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Hotter Than Hell Biathlon - Biathlon (swim/run)


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Balad,
Iraq
85F / 29C
Overcast
Total Time = 39m 37s
Overall Rank = 47/64
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Well, this race went downhill at 1800 the night before. I was called out to help a sister battalion whose chaplain was off the FOB visiting troopies. The mission was FUBAR from the get go and didn't wrap up until 2100. So, my only option for chow was some cold, burnt hamburgers from a grill party we tried to have. Yum. Hamburgers led to heartburn at 0200 in the morning, which cost me a half-hour of sleep trying to find some Rolaids. The lack of sleep (and my crappy travel alarm) caused me to sleep through my alarm. P was pounding on my door at 0455, 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave. So, take a quick hit of a Rip It, start drinking water, get my gear together, get in the proper uniform and I head out the door.
Event warmup:

Get to the pool, check in, set up transition area. ***TMI ALERT TMI ALERT*** Now, one of the things that I have trained myself to do is a pre-run/ race BM. I'm feeling the call of nature and head into the latrine. Done and done...sort of. I then get in the water to loosen up. I haven't done that much before and thought I would try a swimming warm-up. I got in about 100m before the pre-race brief.
Swim
  • 10m 19s
  • 500 meters
  • 02m 04s / 100 meters
Comments:

We were starting spaced 1:00 apart. As the first swimmer takes off, I feel another call of nature. Crap...literally. Nothing I can do, I have to just try to go with it. Cannonball in the water, as usual, and get ready to go. First 100m was great, felt strong and smooth. During the second 100m, I feel water seeping into my goggles. By the end of the second lap, I had to stop at the wall and try to fix them. I take three strokes and have more water in my goggles than before so I just roll onto my back, take my goggles off, and do 50m with no goggles. I stop at the far wall and take more time. Take three more strokes and have the same issues. So I just stood there in the middle of the pool and fixed them right. Cost me at least a minute. Put the goggles on, didn't panic, and finished my swim.
What would you do differently?:

Spend $2.95 for a pair of untinted Swedes. I was using some Aqua Spheres that I've had for years. The water was somewhat murky and the Aqua Spheres give me more visibility. I should have just used my tinted Swedes or just break down and buy an untinted pair.
Transition 1
  • 02m 6s
Comments:

Cost myself some time by flinging my goggles when I got out of the pool. Otherwise, I thought I was doing better than this. Socks are still slowing me down but socks are necessary when one has sweaty feet like mine.
What would you do differently?:

Control my frustration a bit better
Run
  • 27m 10s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 08m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt slow but my times seemed to be telling me that I was fast. Maybe all this LSD isn't stealing all my speed. I passed an Air Force chick at Mile 1 and after that there was no one to run with, really, so I'm just trying to do the best that I can. At about Mile 2, I check my watch and see that I have a chance for a PR. Cool. Then I start to feel a certain call of nature again. Crap. It gets so bad that I'm afraid that I'm going to "shart" so I stop at a latrine and do what needs to be done. Probably lost 2 minutes here easy. Came out and got back into the race. Caught Air Force chick again with about 200m to go and pulled her with me through the finish line. Heck, my race was shot, why not help someone else?
What would you do differently?:

Get up on time to make sure I have a nice BM before I run.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and grabbed some water. P and B were already on the course, so no chance of pacing them. I talked with some folks.

Talked with one senior officer who just came from teaching at West Point. He was also the faculty advisor for the Triathlon team. Had a great conversation about how expensive it is for college triathletes...but WP pays all entry fees and hotel/ food cost for it's team. Also, Tim DeBoom is currently training folks on the WP team. It was really great to talk to this guy...wish I could remember his name.

The other thing that I noticed is that I was much more able to roll with today's poor performance. It was what it was. A few months ago, I would have been so raging mad that I would have sulked all day. Today I was able to smile about it and even joke about it. I give my self an "A" for handling a bad situation.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not being on schedule with bodily functions.




Last updated: 2008-08-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:10:19 | 500 meters | 02m 04s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 28/64
Performance:
Suit: Drag suit
Course: Zig-zag laps in an outdoor 50m pool. 5 laps total.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Waves
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time:  02:06
Overall: Average
Removing cap, goggles and wetsuit:
Getting into shoes:
Running
00:27:10 | 03.11 miles | 08m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 55/64
Performance: Good
Course: Usual JBB 5k course
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2008-08-25 1:39 AM

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