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Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek - Olympic
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Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic
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 Swim
Comments: I was pretty wrecked going into this swim for a lot of reasons. Last week at Portage I had had the worst swim of my season where I ended up in full panic and had to backstroke so I took it easy. I rounded the first bouy and all of a sudden I felt the swell, lift, drop, lift, drop, wtf? I'm in a tiny lake in the middle of BFE Ohio, why does it all of a sudden feel like I was in the middle of an ocean? I was able to remain calm though and about half way to the second bouy I figured out what I was doing wrong and what I had been doing wrong at Portage and why I was feeling so gassed, I wasn't blowing (heh, heh, yes I did just say blowing) I wasn't blowing out when I put my face in the water. Once I figured this out I settled in and the rest of the swim was pretty uneventful. What would you do differently?: Nothing really, I guess I could have started a little bit more to the inside, whatever, as Larry the Cable Guy would say I got er' done.  Transition 1
Comments: Wetsuit got stuck on both my heels, yes, that was awesome. What would you do differently?: I dunno, learn how to take my wetsuit off.  Bike
Comments: Headed out on the bike, I borrowed T's extra bike for this race, it is a little more of an aggressive aero position then my bike and probably 5 or 6 pounds lighter then my bike. I ran my bike to the mount line, jumped on, clipped in and started rolling. When I hit the first road out of the park I was feeling great and looked down to see I was cruising at 23mph, nice, had a good tailwind, of course as soon as I made the first left turn and headed into the wind I dropped quickly down to 15mph, hmmm, geared down and settled in. I actually passed quite a few people on the bike in the first 5 miles or so and it felt effortless. After the first five miles I was out there riding on my own and the song Fix You by coldplay kept playing in my head. Everytime I felt like slowing down I happened to look down at my left arm and saw my nephew's initials and said to myself HTFU, this is for George. Hit the first hill went screaming down it, lost the top to my aero bottle, I guess now I know why all you crazy mo-fo's use a loofa in place of a water bottle top. I headed into the transition turn around and had to stop to pee, really? With as much alcohol as I had had in the last 24 hours I was surprised there was anything in me to pee out. In any case, I stopped and yes I did remember to unclip. It was awesome to have a volunteer hold my bike for me while I pee'd. Got back on the bike and headed out. I was probably half way through my second laugh when Newbz came riding up behind/beside me and said hello - thanks Newbz, I attempted to follow him - and after about 20 feet was like wtf am I doing, that dude is fast. Didn't want to burn myself for the run so I settled back into my steady cadence and finished it up. What would you do differently?: Nuttin, this was a comfortable bike and I still felt like I had something left for the run. Transition 2
Comments: My toes were totally numb from the cold on the bike ride, I don't run or ride with socks so because I couldn't feel my toes it felt like it took forever to get my shoes on. T was there telling me I was 7 minutes back from Mike. What would you do differently?: Nada  Run
Comments: The run was good and I am pleased with the time. I thought for sure it would take me an hour + but did it in under an hour, definitely a PR for me as far as pace over this distance. I took off out of transition and past David Tri's who was directing traffic due to a bike wreck - hope that guy is ok. My breathing felt a bit labored for the first mile but after that I settled in and just kept going. Saw Bananatoes and Mike on my way out to the turn-around. Slapped them both High Fives and kept right on cruising. It did feel like it took a while to get to the turn-around but that was to be expected since this was the first time I had ever done a quasi OLY distance race. Once I hit the turn-around I felt great and I started to pick up the pace. This goofy kid decided that he was going to run with me and he had an obnoxioulsy uneven gait that was driving me nuts but we chatted for a while and that seemed to help me ignore the pounding of his feet. Nice enough kid, and all but really that running was screwing up my rhythm, he finally decided that he needed to pull away and get ahead of me (thank god) and I was left to myself to come across the dam. I passed a couple of people on the damn and made the turn back to the park. Coming into the park I saw David Tri's and Bananatoes who rang the cowbell - thanks guys and as I rounded that corner heard Mike and T yelling for me. I was able to sprint into the finish and actually caught some guy as we were crossing the timing mats. What would you do differently?: Nada. Post race
