt OK on the first lap except that my feet were cold and numb. They stayed that way throughout the ride and into the run. On the second loop, both calves started going crampy--didn't really fully cramp up, but I could tell that they would if given the slightest opportunity. That slowed me down a bit, just went with a lower gear and tried to keep my heels down. Also made sure to get some fluids/electrolytes onboard. The steep bit was a little tough, but a lot better knowing when it was coming up. I got into the small chainring when it started climbing a bit more steeply, and then got into a really small gear for the real climb and was able to spin up it. Kept spinning to recover a bit after the bend, and by the time I got halfway or so to the turnaround I was able to start upshifting. Back in the big ring before the turnaround, ready to scream down to the other turnaround and back down Back Bay. Shaved about 30 seconds off of last year's time. I would have liked to have been a bit faster, I think I'm in better condition this year and also using aerobars, but I think I gave most of that back with crampy calves. What would you do differently?: I usually don't put socks on for the bike leg in order to save time in T1, but then I usually wind up with cold feet throughout the ride. I don't know if this really slows me down, though. Still, might be worth putting socks on in T1 next time--it won't make a difference overall since I always wear them for the run anyway. Transition 2
Comments: Nothing remarkable. Shoehorn helped again, good $2 investment.  Run
Comments: First part of the run was kind of slow, still on the edge of cramping in both calves and my feet were still cold. Feet warmed up pretty quickly, but my calves didn't really sort themselves out until nearly the turnaround point. At that point I got into a pretty good cadence and got going fairly well. I knew from last year that there was a hill approaching the turnaround. It was very helpful knowing it was there and about how long it was. I also decided that rather than rely on fluid stations I'd carry my own. Stomach doesn't handle full-strength Gatorade very well during exercise, so I cut it to 50% strength with water. I had two bottles on the bike, and grabbed one to take with me. Very helpful being able to take a swig whenver I want, which I usually do on long training runs. Felt good at the finish and was able to run it in pretty strong (which probably means I wasn't going hard enough earlier...) Best run pace I've put up, and again faster than last year by nearly 30 seconds. What would you do differently?: Start going faster earlier. Post race
Warm down: Stretched a little bit and had the water they handed me at the finish. Then went and got my stuff cleared out of transition, then went and got a banana & some Gatorade. Then back to watch some of the other finishers, then headed home. What limited your ability to perform faster: The usual. Hauling a bit too much me around the course, for starters. Not enough swim training. Not sure what to do about calf cramps, I've had that before although usually starting on the run, not as much on the bike as this time. Maybe some Gatorade during warmup, since I generally don't wind up drinking as much on the bike as I'd like. Event comments: Overall, beat last year's time by 1:10, so not to bad--faster in everything but the swim, and major improvement in T1. Last updated: 2008-04-21 12:00 AM
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United States
Humanrace
Overall Rank = 342/490
Age Group = M 45-49
Age Group Rank = 22/30
Saturday morning went to pick up my packet. Got to the hotel about 10:15 and it wasn't very crowded. Sat in on the race director's talk.
Notice that this race is kind of limited on schwag--got a Gatorade bottle and a Powercrunch bar in my bag, but there wasn't much else.
Went down to Newport and pre-rode the bike course. I did the race last year on the same course, but just wanted to refresh myself and get a short, easy ride in.
We went to see Elton John on Saturday night (which is, yes, alright for fighting...) so probably not the ideal pre-race restful night's sleep, but I did get to bed by 11:30 or so.
Sunday, Got up about 4:45, ate a banana & peanut butter, had coffee & a Clif bar in the car. Got to the site about 5:45, did the neccesary and then got my stuff out of the car, got my bike racked and my spot set up.
Although it was pretty early, the bike racks were already getting crowded. Two guys had set their bikes up side by side, racked by their seats on the other side of the rack so their rear tires were sticking into my side, so I had to set up my stuff mostly underneath their rear tires. But they had pretty fancy tri bikes and I figured I'd be a slower swimmer, so figured it was a pretty good bet that they'd be gone by the time I got to T1.
Mostly just milling around. Did a short jog over to the trash to throw away my coffee cup & back. Ate a couple of Shot Blocks. Also did a smart thing for a change, checked the batteries in my GPS and they were not dead but kind of low so I convinced myself to go back to the car and get a fresh set. Otherwise I'd have almost certainly come back into T1 to a dead GPS.
Got in the water and did a bit of swimming. Water temp wasn't too bad, especially compared to Alamitos Bay last Sunday. I ran into a guy during swim warmup, t-boned him and jammed my thumb on his calf. Didn't bother me during the race, but it's kinda sore now.
Chatted with a couple of other guys on the beach waiting for the start, and then off we went.