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 Swim
Comments: I lined up at the very front and inside :), right behind a relay swimmer (hoping to catch a ride for the swim, especially since I hadn't swum in a few weeks). Never fails, though ... my dead-on, infrequent sighting means that my draftee will veer away ... (that, or my slower-than-fast swimming means I drift off the back). Just swam smooth and easy to the first buoy, rounded very close, and put together a nice, strong, consistent but not heart-attack swim for the long stretch. Swells meant I drank a lot of seawater, which I rarely do. I thought the swim was well-organized, the wave starts being of the right size and timing, since I didn't do or suffer a lot of tackle rugby. What would you do differently?: Nothing. It was a wonderful swim.  Transition 1
Comments: The fairly long (fifth, fourth of a mile) trek UP to T1 through soft stand, up a steep flight of concrete stairs, then up a sidewalk took up a lot of time, but this was my most successful T1 yet in the transition area itself. I spent less than two minutes in, although there was a bottleneck trying to get out. I heard a wonderful "GO YANTI" on my way up--BunnyB had come to cheer! What a darling!!! What would you do differently?: Nada. I suppose I could practice running uphill on soft sand, since this seems to be a prominent feature of tris I select, but ... nah. :)  Bike
Comments: For the first time ever, I was screaming ON YOUR LEFT a lot!!! Yeah!!! I am GRATEFUL for the newbies, the mini-sprinters, the recreational-wavers, despite the weaving and wobbling, 'cause I actually got to pass people! This was truly neat--not just the passing--there was lots of good energy and riotous fun from all the first-timers and BOPers. I was a little chagrined at the U-turn and sharp turns, which tended to come at the bottom of grades/hill. My feet were completely numb throughout the ride, which was very uncomfortable. But I heard someone cheering--look, it's BunnyB again! She was snapping pictures and being my fan. I felt soooo cooooool. :) It seemed like she was everywhere on the course today. What would you do differently?: Need to get my bike built out a little and refitted. It's not just that my knees smack my boobs in aero (ow!)--they actually lift my upper body up a bit and it's very tiring. Transition 2
Comments: Not the best transition--just fuzzy. Excellent dismount and fast move to rack. However, I picked my bike up and swung it around the rack and onto my spot (the way it was racked before) instead of just tossing it on any which way, since it didn't matter anymore. Gulped water, since no chance to do so on bike (forgot there'd be water on course). Chewed some Clif Bloks (instead of just grabbing and running with them), but spat them out. Shoes off/on pretty fast, but tough to guess-tie when there's no feeling in your feet. What would you do differently?: Not waste time racking my bike "properly" or drinking/eating.  Run
Comments: Not a spectacular run, as you can see from the numbers. I did notice on the way to the race my feet are still bruised from the marathon, and I definitely felt its vestiges during the run (also since my feet were un-numbing, and that was PAINFUL as opposed to the numbness, which is merely awkward/uncomfortable/heavy). I'd planned to just run through, but needed to take a few walk breaks. However, the views were great, the runners encouraging, and what joy to hear my name being yelled out--Hans (devouahy) and Lindsay were doing the tri together and recognized me! Faeron was staffing a turn and yelled something delightfully snarky, don't recall what. As I rounded the final turns, I kicked it in, and there was Cake Boyfriend right before the finish, cheering, and Bunny snapping more pictures! I really, really felt like puking at the end. Good race! Newbiedana (Dana) came up to me--she'd done the tri and I hadn't seen her in such a long time. She looked fantastic! What would you do differently?: Perhaps not run a marathon in Elvis resplendence the week before, if in fact speed were my goal. Post race
Warm down: Walked around, chatting with the awesome BTers, fellow newfound-friend racers, and my delightful consort, managed to nibble a banana. Cake Boy sherpa'ed my gear, and BunnyB, he and I met tjh (Tim) for brunch at the Rocky Cola Cafe. Tim is delightful, wry sense of humor, ex-Navy--it's always super to meet BTers in real life! Unfortunately I had to toss my cookies mid-breakfast, but fortunately made it to the restroom in time. In retrospect I don't think it was the race exertion, but all the seawater I swallowed, which was pretty much what came back up (with some nice pink juice and mashed naner and a couple bites of chicken noodle soup ... sorry, details ...) BunnyB made my day in so many ways, but really took the cake when she paid for breakfast. I cannot imagine a nicer time than being among like-minded friends, and then such a gift. She also sent post-race pics post-haste. What limited your ability to perform faster: A very stressful month during which I have trained little. (ELVIS! ;)) Event comments: What a fantastic race. It is SOOOOO newcomer-friendly and there is such a triumphant, festive spirit to it because of that. Everything is well-organized, and the post-race goodies are excellent. The length of the swim can be daunting--this is a unique race in that it is equilateral, i.e., the average person would finish all three legs in roughly the same time--as can be the three-part run up to T1. But there is no hurry, and there are lots of volunteers, and everyone is so encouraging. Profile Album Last updated: 2008-06-08 12:00 AM
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United States
TC Tri Productions, LLC
71F / 22C
Overcast
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 5/15
(Times/ranks are guesstimates for now)
Had a feeling this short, equilateral tri was going to be a pukefest, so very early bkfst of milk-coffee and toast with the teeniest smidgen of PB as sweet Faeron schlepped me to the race site and volunteered. I had no expectations of myself for this race--truly just to have fun and participate--still being tired from last week's marathon.
A big thanks to kelpeng (Kelly) who made it possible for me to REPRESENT in BT shorts!
This was my ninth triathlon and I realized it was the first one where I really did not feel like a newbie.
Was one of the first in transition (WOW!) and who should I see sweeping up the transition area but WENDY INGRAHAM! Now that's a class act. One of the greatest pro triathletes of all time, volunteering at a small local tri, on janitor duty. I went to speak with her and she remembered me right away (as she had last time)--"Yes, Hillary's friend, good luck today!" I thanked her for volunteering and she grinned, saying if she didn't race, it was great helping others to. And guess what--she is pregnant at age 44! Isn't that wonderful!
ChrisM came up while I was waiting for packet pickup. What a joy to see him. (There's an incriminating photo of us from Trixie's dinner, hee hee) I later got to meet his wife Wendy, who is so lovely and warm, and he also intro'ed me to PJOinSM (Pete), who I know online at BT. Chris joked he was too intimidated to do the tri because yours truly the world record holder would be competing ... HA! HA! HA! Awww, Chris. :)
Actually, pre-race was pretty much a delightful sequence of meeting old friends and making new ones (transition rack mates, scared newbies, etc.)
Paddled around in the water to get used to the cold, for about 15 min. Took a 10-minute walk to get some fresh water for the pre-race Gu I'd stuffed in my bra.