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 Swim
Comments: Really, one of these days I am going to have a good swim. But not this day. Quite crowded and I am just not yet comfortable with all the bumping, getting kicked, swam over, etc. it still kinda freaks me out. I just hung back and let the crowd get by me and then tried to find some open water to get into a rythm. There really was no open water to be found, though. I didn't have any major breakdown on the swim, but I felt anxious and out of sync for most of it. Really did not find that "happy space" I was hoping for. Longish run from the water to T1 is included, my HR monitor siad I was out of the water at 31:06. What would you do differently?: I guess just more practice and more racing experience with bigger wave starts.  Transition 1
Comments: Average T1. I stripped my suit off before getting into T1 and it came off OK. I fumbled with my bike shoes for longer than I would have liked and really didn't feel very speedy. What would you do differently?: I would really like to get some Tri-specific bike shoes and leave 'em clipped in. Maybe next season.  Bike
Comments: Oh what could have been. This race, and particularly this bike, will be etched in my memory for many years. I flatted 3 miles from the bike finish. Tubular on the rear... hit a bump/rock/debris...I dunno, and POW. No spare. I know... it was a calculated risk and I knew it. So I stopped talked to some volunteers for a couple minutes bemoaning my misfortune and figured "race over" I would just walk in. Then, I thought.. F*@#it, I paid money to race, not DNF. The tire was probably shot anyway, so I got back on the bike and started riding in. Slow...it got real dicey above about 12mph, but I finished the bike. I figure I lost about 8 minutes, maybe a little more. The good news was I arrived in T2 fairly rested. What would you do differently?: If I had not flatted and carried my speed in the last three miles, I would have easily had a top 20 overall bike split, and top 3 in my age group. I was really having a strong bike on a course that suited me very well. Damn. Next time, I think I shall try not to flat. Transition 2
Comments: Wasn't in a real hurry as my race was effectiveley over; I was just going for fun at this point. What would you do differently?: I would have moved a little quicker if I had been serious about it.  Run
Comments: I didn't push too hard on the run. The time I lost with the flat on the bike, resulted in an adjustment of my priorities, I really didn't feel like I was racing any longer, just finishing. I had to pee, so a bathroom stop took about a minute, then I ran for a couple miles with another guy I met and had a very enjoyable conversation. He had ruptured his achilles 6 months ago and was not able to go very hard. Amazing that he was racing at all. At the turn-around I picked up the pace a bit for the second half of the run. What would you do differently?: Nothing, I'm certain I could have shaved 2-3 minutes off of this without any difficulty. I just was not motivated to do so. Post race
Warm down: Some water, a breakfast burrito, walk around. What limited your ability to perform faster: Ummmmmmmm....... a flat tire? Event comments: Great race. Excellent venue, great support, well organized, good food. Well done. Last updated: 2008-05-19 12:00 AM
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United States
USA Triathlon
65F / 18C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 204/595
Age Group = 45-49M
Age Group Rank = 19/43
It seemed there was bad karma for this race from the start... My plan for a nice relaxing evening before the race was not to be. Equipment issues, a dinner eaten too late and an inability to get more than a couple hours of sleep. Although, I was sleeping quite soundly right through the alarm. Overslept by 30 minutes, wolfed down a bowl of cold ceral (instead of the oatmeal I had really wanted) and rushed out the door at 5:10am. Fortunately the race is local and I had only a five minute drive. Arrived, found a spot in transition for my bike, got body marked and back to the vehicle for the rest of my stuff. The only minor issue was when I got back to transition with my stuff, it was really full and I couldn't remember where my bike was. 10 minutes of searching and it was located. Dumb shit. Wet suit on and down to the water for the start.
My wave was 5 out of 6, so I had plenty of time for some swim warmup. Probably did 200-250 easy and honestly felt pretty good. I was ready to get it going.