Swim
Comments: Stayed to the outside, almost too much, perhaps. My cap came off in the first 100 or so, so I had to stop and cram it back on my peanut-shaped head. I tried having my goggles on UNDER my cap, hoping the cap would keep goggles from getting kicked off, or whatever, but maybe my goggles help keep my cap ON. Perhaps I'll keep my cap under the goggles until I have a problem with goggles falling off. I keep wondering how much improvement a wetsuit would give me. Currently, it is NOT the top of my wish-shopping list. ALSO... my calves felt a little crampy running up the hill to T1!!! I don't usually kick much when swimming, so I was fairly alarmed that they would seem this tired before doing anything. I was still happy with the swim What would you do differently?: Goggles OVER cap! Transition 1
Comments: I had some walking up the hill to T1 (see above note). Stupid calves!! Other than that, I thought I did OK. Feet were filthy and I tried to quickly scrape them off before putting socks and shoes on. The sand and gunk that remained on my feet did not bother me for either the bike or run, so it was either time well spent, or time wasted, depending on how you look at it. I'm voting for well spent. :) Grabbed gel, glasses and "ran" it out. What would you do differently?: Still need more transition practice, but this was a lot better then Hawk-I Bike
Comments: Definitely my weak event I need to log a TON more miles on my bike. More hills, more speed, more all-around-awesomeness. A better-suited bike wouldn't hurt, either. The roads were bumpy and rough, so maybe my bike (hybrid) was a good "choice", but I still need to work a lot more on it. I must say that when I got to the "2xAndrea" corner and heard them cheering for me, it made me smile and made the biking a little easier for a while (thanks to the Andreas) :) What would you do differently?: More bike training Transition 2
Comments: Fairly fast T2. Already had running shoes on. Forgot and went back for hat... probably cost me about 5-10 sec. Didn't bring gel. What would you do differently?: Don't forget hat. Maybe bring a gel for a run of this length Be fast AND look good. (haha.. .unlikely) Run
Comments: The hills in the first mile stink! I was still trying to get my "running" legs by the time I got there. Ended up walking at the steepest parts. I don't particularly like the black meshy stuff that they used to keep the erosion down. It seemed very bumpy and slippery at the same time... I thought it seemed easier to turn an ankle on that stuff. I tried to avoid it whenever possible. Almost bit it with a mile or two to go, but caught myself. I'm pretty sure I was the only witness. :) Didn't notice anything right away, but my quad seemed a little strained coming up the road (the last hill). I stopped and stretched it out for a second. I was able to finish fairly strong, at least. What would you do differently?: Weigh less, awesome more Post race
Warm down: none ate and chatted cheered on the folks that didn't get a chance to pass me Hung with BT-ers and Greyhounds at GH tent. What limited your ability to perform faster: not enough training on bike run still improving Event comments: Hard race. Fun race. I could DO it, just not as fast as most others. I can improve on my training and lose weight and see how much faster I can get in a year. Last updated: 2009-02-19 12:00 AM
|
|
United States
eliteendeavors.com
Overcast
Overall Rank = 345/368
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 48/50
Woke up at 5:00, ate some cereal, re-checked bag, racked bike, and forgot bike computer. Found Cheryl and Eric almost immediately, and kinda tagged along with them (hope they didn't mind too much) :)
The transition area was being policed pretty strictly. I heard an official talking about the penalties for having your bike racked the wrong way, or if your gear was outside your area. I adjusted my stuff to ensure I didn't get any penalties for my T's.
Even though I was a seasoned veteran by this time (haha), I still found myself pretty nervous before the race.
I stumbled across the Andreas :) and introduced myself. They were volunteering on the bike section and promised to cheer for me! Hooray!
Got into the water about 10 minutes before the start, swam for a minute or two. Was still in the water when they did national anthem. Wandered over to the "Start Side" about a minute before the start.