Philadelphia Women's Triathlon (Page 2)

Most people who swim open water for the first time notice how dark it is....try not to panic.  Sometimes the water is dark enough that you can't see one foot in front of you.  Try to put some plastic wrap in your goggles while swimming in the pool.  It clouds your vision a bit and you get used to swimming without much sight.  Stay away from the start line in the water unless  you want to get kicked, punched, shoved or swum over.  No matter how good of a swimmer you are in a pool when you are with season open water swimmers you will get knocked around.  Stay in the middle to the back for the first time.  You can always pass people but it clogs up the start for everyone else if you don't know what your doing.  Oh, and remember to have fun!

Thanks for the tips and encouragement!  I'm not too worried about the jostling during the swim, but more about seeing and gear.  I know that I have to get much better at incorporating sighting into my swim stroke.  Also, I've read that wetsuits help with buoyancy (among other things), so I'm wondering how much of an advantage they really are, beyond just providing warmth.

I think my wetsuit saves me 10-15 seconds per 100m.

Hi,

Is everyone feeling ready and excited?

The 2009 race guide is posted, and Entry List has bib numbers and start waves. I'm in wave 11, the next to last wave. I prefer to go out early.

I'm in wave 5, but I may be passed by quite a few people from the later waves.  My training broke down when an old injury flared up in May.  I DNF'ed at Eagleman after the swim due to the injury.  I am going into this race with no time goals; I'm just going to do what I can.  I do plan on finishing though.

Im in wave 4....
Not really looking forward to this race...but I paid the darn race fee so might as well go

Hmm, what;s the problem?

Ironman training blues......

In the scheme of IM training isn't this sprint tri just like a long training day?

I am in the 12th wave.  Hopefully it will not be too crowded.  Anyone planning to wear a wetsuit?  I love mine, mainly for the buoyancy.  It gives me a sense of security.  However, I fear that I may be too warm.

Looking forward to my second tri and my first all woman tri.

Pat

I'm definitely bringing my wetsuit. If the water temp is below 78 I'll probably wear it. I'll make my decision that morning.

I'm bib number 1406. Please stop by and say hi.

I'm number 1466.  I'm sure we will see each other.  Didn't you swim at Sandy Point a last weekend?  We swam this past Sunday.  The water was choppy, and I swam into a few jellyfish.  Nothing major, just annoying.

See you in Philly!

Yes, I was at Sandy Point; didn't remember your user name.

Who else knows their bib # and wants to tell?

I'm #697.

Hi...I'm 698!  Super nervous, this is my first one...

You'll be right next to Barb; cool!

Try to think of your first tri as a learning experience and don't stress on it too much. Trust your training and try to have fun!

Nice brick the other day!

My race neighbor is on BT!!!!

I'm #594....see ya in the racks! (I have a pink & teal Elite)  No wetsuit 4 me. Hopefully the thunderstorms will hold off for us.

Have a good race everyone!

Race is tomorrow!  I picked up my race packet earlier today and am ready to go.  I'm looking forwards to meeting everyone!

Good luck!

Also, pray we don't get any thunderstorms tonight!  The weather forecast is calling for severe thunderstorms this evening/night, which may cause some problems with the water quality of the Schuylkill.  Please no storms tonight!!!

I was also at Sandy Point last Sunday (the 5th). Was fun - though, for the first time I felt a little hot in my wetsuit. I'll wear it tomorrow if we're under 78 though.

I just got back from packet pickup - I'm 452, in the 2nd wave. This will be my first time going out this early - this is my 4th tri, and all my other races had women's waves go last. So it'll be interesting! Hopefully I can work hard and not get passed too much on the bike.

Training has been minimal the past two weeks because I'm studying for the bar. Hopefully I can take out some of the frustration, anxiety, and stress on the course tomorrow!!

I picked up my packet earlier.  The water looked nice then.  I was told that it was 76 degrees.  It does look like something is brewing as for rain, etc.  The winds are picking up.  If it does rain, I hope it does so tonight and not tomorrow.  I am starting to get a little anxious.  I just want to have fun!

The directions to packet pickup was teh suxxor! I was afraid I wasn't going to make it by 5PM! I got totally stressed out. Hopefully it's all a cruise downhill from here!

Glad I got a chance to meet everyone this morning!  It's really nice to put faces to names.

My race did not go well.  For the first run, I did a run/walk, as I was afraid of spending too much energy on those two miles.  I started the bike, but did not finish the bike.  I have a high level of anxiety on the bike since crashing during a race (Philly Insurance TRi, Olympic distance) last summer.  I rode past the side street that goes to the concrete wall that I collided with and all I could imagine was the crash.  I couldn't get my mind back to today's race.  I was upset with myself at first for DNF'ing on probably the easiest bike course ever; however, I realized how much I like to swim and run and how much I don't like biking.  I talked to my Mom on the phone when I got home and I think I am going to focus on single sport running races and open water swimming events.  Maybe in a couple of years, the freshness of the crash will have worn off and I will get back on my bike again, but right now I am going to focus on the swim and run that I truly enjoy doing.