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Prairieman Half Ironman & Aquabike - Aquabike


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Grand Prairie, Texas
United States
Ironhead Race Productions
84F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 21m 2s
Overall Rank = 6/20
Age Group = 25-29 F
Age Group Rank = 1/1
Pre-race routine:

Got up at an ungodly hour and started to get my stuff together because I was too lazy to do it the night before. Filled some water bottles for Thomas and I, and then I realized that my aero bottle (and shower poofy thing) had been sitting in a grocery bag for the last week - most of which was spent in the back of Thomas' car. Excellent. Suffice it to say that every element of that aero setup was DISGUSTING. So, a quick round of thorough soap and bleach cleaning seemed to do the trick (although we'll see how I end up tomorrow). Then we pretty much threw a bunch of crap in the car and left.
Event warmup:

I didn't want to get there too early since Thomas loathes early mornings as it is, so we rolled in around 6am which gave me 45 minutes to set up my transition area and get a swim in. It was so dark that I probably didn't even get 100m of warmup in before I decided to screw it because I couldn't see with my mirrored goggles. I knew I'd want them for the sunrise swim, so I figured oh well. Then I just waited around for my wave to start (last, of course). Oh yeah, and during all this, I realized I had left my HR monitor and sunglasses in the car. But that's what boyfriends are for, right? :)
Swim
  • 29m 9s
  • 1900 meters
  • 01m 32s / 100 meters
Comments:

Honestly, I'd have to classify my drafting, sighting, and overall swim effort as more than just good... rather excellent. I finally realized that I will never win a race on the swim, but I sure as hell can lose it if I put too much effort into going too fast. This time, I stayed with the lead pack until it filtered out a bit. Sure I got kicked and elbowed, but whatever - I wasn't expending nearly as much energy as usual (when I dart off the front and end up swimming the whole thing solo). This time I latched on to a girl who set a decent line (there were a couple times I deviated because she must have been struck blind for a minute). She went a little slower than what I could have held, but it was most excellent to have someone pull me along. I'm pretty sure I drafted off her for probably 1700m. I will definitely do this again, because it saved a noticeable amount of energy and made the swim a piece of cake. That, and I didn't try to hammer the swim like an idiot (like usual).
What would you do differently?:

Pretty much nothing.
Transition 1
  • 01m 27s
Comments:

Pretty uneventful. I beat the girl who pulled me during the swim. Yay!
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Bike
  • 2h 49m 38s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.81 mile/hr
Comments:

I am incredibly pleased with this ride. This is the first time I feel like I've had a smart ride. It's probably good that my speedometer seemed to be on the fritz. I switched my computer to read cadence and overall time, and focused on keeping an even effort with HR.

Weird thing is that as I rolled into the dismount zone, my left leg started to spasm and shake. Not painfully, but it sure was weird. I dismounted my bike and headed for the finish line. The outside of my right foot felt pulled, and has been tender and hard to walk on since the race. Really weird - I've never pulled the outside of my foot and never had any foot discomfort after a ride.

Even though the bike course was a 4-looper, it was surprisingly spread out. I would catch people and vice versa, but for the most part, I was all by my lonesome. The time went really fast, though. I think I was so worried about mis-counting my loops that I was really focused. It may sound stupid, but I've lost count during a 200yd race (4 laps/8 lengths) when I was younger - call it being blonde or just call it being too focused on other things, but me and counting to 4 is sometimes difficult. Yes, I'm an engineer. :)

Also, I apologize to every volunteer who had to deal with my expelled water bottles. It seems so easy, but I suck so badly at it. My first one went into the trees because I lobbed it really hard thinking I'd need to make sure it got off the road. The second was embarrassingly short, and landed a good 10m before the target area. I yelled an apology to the volunteer, who was kind enough to say "don't worry about it, we'll get it!" And the third was probably the worst - I launched it right into the sewer gutter, and it ricocheted back and narrowly missed throwing me into an endo. I really have no idea how I avoided flying over the 3rd one - it must have somehow rolled perfectly between my wheels (sideways). Clearly, I have no future in any sport that involves throwing objects to hit a target. But I did feel like a badass doing my first 3 bottle handups ever :)
What would you do differently?:

Drink more. I thought I was drinking enough, but I didn't have to pee for almost 1.5 hours after the race... not good. I must sweat like a pig or something. Also, seeing as there was no run in my future, I think I should have hammered the last loop harder. I was torn between doing the whole thing at exactly race pace for Longhorn and treating it as race. I think I had too much left in the tank after the ride. But I really can't complain with a just below 20mph pace for 56 miles. That's well above my expectations (not to mention any previous rides of that distance), so I'm pretty excited about it.
Post race
Warm down:

Went for a swim in the lake to cool off, wash off, and warm down. The water felt excellent. Then I kept my eyes out for Clint and cheered for him as he went through transition and started out on his run. At the awards ceremony for the Aquabikers, I met up with Gary, and we chatted and kept a watch for Clint.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Um, a 13.7 mile run at sub-9min/mile pace the day before?

Event comments:

Oh PS - I subtracted the lame "200m run" from my overall chip time since I'm not sure why it counted for an Aquabike time in the first place. I wouldn't have thought that the transition would have counted either, but I'll split the difference.




Last updated: 2007-07-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:09 | 1900 meters | 01m 32s / 100meters
Age Group: 1/1
Overall: 1/20
Performance: Good
Suit: Zoot shorts & Speedo top
Course: Triangle w/ buoys
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:27
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:49:38 | 56 miles | 19.81 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/1
Overall: 10/20
Performance: Good
HR avg in the low 170s (low for me)
Wind: Little
Course: Series of loops with 4 loops around the main course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2007-09-09 7:36 PM

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Extreme Veteran
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Dallas, TX
Subject: Prairieman Half Ironman & Aquabike


2007-09-09 10:51 PM
in reply to: #957268

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Champion
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the colony texas
Subject: RE: Prairieman Half Ironman & Aquabike
Way to go 1st place AG finisher !!!!!   your are blazing fast btw,,, you weren't even trying hard on that swim.  Great bike also... I was having too much fun with tossing the bottles.
2007-09-10 9:22 AM
in reply to: #957268

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Expert
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Longview, TX
Subject: RE: Prairieman Half Ironman & Aquabike

Is that really what boyfriends are for???

I'm far from an expert, but it sure sounds like you're learning how to race smart.  The fact that you now have the focus and patience not to attack the swim but just to use it as a great starting step into the race I believe will benefit you tremendously.

And thank you so much for cheering for me in T2!  Once I stepped off the bike and realized how much pain my foot was in with every step, I considered calling it a day.  But you and some others really motivated me to keep going.

Great race!  You are going to smash everyone at Longhorn!

2007-09-10 4:57 PM
in reply to: #957268

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Expert
902
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Wylie, TX
Subject: RE: Prairieman Half Ironman & Aquabike
Excellent job between Sat and Sun. I think you were wise to follow the pace you are planning on using for Longhorn. I predict an excellent day for you in Austin.
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