Swim
Comments: Overall I felt very good about this swim. I did much better than my first race 6 weeks ago. The only problem was that the water was so murky you could not see 2 feet in front of your face....literally. I kept running into feet not knowing anyone was in front of me. This made it difficult to navigate through people that I was catching in earlier waves. But if that's the only problem I ever have on a swim, I'll take it. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Transition 1
Comments: I exited the water and crossed the timing mat before my wife's sprint wave left so I went to change clothes and headed back to the water to see her whole swim. You should have seen all the looks I got. Once she was out of the water I ran up the long hill, grabbed my bike and took off. The technical aspects of the transition were good. What would you do differently?: Nothing Bike
Comments: I live and train in North Dakota which means lots of wind with little cover from trees/hills, etc. I thought I would have done better considering the conditions (especially with the long rest at T1), but I just didn't perform well on the hills which pretty much all had significant crosswinds or headwinds. The flats I was happy with. I still set a new PR for me though. What would you do differently?: More hill training (if I can find it) Transition 2
Comments: Again, had a technically satisfying transition, but once changed I headed for the finish line. My wife crossed the finish line of her first triathlon and I was there. That moment is priceless. While I was waiting, the volunteers kept trying to take my timing chip. Had to keep swatting them away. I still had a run to do. What would you do differently?: Nothing Run
Comments: I hadn't run for about 2 weeks prior to the race. I wasn't sure how the legs/lungs would feel so despite the long rest at T2 I headed out slow. I ended up feeling really good so I pushed myself on the second half. What would you do differently?: Push a little harder in beginning. I could have had a PR. Post race
Warm down: Just did some stretching and drank some water. Got out of there pretty quick because it was uncomfortably cold for anyone not racing. What limited your ability to perform faster: Swim and bike conditions as above, but I don't know how much faster I could have gone had those things been different. Event comments: This was my wife and friend's first triathlon so I just used this as a training day. Of utmost importance was seeing my wife exit the water and cross the finish line so I spent a ton of time "in transition". I was definitely pleased with my performance in each of the disciplines though. I mirror the sentiments of other racers that the bike/run courses were very congested and, at times, dangerous. I can't tell you how many times there were people biking or running down a middle where there was no room to pass on either side. Seriously! How hard can it be! I'm surprised there weren't any accidents because of it. Oh well. I emerged unscathed. Last updated: 2009-01-20 12:00 AM
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United States
Buffalo Triathlon
50F / 10C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 348/372
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 50/53
Up early. Bagel with cream cheese + coffee for breakfast. Sipped on some gatorade up until race start.
Short swim to first duckie and back to loosen up and get used to the water.