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 Swim
Comments: Started pretty much in the middle of the wave. The wave wasn't too crowded even with the river being pretty narrow. I actually had a moment of panic within the first 200 yards or so which caused me to drop out of a pretty large draft pack that I had found. Since the river had some shallow points that allowed for standing, I stood up and got my bearings in order and then continued on with the swim. After that I was able to pretty much settle in and relax for the rest of thwe swim. What would you do differently?: Not panic  Transition 1
Comments: Pretty pleased with my T1 time. I actually changed into a bike jersey and everything was pretty smooth. Since it was a point to point bike and there were seperate transitions, I had to make sure to put everything in a bag to be transported to T2. Making sure not to forget anything and also having to run a good bit from where my bike was racked and the exit cost me a little bit of time. What would you do differently?: Nothing  Bike
Comments: So the course was a little bit hillier than I thought. It wasn't too bad but I guess I didn't realize that I would be pretty much either be in a climb or descent for the entire course. I actually handled the first loop pretty well. I did have some GI issues within the first 15 miles. I'm not sure if it was something I had eaten or just that I took in more water than I thought during the swim but I had the worst stomach cramps. I actually thought at one point that I was going to have to drop out of the race. I struggled along hoping to find a Porta-Potty on the course but I didn't come across one until the first bottle drop around mile 15ish. Lickily when I got to the Porta-Potty I didn't have to wait and could go right in. All I can say is that I feel really sorry for the sweet lady that was standing outside handing out bottles because I blew that thing up! Another athlete stopped to use one of the poopers and asked if either me or the person next to me was going to be finished soon and as soon as he did I let out the largest fart. He then said to another person, "That's a Hell of a way to answer" :)....I felt much better after my stop at the Porta-Potty and was able to settle in and relax for the first loop of the bike. The second loop was a much tougher as I had expected but I didn't lose too much time from my first loop. I did lose a good bit of time with my stop at the Porta-Potty and a stop on the second loop to eat some Twinkies and Pringles but it was only about 10 min. and I think the second stop to rest the legs a little actually saved time in the long run. The second go around on Chalk Hill was really painful but it helped to know that I was almost finished and at the top of the hill it was pretty much all down hill to the end. I wanted to go a little conservative on the bike to save up for the run like I did at White Lake but that would prove to be a moot strategy once I got to the run and found out how hilly it was. What would you do differently?: Not sure I would do much differently...Knowing what I know now about the run course, I might have gone a little harder but I think I just need to work a little harder to get better on the bike so I can still be "conservative" and not have to lose out on a lot of bike time in the process. Transition 2
Comments: I was really pleased with my T2 time considering I had to run about 25 yards from the Bike-In to my Rack. I had everything pretty much set up and ready to go and I changed out of my bike jersey in my running shirt pretty smoothly. The only hick-up was that I forgot my hat but I was able to get one from Janelle which was set up right outside of T2 on the run course. What would you do differently?: remember my hat  Run
Comments: After exiting T2 I found Janelle, which was set up on the first part of the loop, and got my hat and some sunscreen. I actually spent a good bit of time talking with her and Beth. Janelle had to pretty much remind me that I was racing and that I needed to go. I felt pretty good going out and settled into a pretty good pace. I handled the first loop pretty well. I started walking the aid stations to make sure to get my nutrition in order for the run. I wanted to run a 4 to sub-4 hr run but after the turnaround to come back in I made the decision that this was not the right run course and it was way too hilly for me to try and push for a PR without risking the overall PR. So I changed up my goal and decided to push for a similar run time as IM CDA. This would still give me a huge PR and that was more important than PR'ing a run split. The second loop was much slower but I was really conservative and decided to save up my energy for the last loop. I figured that it would be better to make up the time on the last loop than try and push the pace on the second loop to bank time for the last. My strategy actually worked and I was able to pick it up a good bit on the last loop and have a good bit to finish up strong and feel good at the finish. What would you do differently?: research the run course more so I won't be surprised by anything Post race
