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 Swim
Comments: I finally got to a good spot in my wave--the front. It's not like I'm the fastest swimmer out there, but I'm strong and it was a lot easier not having to crash into all the folks in front of me. Overall, I was very pleased--I swam hard and fast (especially when you consider that I really haven't focused on speed at all in my workouts). I swam 800 yards as fast as I did in high school--pretty good when you consider that was 20 years ago. What would you do differently?: Nothing this time. Too bad the swim is such a small portion of the overall race timewise.  Transition 1
Comments: Initially I had planned to do a shoes-on-pedal, feet-on-shoes transition, but I chickened out. I had practiced this, but not enough to feel 100% comfortable with it in crowded race conditions, and the transition area was relatively small and I was about 50 yards from bike out, so running in cycling shoes was not too hard. Also, I had to rent a car to get to the venue, which necessitated taking my rear wheel off, and when I put it back on I wasn't confident that I had my quick release in the exact spot so the rubber band I use to keep my shoe/crank parallel to the chainstay would fly off when I hopped on the bike and put my feet on the shoes. I got out of my wetsuit a little easier this time, although I still got stuck at the ankles. The timing chip was not an issue this time. However, I think I need more Body Glide on the ankles. What would you do differently?: The next race I really will do a feet-on-shoes transition.  Bike
Comments: I thought this was a really hard ride. There was subtle grade to the road that felt like a real hill to me. I stayed in the drops most of the time, but I just didn't feel like I had a lot of power in my legs. I was able to stay on the big ring most of the time, but it was an effort. My average speed was nothing special--I'd hoped for an improvement from my last race. But then again, I've given cycling short-shrift this season. What would you do differently?: Aerobars. Also, when the race was over and I went back to transition, I noticed that my rear brake pads were rubbing. They definitely weren't when I put my wheel on after taking my bike out of the car. However, I had opened and closed my quick release while I was in transition. So it's possible that I knocked my wheel out of position and was riding the whole race with a dragging brake pad. That would explain a lot! Alternatively, it's possible that someone bumped my bike after I racked it and that it was fine while I was riding. Transition 2
Comments: While I was out on the bike, someone racked her bike in my spot! So that slowed me down a bit. I was tempted to knock her bike to the ground, but of course I would never do that. It irritated me, though. Otherwise, great transition. I got out of my shoes and did a beautiful hop off the bike right at the bike-in spot, so all I had to do was take off my helmet and put on my hat, socks, and shoes. The Yankz make a huge difference. What would you do differently?: Nada.  Run
Comments: Pretty OK run. My heart rate was high when I got off the bike, so the first mile I just poked along. I tried to pick up the pace as I went along, but I didn't meet my 9-minute mile goal. So, all in all, there was nothing awful about my run but nothing special, either. What would you do differently?: Need to continue working on speed and endurance so I can make better time. Post race
Warm down: Walked around the finish area. Ate two bananas, drank some water and Recharge. What limited your ability to perform faster: Maybe an equipment problem (bike slowing me down), but mostly my limitations in training. Which is to say, I'm lazy, and until I work harder in training, I'm not going to get faster in races. For instance, in training I measured my max bike HR at 193. However, in the first minutes of the bike portion, I got my HR up to 196. So clearly I've never made a maximal effort in training. Event comments: Overall, an enjoyable race that I'm really glad I did. And as with my two previous races, it was a learning experience and a great motivator. I'm eager for my next race--Accenture Chicago in late August. Although I'm toying with the Oly distance Bangs Lake tri Aug. 10. We'll see. Last updated: 2008-06-30 12:00 AM
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United States
Capri Events
70F / 21C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 477/773
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 19/42
Got up at 3:30 a.m. to allow drive time from Chicago to Waukegan. Sigh. So early. Also, I didn't sleep well at all because there was a wicked thunderstorm with pounding rain around 1 a.m. I have PTSD (OK, not really) from living in a leaky house when I was in Philly, so heavy, persistent rain always freaks me out. Fortunately, having been working with the surgeons lately, 3:30 a.m. did not seem as early as it could have otherwise.
I picked up my sis and we drove up in our crummy rental car. Ate a blueberry scone and drank an Odwalla Super Protein (chocolate) on the way. Prior to the race I ate a Gu. Day before I carbo-loaded on pizza at lunch and felafel sandwiches at dinner, along with some Super Protein.
We arrived at transition early, not long after it opened, and staked out good spots. I was able to walk around and get a sense for the various exits and entrances, and how many racks I would have to go past to get to my stuff.
I didn't warm up (other than riding my bike from the parking lot to transition, about a mile, and jogging a little). I did dip my toes in the lake--it was 63 degrees but didn't feel bad. Amanda and I have been practicing in Lake Michigan, and we started in early June when it was still in the 50s. I got the sense that a lot of the participants hadn't done any open-water swimming as part of their prep.