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 Swim
Comments: I remember that I didn't like this swim last year, and I didn't like it again. You get this weird mix of good swimmers and women who just aren't going to swim at all. Somehow I once again got stuck right in the middle and had trouble getting a rhythm. I even stayed to the outside and STILL couldn't get clear water. I was really panicky the first lap out-and-back. Even had to stand to get my bearings for a moment and then started dolphin diving in the shallow end. Finally started to feel better on the last lap and just swam as fast as I possibly could. My sighting was also HORRIBLE. I was all over the place and bringing my head very far out of the water to sight. I was just off. Felt like I was flailing. With that said, I was still about 11" faster than last year. Not sure how that happened, when my training has all seemed slower! So, I at least feel good that I had a rough swim but still picked up some time. :) What would you do differently?: Stop worrying and just do my own thing. Also need more practice sighting. Need to remember that I know how to swim and am not going to suddenly start drowning for no reason. That Grand Haven race last year really messed with my head and I still haven't been able to clear the demons despite several OWS since then.  Transition 1
Comments: I had absolutely awful placing in the transition area (you rack with your wave). The transition area is HUGE and I was about as far away as you can get from the "BIKE OUT." There's also a really long run from the swim. I kept up a good pace running from the swim and also did a good job running out with my bike. Even with my horrible placing, I was still a few seconds faster than last year, so feel really good about my effort here. What would you do differently?: Nothing really.  Bike
Comments: Came out of transition BLAZING. Was probably around 21-22mph for the first part of that lap. Then somewhere along the way, it all started going downhill. I was getting really hot and I had a pounding headache (which is weird for me). I was starting to feel a little nauseous and knew I had to take it back a notch. I was still passing the whole time, because there were so many first-timers at this race. Near the end of the ride I was pushing, pushing, pushing as hard as I could and just had nothing left in the legs. Very disappointed in my performance here. What would you do differently?: I think nutrition was much of the problem here. Transition 2
Comments: Wheels really coming off here. It was really tough having to run so far back in with my bike. My HR was sky high and I really just wanted to be done. What would you do differently?: Focus.  Run
Comments: Ugh. Terrible performance here. Had to walk almost right off the bat, because I was feeling really dizzy and nauseous. Once I got going, I started feeling a little better and really picked it up. When I got to about 2 miles I was really done though. Just had nothing left to give. I walked a couple of the last aid stations and tried to stay wrong when I was running. I am capable of so much more than this, but again, I think nutrition (or lack thereof) played a big role here. What would you do differently?: Eat more in the morning? I also need to get my mental toughness back. Quickly. I'm finding it so hard to stay mentally tough. I was almost in tears out there because I wanted to power through but really, really felt like I had nothing to give. I was just exhausted. Post race
Warm down: Laura, Kim, Jonathan and Laura's parents were all waiting right at the finish for me. It's a good thing they were there or else I probably would have had a complete meltdown. Stood around and waited for Ellen, then headed to transition to wait in a long-ass line for our bikes. This is the worst part about this race and I'm not sure I'll be back next year for this reason alone! What limited your ability to perform faster: I've got to be smarter about nutrition. I also need to get my stress under control and start getting more rest. Physically, I've got some work to do on all three disciplines. It's frustrating because I feel like I've been doing a lot of hard work on the run and bike, and I'm not seeing the results in races. Last year I had a lot more miles under my belt though and maybe that has something to do with it. I don't know. It just wasn't my day. Event comments: This is still a great race for beginners and it's fun to be out there with so many women. However, it's incredibly crowded and a bit frustrating to really try to race (unless you're really out there in front). If I do this race again, it will be because I've convinced some friends to do their first triathlons. And it will be for fun and only for fun. :) Last updated: 2008-05-14 12:00 AM
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United States
US Women's Triathlon Series
65F / 18C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 355/1919
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 86/410
Followed the same timing as last year, since it had worked so well. Up a bit before 4am and out the door by 4:30am. Realized as we were putting my bike in the car that I still had the trainer skewer in and it doesn't have quick release, so if I flatted I wouldn't be able to get the wheel off. Decided to run back upstairs and get my other skewer and this took a while because he couldn't find it. So...we got a much later start than I intended and was pretty stressed out. As it turned out, we got there just on time. Had a Hammer Bar (220 cals) on the way to Naperville and sipped on some water. Once we met up with Laura (Startingtotri) and her friends Ellen and Kim, my awesome jockstrapper (jowisc) took off to do his 1 1/2 hour training run. We headed to transition and got set up pretty quick. No worries. Very easy. About 6:15am, I headed to the beach with Ellen and Kim. At 6:30am, they opened the water for warm-up and I knew that I had to get in...this is something I just do for all of my races. It gives me peace of mind that I still remember how to swim. :) After swimming, I parked out a picnic table (another reason to get there early!) with Laura, Ellen and Kim. We got ready to watch the elite women take off when BOOM! Thunder...and then lightening....and a DOWNPOUR. Bummer. Around 7:10, more thunder and lightening. And then 7:20, more. Finally, at 8am, the race was able to begin. But since we were one hour delayed, my start time wouldn't be until 9:15am. Ugh. The whole time we waited, I was freezing cold since I had been in the water. I also didn't have nearly enough to eat. I had been up since 3:55am (four hours by race start, five+ hours until my start) and had only had about 350 cals. This definitely came back to bite me later. When will I learn that I can't race on ZERO?
Swam one lap out and back by myself and was strangely panicky. I don't know why. It was my first "open water" swim of the year, but it shouldn't have been enough to give me anxiety. I typically feel great during my swim warm up, but I didn't. I sort of knew this was going to be an off day for me. When I got back I saw Laura getting in to do her warm-up, so I took off and did another lap. So, all in all, about 400M of warm-up swim.