I couldn't find anyone to draft of off. When I do, I find my times are so much better. Oh well.


Find someone to draft off of.

I stopped at the wetsuit strippers but didn't lay down. I just had them help me out while standing up. Worked well.

I had an awesome position on the rack. That's my motivation for trying to keep AWA status. I had to run far in my bare feet but that's better than running with biking shoes.

I didn't wear socks. Good move!

I loved the course. It was very fast. There was a heavy cloud cover and it was awesome. It almost looked like rain.

Ate 1 pack Clif Bloks, 1 chocolate Power Bar and 1 GU. I had 3 Endurolytes every hour (9 total).

I picked up 2 water bottles on the course. I ended up losing one when I rounded a curve.

I took 2 large biking bottles straight Gatorade and 1 watered down Gatorade. I threw that bottle away at the first aid station and picked up a water.

One young guy biked past me and commented on my age. I forget exactly what he said but it was nice.

I saw Bob as I was coming in from the bike. He was in the parking lot. I'm so glad I told him to wear that bright yellow shirt. It makes it so easy to see him.


Nothing

I gooped up my toes with Vaseline and put on socks. I changed my sunglasses. Put on a visor, stuffed 2 GUs in my pocket, changed my wrist sweat band and peed in transition. I can't believe all of that took so long but it did. Maybe it was the long run out.


Wear sunscreen.

Of course, the sun decided to come out as I was finishing the bike. Bummer! I thought "it's September, I don't need sunscreen." WRONG!

We did about two miles around Bader Field. That was a bit of a mind game but I did okay. I started to count the people I was passing but decided that was taking too much effort.

I was happy to get on the boardwalk. I saw Frank at that point. He yelled out to me. I also saw Judi and Merry, Ed Gerena and Scott.

The best part of the run was running up and down the fishing pier. The waves were breaking underneath us and it was such a pleasure. We went up to Margate or Ventnor (wherever the end is) and turned around. They had ample aid stations. I started cramping about 3 miles. I took 1 mustard packet and started with the pretzels. I also took water and Gatorade (yuck) at each aid station. I took 2 more mustards later on. Those packs are hard to open. I plan on bringing a flask of mustard next time. That seemed to help my cramps. I also ate 1 GU at some point.

The hard part was passing the finish line around mile 10 and having to go to the other end of the boardwalk. I thought we'd never get to that turnaround. Once I did, I knew it wouldn't be that much farther. The finish line was pretty exciting. There were so many spectators. I saw Pat McCloskey who said "don't die." LOL

At one point a young woman ran past me and said that she hopes she is in as good shape as me when she is my age. That was nice!

Then there was the woman with the big butt that ran past and kept going. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how she was running so fast. She WAS 48!

My new one piece tri outfit chafed a lot. I got a bad burn on my back right below the scar from my lower back surgery. Who knows how that happened? And then I had a lot of chafing from the seat, which I didn't notice until the next day. The top also felt hot. I saw another athlete take hers down and just had it zipped to the waist. I tried that and it was good. There's a reason I've been wearing the same outfit for 7 years. I've decided I like two pieces much better.


Carry a flask of mustard if I can find a small one and it's convenient to carry. I'll have to figure that out.

Lots of good food after this race--hamburgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, awesome French fries, bacon, soft pretzels, fruit, soda, water. This was not Eagleman food! Unfortunately, seating was not plentiful if you were there with a spectator. They weren't allowed into the area where the athletes could sit.

Christine O. went back to run Steph in so we had to watch her stuff for at least a half hour. We were confined to standing in our designated meeting spot. After that, we got a table at Starbucks and Bob bought something just so we could sit there.

We waited hours for the award ceremony, which was postponed until 4:30. It was originally scheduled for 3:30. People were actually still finishing the race at 4:30! The long wait was a drag. The shuttle back to Bader Field was much appreciated and was not crowded at all (since it was so late).

I've got to remind Bob to bring a backpack next time and also bring something for me to change into. It wasn't fun waiting in soggy clothes for all of those hours.



Age


I was pleasantly surprised with this Delmo race. Great course! It was a lot of fun.