Nice job out there!

You did an excellent job, even with a lingering illness, no rear brakes, and the problems with lap counters. Overcoming all the problems the arise in a race and still finishing strong is what makes you a great triathlete. Well Done!

I'll see you there next year! I really do enjoy this race. It's a challenging course in a friendly and positive environment, entirely run by volunteers (hence the problems w/ lap counters), and it raises money for good causes (melanoma foundation and the SCSC swim team). I'm glad that you plan to do it again.

Econway:
Thanks for the kinds words. Your heads up before hand was crucial. I saw right away about the 3 different parts of the course you described. Looking back, I should have attacked the 1st part to try to gain a little time there, because the ohter parts would be tough to gain much time on. What really helped me was your comment about maintaining speed to get up those huge hills. How true. Saw people really having trouble on the big ones who did not build enough speed. That would have been me. You were not kidding about the 40 mph downhills. Knowing that before the ride saved me from freaking out, to the point I actually tried to gain some speed after the first big one. I spent some time on those uphills out of the saddle, but so did everybody else I saw. I wasn't really ready for the run after such a hilly bike ride. I can now sympathize with people who tell stories about Columbia and those hills.
I look forward to doing this one again and joining you in making a push to raise money. Looking back, that is the one thing I will do differently, really try to raise some donations and not just do the race. Awesome idea. Puts all this in perspective.
You are right about the volunteers. They were great. This was my first tri, and seeing how much they really matter to do one of these races makes me want to volunteer. Maybe Annapolis, that's right down the street, and I want to do one of the races at the beach instead. Those volunteers were as friendly and cheerful as any I have expereinced. Great, family friendly environment. Very well put on.
Thanks for the help before the race on the site.
What's next for you?

Hey man - congrats on the FIRST tri (why didn't I know that?!?).  Sounds like a good day, overall.  Heck - if everything had gone perfectly that would have only given you a false sense of security for future races.  Like Eric suggested - overcoming the unplanned and unavoidable snafus is what really makes the race meaningful.

Edited by JoshKaptur 2007-06-19 7:13 AM