Pre-race info: This race was granted special permission from USAT to have an Elite wave that started before everyone else. The rules being: ?Those registered for the Elite wave are NOT eligible for any AG awards and will not be included in the final standings. They will be officially listed separately as if they were in a different race run on the same day. The only athletes eligible for the prize money are those registered as elites.? This race was also a college championship race, with the college competitors starting in the first wave with the elites.
1.5K (.93 mile) swim
40K (24.8 mile)Bike
10K (6.2 mile) run
Short version:
2:17:52, 36th overall, 2nd AG. PR of 5:50 for this course.
Long version:
I camped out at the race site the night before the race in my parent?s new camper, which though small is pretty awesome. Comfortable bed and AC, but I slept terrible as I just wanted the morning to arrive so I could get going. When the alarm finally went off at 3:30, I was so relieved it was time to get up. Had a bowl of Honey nut Cheerios with a banana chopped up in them, and a Snickers Marathon Energy bar for breakfast. Then I had a banana an hour before the race and a gel 15 minutes before.
I got to the transition area nice and early and got a near perfect spot.
1.5K swim:
With a water temp of 79 degrees, this was a wetsuit restricted race, meaning you could wear a wetsuit, but have to start in the last wave and aren?t eligible for any awards. AWESOME, as I despise wetsuits and feel they should only be allowed in extremely cold water. For this race, it would be a level playing field and I won?t get beat in the swim by slower swimmers just because they wear a wetsuit and I don?t. I started in wave 2 and at the gun I managed to stay pretty close to the front. The course is swum counter clockwise, I and I remembered from last year that after rounding the first buoy, you are blinded by the rising sun, so I came prepared with an extremely dark mask. It worked perfect and though the sun was a little annoying, I didn?t have problems sighting the 2nd buoy. As many of you know, I haven?t been pleased with my swims this year and seem to have taken a step back, posting slower times in all my races so far. I managed to turn it around for this race, and actually posted a faster time for this race.
2006 ? 29:23
2007 ? 27:28
Improvement of ? 1:55
T1:
I want to take this time to thank Meg (Flip) for her coaching on the elastics trick on the bike. I just zipped through a rather large transition area with the only problem being my helmet didn?t want to snap, but that only cost me about 2 seconds. I still had a huge improvement over last year.
2006 ? 1:06
2007 ? 0:46
Improvement of ? 0:20
40K bike:
What can I say, I love the bike. I just got on and hammered. I followed the advice from a post Sheldon made earlier this year: ?If you?re not in a whole lot of pain, you aren?t going fast enough.? I did my best to make it hurt a lot and passed a countless number of the college athletes from the first wave and got passed by no one. This course has a few good climbs and some pretty sharp turns, but is still laid out to let you just go. So that is what I did.
2006 ? 1:04:21 (23.2 mph)
2007 ? 1:03:34 (23.41 mph)
Improvement of ? 0:47
T2:
I pulled my feet out of my shoes and hopped off the bike just before the dismount line at a run. Rack the bike, shoes on, grab sunglasses and race belt and go.
2006 ? 1:19
2007 ? 0:49
Improvement of ? 0:30 (Oh yeah, I?ve been practicing T2 also!)
10K run:
Although I didn?t mention it, on the bike I had passed a fellow tri-club member and AG competitor of mine that is an extremely fast swimmer and slightly faster than me on the run. Knowing he wasn?t too far behind me, I realized this run was going to hurt. As I set out on the run, I made sure to get the HR under control and then increase the pace and push it. This was all well and good until mile 2 when I had that very uncomfortable feeling in my lower abdomen we all get in our runs from time to time. I thought ?Oh no, this is not the time for me to have to stop and do that!? I must admit, the fiberglass sauna at mile 3 looked very appealing, but I just gritted my teeth and passed it by. This run has two 180 degree turns, so I could see my competition and knew he was gaining on me. My pace turned into a shuffle due to the body?s demand, but I pushed on and the pressure seemed to subside, so I was actually able to pick it the pace in the last 1.5 miles. This last surge was enough for me to hold him off and keep me in the running for an AG award.
2006 ? 47:33
2007 ? 45:15
Improvement of ? 2:18
Final stats:
2006 ? 2:23:42 (8th AG)
2007 ? 2:17:52 (2nd AG after removing the elites, 5th before)
Improvement of ? 5:50
In the overall stats, before the elites are removed, I am listed as 5th AG and 36th overall. After removing the elites, I got bumped up to 2nd AG, but I?m not sure where I stand after they are removed from the overall standings.
Final thoughts:
I am extremely satisfied with this race, by finally having a decent swim and having drastic improvements on my transition times and my run (even with the issues). The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect way to spend the day. I definitely look forward to this race next year, as I plan on making it a regular on my schedule. Thanks for reading!