Warm down: grabbed some food and put on some dry clothes. What limited your ability to perform faster: 1.Slight GI issues at the beginning of the bike 2.Too Conservative on the Bike 3.Not prepared enough for the hills on the run course Event comments: This is actually a really well organized and well supported race. It was really challenging but not overwhelming. The only thing I didn't like was that the bike racks in T1 & T2 weren't numbered. Last updated: 2010-12-09 12:00 AM
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United States
82F / 28C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 220/574M
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 51/108
Arrived in Guerneville on Wednesday after a pretty cool drive up the coast of California from San Francisco via Hwy 1. After we dropped off our stuff at the little one bedroom condo, we drove into Santa Rosa to pick up my bike from the bike shop. Thursday I biked a little bit of the course to do a bit of pre-race bike test. Janelle drove a little ahead and picked me up after about 45 min. and then we attempted to drive the rest of the course. We took a wrong turn somewhere along the route and getting off track. We decided after a while just to head back so we wouldn't get too lost and eventually we found a road that looked familiar and took it back into town. So I didn't get to see some of the "points of interest" on the course, namely Chalk Hill, but I had read and heard enough about them that I wasn't caught off guard by any of them on race day. Chalk Hill was no joke but I will get to that later on :)....Anyway, we then went down to test out the swim venue and then met up with some BT'rs for Sushi. Friday, I woke up and did a little easy run with Janelle and grabbed some really good breakfast at a diner in downtown Guerneville. We then went and walked a little bit in a nearby Redwood forest, which was really cool. Then we grabbed some coffee and headed to Windsor pick up my packet and set up my T2 transition. After we did the packet pick up and expo thing we headed back to the place to eat and relax. I was hoping to get into bed super early and get a good nights rest but that didn't happen. We actually got into bed around 9ish but there was this "sweet" "little" family that lived in the apartment above us and let me just say that I am planning on nominating that mom for "Mom of the Year." So I was really impressed with her style of parenting. She apparently held an interesting view of parenting where she felt that it would be very beneficial to allow her kids to stay up until after midnight practicing their gymnastics for the 2012 Olympics. I really have high hopes for a few of them because it sounded like they were able to really stick there landings. Although a couple of them were obviously new to the sport because I heard soome pretty excruciating screams from time to time.
"Woke up" around 4:30 the morning of the race and ate some toast. I had packed up everything the night before so all I had to do is pretty much just grab my stuff and head down to the start. We left the place around 5:00am and drove down a couple miles to the start. Parking was pretty bad and we had to park a good clip away and walk. Transition opened at 5:30 and that seemed to be very beneficial to the Aqua Bike and Barb's race people who didn't have to start their swim until 8ish because it gave all of them ample enough time to take all the parking and be able to clog up the transition and swim area really well. I made it down the the transition area which was pretty much total chaos since they didn't mark the bike racks and it was pretty much put your bike where ever you can find a spot. I eventually found a spot and set up my stuff and I was lucky because as soon as I racked my bike they started making the call for my wave to start entering the water. I then luckily found a volunteer that was wandering by with a marker and got her to body mark me. I then exited T1 and looked for Janelle. Oh know, I can't find her!!! Panic started to set in because she had my wetsuit. I decide to walk towards the start because I was thinking she would be down there. But she wasn't. I then hear, "Wave #1 needs to be in the water or starting to make their way to the water at this time"....I then decide to go to the announcer and get him to make an announcment for Janelle to meet me at the start. By this time I had met up with Beth and Mike (two very cool BT'ers) and Beth offered to take my flip flops and hat as I just figured I would do the swim with my suit. I decided to do one last "scan" to see if I could spot Janelle and her sign. And just before I lost all hope and decided to give up my search, there she appeared in all her glory by the porta-potties!!!! (So apparently I didn't hear her when she told me that she would meet me over by the entrance of T1...my bad....) I ran over and got my suit from her and then got a few last minute pictures before getting in the water.
I got pretty warmed up while dodging all the aqua bike an Barb's race people that got there 3 hrs before there swim starts and running around looking for Janelle before my swim start.