kalalau's Group - FULL for now (Page 26)

Go get'em!  Crush those age groupers on the run!  Watch their age on their calves so you know who you have to pass.

- Don't rush out too fast on the swim

- Beware the wrath of Dave for slow transitions.  Don't drink in transition, take it with you.

- Stay aero on the bike, crouch down if you can, stay lean.

Wow, chalk?  I haven't noticed that.  That doesn't sound very fair. :-)

I bring my Hard Rock Cafe towel, which sort of sticks out, but since it sits on the ground, I do have trouble spotting it sometimes if I have not done my legwork before the race.

At Eagleman, I had my transition bag at the perimeter of the transition area, in the same row as my stuff.  I didn't intend on it being a signal, but during the race it was super awesome!  I will have to remember that.

Those are great transition times for an experienced person. :-)  Way to go Abbie!  And great run to finish it off.  Sorry about the crash on the bike.  I'd like to know what happened there.  It does seem like a lot of people wreck on their bikes, so you're now part of the club.  Impress your friends!  Hope none of your injuries are very bad.

How was the swim?  Was the time about where you thought it would be?  It's slower that your goal, and slower than your "last easy swim in the pool".

Way to go with 4th newbie! 

Wow what a great story.  That sounds crazy though, glad you are ok.  That could've been really bad.  You'll get better at bike handling.  Surprised you didn't get a flat tire in addition.  I know this was your first race so it was important to you, but for these smaller races, they are a dime a dozen and even if your day was done, you could as easily sign up for one next week.  You have many races to come, and much better ones.  One race won't change your future.  You did learn a good deal here so that's good!

Abbie Liehr, Triathete

Sounds good, huh?

BTW it's always really interesting to see other people's experiences with the race you just did.  There is one other Randolph Lake Tr race report out there thus far.  Reading these gives you some perspective on how other approached it, and comparing times and approaches gives you a perspective on what you did well and where you can improve.

Randolph Lake Triathlon Race Reports

Haha, I didn't mean to make it sound like Eagleman wasn't important to me; I did want to do well.  It just wasn't the top rung when making training decisions.  You have to keep the larger goal in mind with a lot of races piled onto the schedule.

Nice thing about Ironman races is that you can watch them cover it online, and you should be able to track me in many spots.  I've had lots of people watch me come across the finish line, online.  Pretty cool stuff.

That's great that you felt us all out there, even when you were cursing us. :-)

I am on the schedule for the Osprey Sprint Triathlon, just south of Ocean City, MD.  Very relaxed, fun race.

DiamondGirl New York seems like an obvious race for you to do, and it's run-heavy for a sprint which favors you.  I love Harriman State Park.  You could even jump up to an Olympic distance if you feel confident.

I thought you'd be in another race soon. :-)

You'll be healed enough to race.  It looks like a great race.  Quite the short swim.  This race suits your strengths and shortens your weakness.  If you have a great bike ride you could rank really well.

Thanks!  It's next weekend though, I am currently in Vermont attending the Appalachian Trail Conference which I never miss.  I usually log a lot of trail miles but I really have to make sure I don't partake in too much stupidity.

I am looking at a 13 hour race at LP.  It really depends on the bike.  Everything else is almost a lock unless disaster occurs:

1:16 swim

  :05 T1

7:00 bike?

  :05 T2

4:15-4:20 run

--------

12:41-12:46?

That's still right around my IM PR at Florida, so that tells me that may be too ambitious, or I improved a lot.  It all comes down to the bike.  Can I do 6:30?  6:40?  Maybe 7 is too much to ask.  Darn hills.

Guessing time doesn't really matter except for when to tell people to watch for me coming in on the video.  I go by feel no matter what my thoughts were about time.

The people that are trying to avoid others, do tend to stay towards the outside.  You really aren't swimming that much further, and you avoid the big pack.  But sometimes enough people try that idea that it makes the outside crowded as well.  You can try to scout it out while watching previous waves and see where people are lining up.

But don't worry about hitting other people.  They aren't worried about you.  Just do your thing and if you hit someone, you hit someone.  You can move over a bit after you hit someone, but try not to let others screw up your form and your race.

I've been staying in the middle lately.  The fast people seem to line up at the line, and I want to stay away from the super competitive people.  But I don't want to be on the outside either.  I will have to see what it looks like at Lake Placid.  I'm not sure there is a spot there at all.  It's going to be insane with 2,000 people in a small area at the same time.

I had forgotten that LP has a long run from the swim to the bike.  Don't scream at me if my T1 is up to 10 minutes. :-)