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 Swim
Comments: As we swam the first leg I noticed my daughter peeking between the rungs of the dock along the course so I gave her a quick stroke/wave as I continued to swim towards the first turn! As for time, I really don’t know what happened on my swim…I never felt like I was off course or really taking it easy but apparently at some point I pulled over for a snack with the fishes…….There was more bumping and such than last year but nothing dramatic….Guess I need to get into the pool more often…..No issues and I finished feeling fine and ran to my bike….. What would you do differently?: When I figure out what went wrong, I will change that but there isn't anything I can put my finger on at the moment....  Transition 1
Comments: Uneventful. Not my smoothest attempt at putting on my shoes but got it done and off I went! Wave Hi to my wife and daughter (My “Team Daddy” support crew) as I climb up out of T1. What would you do differently?: Get into my shoes smoother???  Bike
Comments: Off and rolling. Got passed on the right by some yeehoo that apparently was going to set the AG record for this event based on his effort while powering his beater old Schwinn. I buzzed by him (on the left) after about mile 10 and he was clearly in for a long day from that point on (bad plan)! My plan was to put out a solid effort on this ride but not abuse myself for the run. I have a score to settle with this run course after it beat me pretty badly last year…. Ride went really well with very little incident except at one point I felt I was running low on fuel (quick gel time) and for the usual Team in Training folks that need to be reminded to stay right! I had a plan to run 22mph or so but was using cadence as my primary indicator of my effort. Ended up a full mph faster than last year, probably a combo of the new disc wheel, less wind and some increased bike fitness… What would you do differently?: GO harder....too much easy pedaling...it's a race for goodness sake! Transition 2
Comments: Fairly uneventful. Shoes, hat, belt and I’m off! All I’m hoping at this point is that my ankle will allow me to run to the finish and keep a nice consistent tempo…After crossing the timing mat I finally remember to start the watch. O.K., so far so good on the running thing and like all my other races this year I started out with a nice smooth “running” gait right out of T2 (Thanks Joe!) I had no idea where my time was in the overall scheme but as I ran past my “Team Daddy” supporters I knew I had to make sure to get back in time for my daughter to get her wish to run across the line with Daddy (she was severely disappointed with Daddy for not finishing the MTB race)! What would you do differently?: Get socks on quicker??  Run
Comments: Funny, I really thought this course was hillier last year….maybe I am getting used to these types of efforts. Same course as last year with no great climbs but very little flat running. It seemed like the miles just kept ticking away. No cramp issues this year. All along the course there was someone to say “Hey” to…everyone from Joe to my other training partners to Kim to Sister Madonna herself. The first couple of miles ticked off at 8:00 and 8:16….Nice effort and it felt sustainable so I just kept at it…..Shortly after mile 2 I spotted my friend and training buddy Sean heading back from the turn…after he was coming back from injury last year at this race and I had bested him, I think he had me squarely in his sights this year! He hollered to me that I needed to pick it up which of course I did for a bit or at least I did not let myself fade. (Thanks for the encouragement Sean! Guess it feels good to beat the old guy J…….finally). In all seriousness, Sean has really been puttin’ it together this year and if he’s in your AG at a race Watch Out! Saw Joe toughing it out shortly after that and this too gave me reason to stay focused on my effort as I thought I had an outside chance to run him down but to no avail…The only issues I had with my ankle during the run was that it didn’t really let me stride out going downhill and at about mile 5 my foot started to get a little numb. I just told myself to keep it smooth and steady and that my “Team Daddy” running partner was waiting for me (4 yo daughter). It’s amazing how fast a 10K goes by when you’ve trained and focused for the ½ IM distances and with that said suddenly I found I was running across the levee to the finish all the while scanning the crowd for my kiddo whom I found in the last stretch and took her hand to run the final 50 yards with me!! Run finished about 2 minutes faster than last year, which was a goal…. * NOTE: If you are the kind of a-hole that needs to sprint past a guy running in with his kid, I hope you’re proud of yourself because, at least in this guys opinion, you are a class “A” jack@ss!! What would you do differently?: Not re-sprain my ankle the day before.....go a bit harder... Post race
Warm down: Meet and greet as the rest of the gang came through..... What limited your ability to perform faster: My ankle and probably too much BBQ the night before!!!! Event comments: As usual the StL TNO folks that we hung with were fun and supportive! I certainly would be remiss if I didn’t mention that we hung around on the levee waiting for the rest of “our gang” to finish, which they all did…some in better form than others but none as dominating in their AG as Sister Madonna herself. She mopped up the F70-74 group as usual (O.K. she was the only entrant). But she finished in strong, with a smile and a wave to our group!! That made for a fitting finish to a fun and adventurous weekend in Memphis…. Last updated: 2005-05-23 12:00 AM
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United States
85F / 29C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 334/738
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 46/107
Picked up Sister Madonna at her local digs here in St. Louis right after work on Friday. The gang (my family and The Sister) then drove to Memphis straight through on Fri. and we arrived around 10pm. Sat. AM I was registered for the MTB tri for fun and loaded up the borrowed bike and got ready for that race right after picking up both my race packets. Nice! My first and only try at a MTB tri brings two conclusions- 1) If you going to do a MTB race, ride a MTB at least once in the two years prior to the race…2) Just don’t do something like that before an important regular race on your calendar. The summary for my MTB tri: Good swim, fall down a lot and crash on the bike, re-sprain my ankle that I tore up over the winter, finally get where I think its all going O.K.,…. blow out the front tire, End of Day!
Sat evening (after I spent the rest of the afternoon icing my now swollen ankle) we met up with fellow athletes for dinner where I think the consensus is that way too much excellent BBQ was consumed by all!! Hung out and chatted with Joe, Kim, DDon, Sean and The Sister and my family for a while….After dinner we all headed back to our respective hotels for the night.
Woke up to a sore and discolored ankle but went through my normal pre-race drinking and eating and headed to the race sight with the family in tow. Met up with a bunch of folks from St. Louis as well as Joe and Kim, Sean, Don, and Sister. At one point, Joe reminded me after glancing at my ankle that I shouldn’t do anything stupid and really re-injure it… I assured him (and myself, repeatedly) that it wasn’t really all that bad and that I thought I could go!
Didn’t seem like as much waiting around as last year but then again I did manage to have to jump into line for the swim start only about 3 guys from the front of the line…..3,2,1 GO!! Holy %@%##!