login
 Swim
Comments: This was an odd swim- the lake is shallow in the bay where we were so they had us wade/swim about 100-200 yds out to the buoys for the start. We swam parallel to the beach towards one buoy then around and parallel to the beach in the opposite direction past the start buoys and to the other far end buoy and then back to the middle start buoys and around another lap before heading back to the beach. I think the leg from the start buoys back into the beach was not included in the distance... but it took several minutes and I ended up taking my wetsuit off during this time. It was kind of an awkward set up! The Olympic men started then we went after them. That said- it was a beautiful swim- the clearest freshwater swim I've ever experienced- crystal clear water down to the really soft sand with nice ripples in it. Swam against the current and then turned around at the buoys and felt pushed the other direction like I had jets! It was fun. At the very end I pulled up alongside Ranger, though he didn't recognize me (more focused than I, I suppose) and so I kept trucking along. Again, the finish of the swim back to the beach was weird and I had enough time to have an entire conversation with Glen who was in the water waiting to start the sprint swim. I swam as much as possible, but then it was just too shallow so I had to wade and go SLOooooow. What would you do differently?: Find a way to hydroplane back to the beach.  Transition 1
Comments: Well I'm 2 for 2 on awful T1s in my first two Olympic races. I ran up the beach, noticed my feet were FULL of sand (I gave up bringing a water bottle to spray them off with because I never ended up using it and mentally said an "uh oh") and ran into transition just as kellc09 ran out with her bike. Threw down my suit, wiped feet off on grass & towel and put socks on over sandy feet (will this suck later? mmm.. don't care). Shoes on, helmet on head- WTF?! Just as ranger is catching up with me (his bike was racked next to mine) I find that my buckle is missing from my left helmet strap. Panic. I look at ranger and explain and we both share a moment of "Uh...screwed". After having cramps in T1 my last Olympic I was feeling great now and again was suddenly faced with a DNF if I couldn't fix my helmet. Ranger to the rescue- he whips out safety pins! I sit down to Macgyver-ize my helmet and finally remember to tell Ranger to go already, he's got to bike! Thanks to him, I did manage to calm down, find the other half of the buckle (it was still buckled, just un-threaded from the strap) and re-do the helmet. It was too tight when I got it on, but I was so thankful that I just took off! What would you do differently?: Check my equipment more carefully. Oops! Bring water bottle to squirt feet.  Bike
Comments: The first half was tough- my cadence was over 90 but at times I was only 15, 14, down to 13 mph. I kept looking around for the wind blowing trees, leaves, grass... but saw nothing and was worried I was dragging a brake or something. Kept plugging away, had a gu and was drinking just fine. It felt really, really quiet out there! Kellc09 passed me headed the other direction and afterwards I started trying to recall if I'd seen any other women- I was pretty sure I hadn't so I got excited for her. Then I hit the turn around and my mph just shot up! I was so happy/relieved! Did my best on the one hill/curvy section then just plugged away on the ride back home. I'm still not so comfy on my saddle and I *really* felt it on this ride. REALLY wanted to be done WAY before we were... snif. What would you do differently?: Keep working on saddle/fit issues. Get a new straw for my aerobottle (I lost the top half of it on the T-rex tri last week and the lower half of it makes it way too short- so I have to lean far forward to drink and it doesn't reach the bottom of the bottle). Transition 2
Comments: After having the 2nd slowest T1 time, I had the 3rd fastest T2 time (assuming Kellc09 was faster- her splits are MIA). :) Yay! I was way ahead of the woman who had passed me on the last 2 miles of the bike... though she then passed me again on the run. What would you do differently?: Deal w/saddle & bike fit issues so I can run faster out of transition... I dallied a bit putting my hat on (usually I put it on while running) just to give my upper hamstring/ass muscles a chance to uncramp.  Run
Comments: This was tough, though I ran a decent pace (for me) considering my under-training and inconsistency this summer plus my extra long "taper". The sun was shining at this point so it was HOT... my ass & upper hamstrings were locked up from the bike... and I was pretty pooped. :) I had a gu right away and then tried to just keep moving. The sprint section was nice because there were lots of runners to watch/cheer/be cheered by. Stopped to walk at the water stops and cheered and waved at everyone especially Rottieguy, Ranger, and Kellc09 who really seemed to be in 1st!! The run was beautiful and went along the sidewalk between some gorgeous lakefront properties and Lake Huron, then under the huge bridge connecting Port Huron, MI to Canada with massive national flags... then past the Coast Guard station and boats. My little bro is a Coast Guard officer so I thought that was really cool and took mental notes to share with him. We turned around smack dab into that wind from the bike... so the run back in was a lot tougher than the run out. The last mile I really died and was thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to see the finish! What would you do differently?: Run more. :) Post race
Warm down: Saw Rottieguy immediately after my finish and had time to grab pizza before the hubby of a teammate came up and informed me they were taking down transition and I needed to get my crap. (Right now? I'm eating!?). He was nice enough to walk there with me and grab my bike and bundle all my other stuff into my towel to carry back to our team tent. I slung my wetsuit over my shoulder so I could carry that and not drop the pizza! Unfortunately, I didn't take much time to warm down or stretch. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of consistent training. A week and a half long "taper" (aka I'm not interested in working out anymore). I'm still proud of my performance and felt better at the end of the race (and day after) than I did after my first Oly in June. Event comments: Beautiful course-- I wish it were closer because I'd love to do this one every year! Nice and flat with lots of volunteers and great scenery. Last updated: 2008-06-22 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
3 Disciplines
70F / 21C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 7/12
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 1/2
Disorientingly early 4:30am pitch black wake up call. Instant oatmeal for breakfast w/a bottle of Power Bar electrolyte powder mixed w/water for the car ride (I got it for free at a race). Loooong ride up to Port Huron with Glen. Thankfully, I didn't have to drive. It was still dark-ish when we got there and I was totally uninterested in getting in the water!
Got checked in, checked the maps, set up my transition area. Was chatting with Kimm (girlw/1nose) and suddenly heard a sound an awfully lot like a tire spontaneously losing air. Hers were fine so we reached over and checked those of the fancy Specialized tri-bike next store- sure enough, front wheel was 100% flat! uh-oh. Tracked down a volunteer who tracked down the participant who was pretty darn thankful to get a chance to re-do his tire (apparently he'd already changed the tube once that morning- a pinch?). Anyway, its always good to bank a little karma before a race. I did feel like we seemed slightly suspicious sounding, "Um, yeah... so we were just standing there and the tire just instantly deflated?!... yeah, that's our story". :)
Hung out with my Greyhound teammates (Jogo, Glen/nelg, Shannon, Kimm and families) plus ranger, rottieguy, and kellc09.
Not much other than swimming out to the start buoys. Was a little shocked when they separated the Olympic athletes from the sprint and then divided the Olympic into men/females- there were only 12 of us! Gah!