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 Swim
Comments: We get into the rec center and they have signs on the wall above the bleachers with estimated swim times. You’re supposed to sit near your time and then go line up when they call that time. There were 800 people signed up for this race and they were going to start them in the water at 10-12 second intervals. So I found a place to sit and figured I’d be there for a little while (12 min estimated swim time for the 400 meters) so got comfortable and ate a Powerbar. And I waited…and waited…and waited…and waited. The elites started their swim around 7am and the AG’ers started going off at about 7:20ish. I was near the end of the swimmers for starting and I finally got in the pool around 10:15. Many people had already finished the whole tri and were coming back in to pick up their stuff and see friends before we even got in the pool! That was a little discouraging. So I finally get my chance and hop in the pool. It was harder than I expected it to be. I think the combination of having lots of people in the lane (I’m usually lucky enough to have a lane to myself in training) and swimming in a 50m pool when I’m used to a 25m was just different enough to throw me off. But I finished all 8 laps, climbed out and ran the 450 yds to the transition area outside. Time listed includes the run to the transition area. My husband said my actual swim time was closer to 12 minutes which is what I expected. What would you do differently?: Get faster so I don't have to wait 3 hours just to start my race! Other than that, I'm not sure - I thought I was ready for the swim. I guess I just need more time in the pool.  Transition 1
Comments: Finding my bike was pretty easy since there weren’t too many left when I got out there. Put on the socks, shoes, shirt, helmet and race belt and was on my way. What would you do differently?: Nothing - seemed to go pretty well.  Bike
Comments: The swim (and the wait for the swim) had taken more out of me than I thought, and I was pretty tired starting off on the bike. But I knew that if I could get through the first couple of miles, I’d settle in and be OK. The only problem was that mile 2 included one of those hills – the one I was more worried about. It’s not really steep but it’s long. I learned a lot on that hill about what’s a good gear to use and what’s not. Finally made it up and knew that the next couple of miles would be relatively easy. The road was a little rough in places, but overall it was a good ride and I even passed a couple of people. There’s a pretty good downhill and then the 2nd uphill – this one is shorter but steeper. I stopped my bike about halfway up to catch my breath and get a drink and then started up again. I got to the top of this hill and back around to do the whole thing over again. I can’t say the second loop was a lot better but at least I knew what was coming. Once I got past that first hill the second time around I knew I was going to be able to finish (I had some doubts earlier on). Back up the second hill and headed for the bike finish. What would you do differently?: Definitely need more time on the bike Transition 2
Comments: Back into transition, racked my bike (it was so lonely there all by itself), took off the helmet, grabbed my water bottle and off for the run. What would you do differently?: Nothing - went well.  Run
Comments: It started off as more of a walk/shuffle for the first mile or so. After that I was able to do pretty well. The course wound through the Mizzou campus and was mostly flat with just a little uphill at the beginning that was a downhill at the end. Right at the beginning of the run, a man that I had been riding near on the bike course passed me. I let him go by and just stayed within sight of him for the whole run. Towards the end I started catching up to him and could have passed him during the last ¼ mile, but decided not to. His wife had already finished her race and had come back to run him in to the finish. I crossed the finish line and my DH was there waiting for me. What would you do differently?: It was a good run for me although I think if I do a bike/run brick occasionally it will help with the tight feeling at the beginning of the run. Post race
Warm down: Not much - a little walking around, then back to transition to pick up my stuff and head home. What limited your ability to perform faster: Being my first one, I think I did OK. But the 3 hour wait for the swim was tough. The half bagel and powerbar I had for breakfast at 7 a.m. just wasn't enough to last me until the end of the race. Next time I'll pack something extra to either have while on the bike or if I have a long wait for the swim. Event comments: If they're going to have 800 people registering for this race next year, they might want to consider doing something different for the swim. Three hours is a long time to wait and I wasn't even at the end of the line. Even the race officials were saying that it took a lot longer to get everyone in the pool than they expected. Last updated: 2009-02-05 12:00 AM
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United States
Ultramax
60F / 16C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 641/660
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 24/25
DH and I drove over to Columbia after he got off work on Saturday afternoon. I had reserved a hotel room for Saturday night even though it’s only about an hour and a half drive because I didn’t want to take the chance on being late if we drove over Sunday morning. I also figured it would be less stressful that way. We arrived at the hotel a little after 5 pm, checked in, and headed over to pick up my packet. Got my number, shirt, etc., but would pick up my chip on race morning. The one part about this race that worried me was the bike course so I asked my DH to drive the course so I could see where I might have problems. It wasn’t too bad – only 2 real hills although we would have to ride the course twice so that meant 4 hills total during the race. Luckily “the wall” that I had heard about was no longer part of the course so I was feeling much better about the bike after driving the course. After that it was out for some dinner and then back to the hotel for some sleep. DH wasn’t thrilled about the idea of taking my bike up to the room with us, but I did it anyway and I wasn’t the only one. I saw several other people with bikes the next morning. I actually slept pretty well that night (I don’t usually sleep at all the night before a race) and was up around 5:30am.
I finished getting my stuff together while DH took a shower and we were out of the hotel by a little after 6. Got over to the Mizzou campus, found a place to park and headed to the transition area to set up. I got marked and headed in to find a place to rack my bike. The racks were set up by swim cap color (I think these were assigned randomly), so I just needed to find an open spot on a rack with a white cap. I found a nice spot about 3 racks down from the bike in/out area, set out my socks, shoes, shirt, water bottle for the run (had a bottle of Gatorade on my bike) and put my sunglasses in my helmet. I kept feeling like I forgot something, but couldn’t think of anything else I might need. Went over to get my chip and then headed into the pool to wait for my swim.
No real warm-up. I'm not sure it would have done my any good anyway considering the wait I had for the swim.