Swim
Comments: This year was 1:14 faster than last year. I was very happy with that outcome. What would you do differently?: Overall pleased with the race. I would love to do more open water swims next year but I swim in the pool quite often. Transition 1
Comments: I chose to skip socks but put my shoes on in T1 rather than at the bike mount. My glasses fogged up very quickly so I had to take them off and couldn't even use them in the ride. What would you do differently?: Run even faster from the swim exit to my bike. Bike
Comments: I was so eager to see what my bike leg would be like. After getting severe pains in my feet on some training rides, I decided to make a lot of changes. First, I got some new shoes and upgraded my pedals. Unfortunately, that didn't help it at all. Next, I met with Curtis and did a bike fitting and made many significant changes. That helped with my toes but I wasn't able to get into my drops due to the angle of the seat. I then put a new set of tires on the bike based on Curtis' recommendation. Then Thursday night I made a nose adjustment on my seat. Suddenly it all seemed to click. I know my avg speed wasn't actually 18 mph but everyone got the benefit of the slightly shorter distance. Last year's time was 50:37 and an avg speed of 15.6 MPH so this was quite an improvement. What would you do differently?: There is still a major slow down when I hit a steeper hill. I don't climb well at this weight but I am definitely better than last year or even earlier this year. I would also like to get more aero by being in the drops more often. Transition 2
Comments: Here is where I gave away some time. I had my sunglasses fall off as I got to my rack and had to go back and grab them. As I did that, one of my shoes fell off my bike. Between that and having to sit down and put my socks and shoes on, I gave away about a minute. I could have broken 1:45 with a great T2 and a little improvement in T1. What would you do differently?: Go back to Yankz and try running without socks again. I just had one bad experience and now I am afraid to try it again. I'll do it next race or next spring for sure. Run
Comments: I was disappointed that I didn't meet my goal here but I did beat last year by 1:24. I should have been able to be around 40 minutes easy. I did actually beat some other clydes this year and 9 guys in other age groups. What would you do differently?: Spend more time on run fitness! I just not able to run as much outside as I want to. I also need to learn how to continue to run when my mind is telling me I should stop and recover or rest. My HR is not so high that I am needing to recover but my legs are telling me to stop and walk. Post race
Warm down: I walked around the area with the fluid and even got some pizza. Last year I finished late enough that they were out of pizza. I don't know if 6 minutes faster really helped with that or if they order more food but it was nice. Got some pictures with fellow club members. What limited your ability to perform faster: Run fitness is the only place that I am not really improving drastically. It's better but not on pace with the swim or the bike. Event comments: I did have one negative with this year's race. I found out that I received a 2:00 penalty for improperly disposing a water cup on the run course. Since I generally take one or two sips and dump the rest on my head, I don't see how I could have disposed of it out of the zone. I am glad to accept a penalty when I have done something wrong or sketchy but when it is as lame as this I don't feel it is justified. Katie June lost 1st overall female by 5 seconds to someone that was drafting throughout the race but never caught but I'm nailed for littering. I even still had my top to the gel I ate on the bike in my bento box. Needless to say, I don't blame anyone on this random accessing of a penalty but I also don't feel the need to include it in my time for this report! Last updated: 2009-03-20 12:00 AM
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United States
Tri Peachtree City
80F / 27C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 860/952
Age Group = Clyde
Age Group Rank = 75/84
Woke up at the crack of stupid and drove down from Alpharetta. I had a motel room but I felt bad all day on Friday and didn't want to sit in traffic for 2 hours just to sleep an extra hour on Saturday morning. Had my PB&J and a banana in the car and a diet coke for some caffeine. Arrived and got my packet, marked and used the bathroom before entering transition. For as many people as they had, it was not crowded in my area of transition but I can't speak for everyone. Checked out my path from swim to my bike and it was an easy spot to find and figured out the fastest path to the run exit.
Did some dynamic stretching and even got in the water to swim for a minute or two until the loudest person in the world started yelling for people to exit. Followed the herd to the swim start and waited until the 500's were ready to go. Lots of nice people in line with me and had people to talk with while we waited.