SWBKRUN fast, furious, and closed (Page 100)

try not to over think this!  just go do what you know what you can do and have trained for.  AND HAVE FUN!!!!

Congrats, Suzy!!!

Cute! Yep, after a dismal effort in Knoxville, I feel partially redeemed.  I really needed the swim monkey off my back.  I wasn't fast, but I got it done without freaking out.  Bike went very well (first bike split over 20mph) and my run was decent, but still needs some work.  Only bummer is I bruised the bottom of my right foot and I am hoping that is all that is going on.  Run was on crushed gravel and got some pebbles in my socks. NO stress fractures here!

Jayne, I agree with John.  Get your feet wet, pedal hard but not puke hard and then give the run all you can.  In theory, sprints are all out all the time, but that can come on the second one!

Just waking up from my post race nap and just completed my race report. Everything went alot better overall and I shaved another 8 mins off my time to PR! total 1:10:29, 97th/485. 11/36 AG. Below is my RR

2011 Flat As A Pancake Sprint RR

2nd tri and he's already finishing in the top 20%.  Awesome!!  Must have gotten some tips from Mirinda when she was doing that photo shoot in your basement.

Very nice!!  Your short and sweet RR doesn't say anything about the podium though....

Sounds like a good weekend for everyone!

Finished 9th in my race today.  Race didn't go as planned.  2nd lap 2 guys with the 2nd and 3rd biggest teams in the race got off the front and their teams obviously did no work to reel them back in so the 4 guys on my team (it was a small race) rode on the front for the entire race trying to pull them back, lots of time on the front of the race for me (it's better to sit in and let someone else do the work so you don't waste energy).

2nd to last lap, I felt like I was cooked from all the time on the front and one of the guys on the team asked me to get them to the 2nd to last turn in the front so I pushed as hard as I could and led the rest of the group with 2 teammates on my wheel, when we got to the turn they took off. 

They ended up 3rd and 4th so the effort was worth it, I scratched my way back up a bit to get a top 10 which was nice.

The other teams played us well.  They figured we would try to control the race (which was our plan) so they took off early and made us do all the work.  The 2 teams in the break even tried another break which is where I used up the majority of my energy trying to bring them back. 

Fun race, lots of tactics came into play.

I'm going to keep repeating this over and over in my head! Thanks John

First time in the open water today.  Right after registering for two more races:  A long sprint in Aug. and an oly in Sept.  Sounded like a good idea this morning

Soooooooooo, it's a good thing I registered BEFORE the ows, 'cause now, there's no way in hell I would have registered for the oly.  I'm gonna drown!  Funny thing, as a new runner AND a new swimmer, the runs are looking VERY easy compared to the swims! 

Observations from a newbie ow swimmer:  1) All you can see is different f-ing shades of green and some weeds if you get shallow enough.  2) lifting your head to sight is harder than it sounds and it really screws with holding any kind of form 3) 500 yds looks like a REALLY long way on the open water  4) cold water is the last thing I was thinking about--don't know the temp, but it really wasn't that bad  5) maybe I should rethink forking out the $$ for a wetsuit, but with my luck it would be too warm to use it, so I might as well learn to do this without it.  6) don't calculate out how far a mile is on the open water--just don't even look at it!  7) smile when hubby says, "Just remember, you CHOSE to do this."  

yep!

Great job on the race Grapejuice. 

Mike

Congratulations to everyone for this weekends feats they have accomplished.

you haven't aged very well.  

but you still have boobs and AWESOME DIRTY legs.

happy birthday!!!!!

Awesome INFO... thanks.. I keep telling myself if I have to breath any harder then once every 4 strokes I am going too hard on the swim. I did two Try a Tri's last year and both times I got out the water Gassed.... So I am going to truely try and do as you say and I will remember your post as I am swimming and working HARD TO SETTLE into a doable pace and then HAMMER the bike to a level I know I can sustain and be able to run after....

It is going to be an AWESOME learning experiance. I am So looking forward to it.

AWESOME JOB.  WOOHOOOO

And hey what is wrong with people that need stepstools. I use one all the time. 

I agree my goal is to do mine and finish it NONSTOP without blowing up. And if it means going a tiny bit slower to ensure that.. Then that is what I will do... and ya.. either way it will be a Total PR... LOL  and allow me the ability to PR at it again next year....LOL

Ha!!!

Happy Birthday Julia!!!

Congratulations to all of our amazing racers this weekend!  Wow, this group just keep laying it down!!!  Love it.

Happy Birthday to you, Julia, I don't know which of John's relatives or neighbors that was, but wow!  Let's chip in and help her out with some teeth! 

Spanky and Jayne, I can totally relate to that feeling!  I get it before almost every triathlon.  One of the things you said, Jayne, struck a chord with me.  500 yds looks like a REALLY long way on the open water.  There's no easy way to get around that (because it is a long frickin way!)  except to break the swim down into parts, like taking it from one turn to the next, and then it is not so daunting.  And find your landmarks, be it some particular group of trees or a block of houses that you might sight off of when you are at different points on the swim course. 

I have found that sighting off the buoys alone can be difficult and too small of a thing for me to aim at and cause too much anxiety if I am not close to the buoy line...then kind of try to remember what you are supposed to be looking for after you make your turns.  It can take your mind off of how nervous you are before a race to really get an idea of your surroundings.

You guys are going to do great, can't wait! 

HA! Is your husband related to my wife????

Ha! Fixed that!!

Jayne--I am the queen of freaking out in OW, especially in my early years.  I agree with Kim, break those 500y down into pieces.  I count the buoys ahead of time and then tick them off as I swim by them.  I also encourage you to get in the OW as much as possible especially with a pack--having many people around you is a different beast, especially because many of them are also scared. I think sprints tend to bring out newbies--I realized that yesterday so there will be a lot of alternate strokes in use.  Rely on them if you need them.  There is NO shame in it!!!  I had people breast and back stroking around me in IM!!!  If you do need a time out, take it....tread it a little to get your bearings.

If you have a shallow lake you can go by yourself and practice, practice, practice.  Run in, start too fast, get breathless, freak out....rinse and repeat.   

Thanks Kim and Suzy,  It's good to know that other people have overcome this swimming "hurdle".  I like the idea of counting the buoys!  I'm going to be doing some ows with my local tri club twice a week.  I should be able to get in the water with them 5 times before my race.  I can't even imagine showing up at a race having never been in the open water!!!!  My race is close enough to home that I will be able to go and check out the race course the week before. 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my lbs/tri club is putting on a transition clinic next weekend.  That will be helpful too!  Now, if I can get Kyla to email me her checklists, I should be ready to go! 

P.S. Is doggie paddling considered a "stroke?"