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 Swim
Comments: Swam about 2 minutes faster than anticipated. Very happy with the swim leg... and I only got kicked in the face once - I was honestly expecting MUCH more body contact. What would you do differently?: I didn't realize I was going to be in the top third of the swim, so I should have started more towards the front. Otherwise, I wouldn't have changed a thing.  Transition 1
Comments: I wore earplugs to be on the safe side, and I made the mistake of trying to get them out immediately after exiting the water. It cost me at least a minute because I ended up jamming the right earplug into my ear and I had to fiddle with it for quite some time before it came loose... so I ended up standing at my bike while my wetsuit was still completely zipped up. (oops...) What would you do differently?: For the next race, I will not be using earplugs. (and if I do decide to use earplugs, I will wait until I have my wetsuit unzipped before removing them)  Bike
Comments: I had a GREAT time on the bike. I felt like I could've ridden (or is it rode?) all day. A very enjoyable experience from start to finish. My only technical miscue came at the very end (I was fiddling with my water bottle trying to get it back in the cage while rapidly approaching the final turnaround and I almost crashed into the fence). The dismount area was a bit crowded and the folks in front of me weren't running back to transition, so I tried to maneuver around them as best I could... otherwise, I really didn't have any complaints. What would you do differently?: Smile more... I look like a miserable son of a gun in the photos. Transition 2
Comments: Jumping off moving bike? Ummm, no thanks. Perhaps after I'm a bit more comfortable being clipped in... What would you do differently?: Not a whole lot... I probably could've ran more in transition, but it was a bit crowded and I honestly wasn't in that much of a rush.  Run
Comments: As I ran out of transition, I saw Amy and the kids and that was probably the highlight of my race. They were cheering me on and it really gave me a nice boost. Shortly after getting out onto the course, I realized that I hydrated a wee bit too much on the bike. There was quite a bit of liquid sloshing around in my midsection. My left knee was acting up a bit, so my intermediate goal of 9:30 minute miles didn't quite work out... (and my stretch goal of 9:15 miles was REALLY not going to work out). The last quarter mile was a little rough - started to get a bit of a cramp in my right side and I felt like I couldn't move my legs any faster. What would you do differently?: Drink a little less on the bike and focus on having more fun out on the run course. The run is definitely my weakest discipline, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun running my almost 10-minute miles! Post race
Warm down: Drank some nicely chilled chocolate milk (thanks Amy!) and had a Kashi bar (which had become a staple of my training diet leading up to the race - they sure are yummy) and walked around a bit while chatting with everyone. I felt really good overall. What limited your ability to perform faster: I question my ability to truly push myself to my limits. I felt like I could've pushed myself harder on the run, but in the end, I was pleased with my performance in my first ever triathlon. Event comments: Even though I have nothing to compare it to, I still feel a 5 is justified. The race was very well organized and the communication was EXTREMELY thorough leading up to and including race day. A great job by Lars Beck and his team... it was a great experience overall. My only criticism (and this is very minor) is that the post-race results were only available on the side of one truck, resulting in about 50+ people jockeying for position to read the 16 letter sheets of paper printed in 11-point font. (and I won't mention the face that the DJ's speakers were about 5 feet away, resulting in quite a few conversations better suited for a rock concert). A great race... thanks again to all those involved. (and I'm proud to say that our race team raised over $55,000 for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) Last updated: 2009-02-20 12:00 AM
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United States
Philadelphia Triathlon, LLC
73?F / 0C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 503/1440
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 61/126
Had four hours sleep, up at about 4:20 and in the car to head down to Philly. Picked up a co-worker / race buddy along the way and we were in transition around 6:45. Being my first triathlon, I wasn't sure to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that my rack was relatively empty. I racked about 5 bikes in and I just mimicked what I saw others doing...
This event was a fundraiser for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and there were 60+ people from my company (Johnson & Johnson) participating, so we had a team photo at about 7:20 and then I met up with my family (it was GREAT to see everyone at the race). A little before 8, I headed over near the swim start and tried to mentally prepare myself for the 8:30 start.
About 20 minutes before the start, I got the heart rate up with some light jogging and by flinging my arms about just like the guy demonstrated at the pre-race meeting on Friday night. Who knows if it helped, but it at least gave me something to do....About 15 minutes before the start of my race, I ate a gel and washed it down with some water. I zipped up the wetsuit about 7 minutes before the start of the race, and we were in the water about 4 minutes before the start... I swam around a bit and aligned myself close to the buoys so I didn't have to swim any more than necessary.