Warm down: Hugged Mike and T and went to transition to grab my bike to reload it on their car. Gave them hugs and after they left I walked up and stood with David Tri's and Bananatoes as we waited for Kate to finish. David was kind enough to give me some more of the bullet bourbon, good stuff, yeah not really but at that point I think I needed it. Watched Kate finish and then stood around with everyone until it was time to head out. This race was my first quasi OLY distance and it went better then I expected. I was an emotional, drunken train wreck but managed to have a good race on all accounts. What limited your ability to perform faster: Senior Patron and Mr. Bud Light acted like my best friends and kept me up until 2:00 am the night before the race, perhaps had I not have succumbed to their ways I would have raced even better - then again, probably not. I raced hard for George Gregory Eddy, born on September 20, 2010 and who, due to major medical complcations will depart the NICU tomorrow for Hospice. GGE this race was for you. Event comments: It was great to see so many friends and to be in the company of them to draw strength from them. I got on a plane the day after the race and am currently in San Francisco. I spent 25 minutes today holding my nephew who will tommorrow be moved to hospice to complete his journey. GGE this race was for you. I brough GGE the finishers medal and it is sitting in his bed in the NICU and will accompany him to hospice. Thanks to HFP for providing this small and tangible piece of evidence that I did what I did for GGE. A great first quasi OLY. The Profile Album Last updated: 2010-09-09 12:00 AM
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 2010-09-29 1:48 AM |
Extreme Veteran  442   Ohio |  Subject: Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek - Olympic |
| 2010-09-29 8:55 AM in reply to: #3123093 |
| Delaware, OH | Subject: RE: Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek - Olympic
You are amazing DJ. |
Pope Paul VI| 2010-09-29 12:16 PM in reply to: #3123093 |
Master 2014 Ohio | Subject: RE: Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek - Olympic Great Race DJ. I'm so, so sorry for your loss. |
| 2010-09-29 6:50 PM in reply to: #3124077 |
Extreme Veteran 442 Ohio | Subject: RE: Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek - Olympic Thanks David and Kate. It was a great race and I was glad to see you both out there. |
| 2010-09-29 7:49 PM in reply to: #3124893 |
Expert 769 Alpharetta (until we find a home) | Subject: RE: Toyota Challenge at Deer Creek - Olympic sad but glad you could there both for the race and your nephew |
| General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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Age Group = Chicas 25-29
Age Group Rank = 1/
Well, this was not my typical pre-race routine, there was some pretty serious family stuff going on and so I decided Saturday night that the best way to cope with that was to go out and drink copious amounts of alcohol, which I learned on Sunday included at least three shots of Patron and one strawberry kamikazi and several cheap beers. The night ended at 2:00am with a cab ride including a stop at McDonald's - Not Smart. Thank god that my Tri Parents were bringing my bike to the race and I was able to beg another friend for a ride to the race as I don't think I was legal to drive by 6:00am and to my chauffeur, Mr. Bojangles, thanks for driving me and for putting up with the incessant talking for the entire hour and 20 minute drive. I was a pretty large mess as I was trying to deal with what was going on with my family situation and that coupled with still be half drunk made me chatty and probably more than obnoxious.
Arrived at the event. Got checked in and grabbed all my gear and headed to transition. Found the Tri Parents' Truck and grabbed my bike off the rack and headed to transition. Saw Newbz and Kate, stopped and said hello, then preceded to my transition spot where I met my Tri Parents - they knew everything that was going on family wise and took one look at me and knew that things were not good, I threw my arms around both of them and stood there and hugged them and cried (Crying in Public GOES AGAINST every fiber of my being but given that I was still half drunk [can we say beer tears?] and the severity of the situation - it happend) I stood there hugging both my tri parents and cried so hard that the cries were I'm sure audible to at least two transition racks over even though my face was buried in Teresa and Mike's shoulders. I finally settled down and I really did set my stuff up then, thank god for the tri parents having a spare towel as I forgot one to put my stuff on. After I got set up, I found Kate and she got a marker and wrote my nephew's initials on my arm, as I had decided to race this race for him. We headed to the beach where I got my shot of the bullet from David Tri's - I have to say that this was probably what saved me, probably what allowed me to race. I had had 3 hours of sleep and that hair of the dog was just what I needed. Stood around with the BT'rs and laughed until it was time to go. Said a prayer for my 6 day-old nephew George as I entered the water.