------------------
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My Profile[/URL" target="_blank">
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http://This message has been edited by xflbk432 (edited Jul-22-2007).
1.5K (.93 mile) swim
40K (24.8 mile)Bike
10K (6.2 mile) run
Short version:
2:17:52, 36th overall, 2nd AG. PR of 5:50 for this course.
Long version:
I camped out at the race site the night before the race in my parent?s new camper, which though small is pretty awesome. Comfortable bed and AC, but I slept terrible as I just wanted the morning to arrive so I could get going. When the alarm finally went off at 3:30, I was so relieved it was time to get up. Had a bowl of Honey nut Cheerios with a banana chopped up in them, and a Snickers Marathon Energy bar for breakfast. Then I had a banana an hour before the race and a gel 15 minutes before.
I got to the transition area nice and early and got a near perfect spot.
1.5K swim:
With a water temp of 79 degrees, this was a wetsuit restricted race, meaning you could wear a wetsuit, but have to start in the last wave and aren?t eligible for any awards. AWESOME, as I despise wetsuits and feel they should only be allowed in extremely cold water. For this race, it would be a level playing field and I won?t get beat in the swim by slower swimmers just because they wear a wetsuit and I don?t. I started in wave 2 and at the gun I managed to stay pretty close to the front. The course is swum counter clockwise, I and I remembered from last year that after rounding the first buoy, you are blinded by the rising sun, so I came prepared with an extremely dark mask. It worked perfect and though the sun was a little annoying, I didn?t have problems sighting the 2nd buoy. As many of you know, I haven?t been pleased with my swims this year and seem to have taken a step back, posting slower times in all my races so far. I managed to turn it around for this race, and actually posted a faster time for this race.
2006 ? 29:23
2007 ? 27:28
Improvement of ? 1:55
T1:
I want to take this time to thank Meg (Flip) for her coaching on the elastics trick on the bike. I just zipped through a rather large transition area with the only problem being my helmet didn?t want to snap, but that only cost me about 2 seconds. I still had a huge improvement over last year.
2006 ? 1:06
2007 ? 0:46
Improvement of ? 0:20
40K bike:
What can I say, I love the bike. I just got on and hammered. I followed the advice from a post Sheldon made earlier this year: ?If you?re not in a whole lot of pain, you aren?t going fast enough.? I did my best to make it hurt a lot and passed a countless number of the college athletes from the first wave and got passed by no one. This course has a few good climbs and some pretty sharp turns, but is still laid out to let you just go. So that is what I did.
2006 ? 1:04:21 (23.2 mph)
2007 ? 1:03:34 (23.41 mph)
Improvement of ? 0:47
T2:
I pulled my feet out of my shoes and hopped off the bike just before the dismount line at a run. Rack the bike, shoes on, grab sunglasses and race belt and go.
2006 ? 1:19
2007 ? 0:49
Improvement of ? 0:30 (Oh yeah, I?ve been practicing T2 also!)
10K run:
Although I didn?t mention it, on the bike I had passed a fellow tri-club member and AG competitor of mine that is an extremely fast swimmer and slightly faster than me on the run. Knowing he wasn?t too far behind me, I realized this run was going to hurt. As I set out on the run, I made sure to get the HR under control and then increase the pace and push it. This was all well and good until mile 2 when I had that very uncomfortable feeling in my lower abdomen we all get in our runs from time to time. I thought ?Oh no, this is not the time for me to have to stop and do that!? I must admit, the fiberglass sauna at mile 3 looked very appealing, but I just gritted my teeth and passed it by. This run has two 180 degree turns, so I could see my competition and knew he was gaining on me. My pace turned into a shuffle due to the body?s demand, but I pushed on and the pressure seemed to subside, so I was actually able to pick it the pace in the last 1.5 miles. This last surge was enough for me to hold him off and keep me in the running for an AG award.
2006 ? 47:33
2007 ? 45:15
Improvement of ? 2:18
Final stats:
2006 ? 2:23:42 (8th AG)
2007 ? 2:17:52 (2nd AG after removing the elites, 5th before)
Improvement of ? 5:50
In the overall stats, before the elites are removed, I am listed as 5th AG and 36th overall. After removing the elites, I got bumped up to 2nd AG, but I?m not sure where I stand after they are removed from the overall standings.
Final thoughts:
I am extremely satisfied with this race, by finally having a decent swim and having drastic improvements on my transition times and my run (even with the issues). The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect way to spend the day. I definitely look forward to this race next year, as I plan on making it a regular on my schedule. Thanks for reading!
------------------
For great travel deals go to: My Website[/URL" target="_blank">
My Profile[/URL" target="_blank">
My Tri Club[/URL" target="_blank">
http://This message has been edited by xflbk432 (edited Jul-22-2007).
HUGE improvement, but if you got out of T1 in 46 you can do T2 faster
