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 Swim
Comments: Yea, the time sucked. But seriously.. I am realizing that open water swims scare me. Yep, scared like a child scared of the boogy man. Anyway, I run into the water with the other ladies.. I feel like I'm starting slow (although with the pack), but quickly realize it's tiring me out. Then the bizarre anxiety kicks in (What if I don't make it; Could I drown). At least I wasn't scared of a sea monster this time. I use my awesome psych skillz to remind myself that I will complete this, but I'll just have to go slooow. And do the backstroke on occasion. Almost forgot, my technique was HORRIBLE. Did I mention I'd swam maybe twice over the past several months. I kept forgetting to put my head down and into the water. The only plus of this was my tracking was awesome. As I was completing the last leg of the rectangle, I realized a woman was walking in the water. Hell, if she can walk, so can I. And I did! For a few steps, then realized that was waay too slow and I needed to suck it up and GO! And I did. All the way out.. I'm always so happy to get out of the water. And I was able to give Carla the metal sign. That always makes me smile :) What would you do differently?: This is an easy one. Train. Train a lot more. Take swimming classes. Also practice in open water. I really don't like not seeing the bottom of the water.  Transition 1
Comments: No times for T1. Silly timing chips. There was quite the long run from the lake to the transition area. I jogged it and had fun thinking that the swim is over. Woo-hoo! I wasn't too concerned about shaving time off my transitions, so I took my time changing my shoes (and into socks), snacking on 1/4 of my Power Bar, and chatting with other friendly (and not so serious) triathletes. What would you do differently?: Nada. I had fun, enjoyed my transition neighbors, and didn't drop my bike, fall, or cause any other form of injury :)  Bike
Comments: So I hop on my trusty mountain bike, slip into the toe cages, and get to peddling. I'm not out there to set any records and I am concerned that my legs will tucker out too soon, but I tell myself to go strong despite these concerns. And I do. I am actually passing road bikes!! What a great feeling! Of course, most the time the passing occurs on the up-hills, but whatever. Living in TN definitely has it's advantages, one of them is me now being able to handle hills. I usually have fun on the bike portion of these things. It's a nice break between the fears of swimming and the pain of running. I'm hydrating well throughout the bike and my legs aren't too shaky coming off the bike. What would you do differently?: Train more. Get a road bike. That's all for now. Transition 2
Comments: T2 is always easy for me. Hang up the bike, unhook the helmet, grab a swig of water, grab a bite of Power Bar, and I'm off! What would you do differently?: Nada. This one's easy.  Run
Comments: Now this is where my marathon training really kicked in! I new I was going to run at least 3 miles after this, so I held back a bit. Kind of wished I'd pushed myself a bit harder, but, with the marathon looming my overall focus is on distance, not speed. I do find myself passing people again! This is quite encouraging. The run is out and back. Half of it is unshaded, but I'm well hydrated and the sun is just starting to show itself. I pace with a lady that passed me. As I kick it up on the final leg I notice she's in front of me. I give it all I had and made it across the line with her. Oh yea, and I ran about 45-50 min after the race. I wanted to do the 5k path backwards, but realized it would be pretty rude and likely confuse other runners, so I ran around random paths and roads until my legs felt sufficiently jell-o like. What would you do differently?: Like I said, maybe push myself harder. But this is a constant struggle with training for a marathon. Constantly reminding myself that I need distance not speed. And I'm always hard on myself when it comes to running. Overall, I am happy with my performance! Post race
Warm down: The ankle chip people insisted I stop within a foot of the finish line. Ouch! I quickly began walking towards the water and hopped under the sprinkler. Thank goodness for Carla - she had a towel handy for me and was there to celebrate the finish with me! Then I headed out for my additional run before cheering Dave and Kyle to the finish line. Event comments: Race didn't start on time, but the crowd was the best. It was a fun race and, at times, felt more like a festival.. just like I like it! Oh yea, did I mention I won the Women's Mountain Bike category?? Still waiting for my medal.. hehe :) Last updated: 2008-07-14 12:00 AM
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HFP Racing
Sunny
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Hit the carbs the night before with my husband (did the Oly tri), Dave (did the Sprint Du), and Dave's wife. Then we jammed it out with Rock Band before heading to bed around 10:30. (Don't judge, we had to get up at 4:30!)
Up at 4:30 and out the door by 5 to make it to Waynesville at 6. Whew! I'm exhausted already. I eat a banana and a blueberry bagel on the way up the race. I'm always nervous on race morning, not to mention I'd ridden my bike about twice (including my 1 brick) and swam twice since ohhhh... 6 months ago. Hopefully the marathon training will pull me through.
I arranged my gear around my super cool mountain bike (hear that sarcasm??) and chatted it up with Dave and Kyle. I hit the bathroom (why were the other ladies using the port-o-johns when there were clearly marked bathrooms around the corner??) and was feeling ready to go.. well, outside of the nerves.
LOL warm up. I put a couple toes in the water and instantly realized it's not as cold as I would have thought, but pretty cold regardless. Then I hit the bathroom again. I cheered Dave on as he started the Du. Then I waited with Kyle and Carla near the lake until my group was called.