Swim
Comments: I caught up with the guy in front of me on the second length I think, maybe third. I started to try to get around him, but I wasn't going that much faster than him, and I was afraid I would spend too much energy trying to get around him, so I settled back in behind him and just followed him in. I thought I might pass him at one of the turns, but he didn't waste any time, so I just followed and stayed consistent in my stroke and breathing. I got out of the pool quickly with a nifty little jump turn over the splash trough, then ran right by the guy and hustled to transition. I think I gained some time on several people on the run to transition because I did about as close to a sprint as you can on wet grass in the rain. My pool time was probably a little slower than I expected, mainly because I stayed behind that guy. It may have hurt my swim time a little, but I was still very fresh leaving the water. Having the 38th best swim split out of 99 is huge for me. Anything top half is progress, so I'm pretty happy with that. What would you do differently?: Maybe try to pass the guy. I just don't know if it would have been worth it. Transition 1
Comments: Had the 10th fastest T1, lots of improvement there. With the shoes already clipped in, just had to drop goggles, put on helmet, grab bike, and go. I did lose a couple seconds taking the towel off my bars, but at least they started out dry. I'm not going to call it a flying mount yet, but I did a moving mount. During the week practicing at home I had a couple near mishaps where I didn't hit the pedal cleanly, so I was pretty cautious, especially with the rain, but it was definitely a moving mount. There's a left turn shortly out of transition, then a little uphill section for maybe a 1/4 mile, so I had decided that I would try to get one foot in the shoe before the uphill, then ride the uphill with one foot in the shoe and one foot still on top of the shoe. I had just a little trouble getting the first foot in, but the plan worked well, the hill went fine, and then after a couple quick turns, I put the other foot in the shoe with minimal difficulty. I think it was the right thing to do with my current abilities. What would you do differently?: Not much. Try to get a little better transition spot maybe, but I'm pretty happy with my time. Still practicing. Bike
Comments: Good ride, especially considering the conditions. It rained the whole time, pretty hard a couple times. I took it very easy on the turns and corners, and used the brakes some on the curvy downhills with fresh pavement. Averaging 19.3 in the rain, and 11th fastest is pretty good. I hope I get a dry race eventually so I can really get after it and see if I can average 20. I didn't get passed, and passed a bunch of people. The bike is my strength for sure. What would you do differently?: Um, not ride in the rain? I did catch myself a couple times in the last 3-4 miles just kinda going thru the motions and cruising, rather than racing. I think part of that is that there was nobody in sight in front of me, so I guess I lost sight of the objective a couple times. I've got to learn to push myself all the time. Transition 2
Comments: Had a nice step-over, ride in with both legs on one side, step off running dismount. I slowed down a little extra because of the wet/rain, but it was a good dismount and I think I looked like I knew what I was doing. Or not. I decided as I was racking my bike that since my feet were already soaked that I would forego the socks. First time I've done that! Shoes slipped on fine and I took off. What would you do differently?: Not much. Pretty good effort in the rain. Still practicing. Run
Comments: That's a pretty good run for me. This is where I really have to improve if I want to get much better. I just don't enjoy the run, so it's harder for me to push thru. It was a good pace for me right now, but I've got to get better here. I got passed by 4 guys on my first lap, at least one of which was already on his second lap. On my second lap I passed 4 guys, I think all of them were on their first lap. What would you do differently?: Just go harder. It's easy to say, not so easy to do, but that's what I've got to learn to do. Post race
Warm down: Grabbed a DP, loaded up my stuff, and waited for awards. Won my age group, yay! I actually told Wendy that if I didn't win my age group, or at least place, then hat's off to the guys who beat me, because I did about as well as I could. What limited your ability to perform faster: The rain. Lack of confidence on the curvy slick roads on the bike the last couple miles. Lack of ability on the run. Event comments: Really enjoyed this race, and improved about 8 minutes over last year. I'm getting better, and am working to continue to improve. Good support from volunteers and police officers who took care of us on a nasty rainy day. Last updated: 2013-04-15 12:00 AM
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United States
Endurance Sports Management
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 17/99
Age Group = 40-44 M
Age Group Rank = 1/6
Stayed at a hotel a couple miles from the park. Got up, got some breakfast, loaded up the gear, and headed to the race. Got a decent but not great spot in transition and set up my gear.
Rode a little bit of the run course, and did some test runs leaving transition and getting in my shoes with them already clipped on the bike. The last race I tried that I didn't do a very good job of getting my feet in, so I wanted to make sure I was comfortable and had a good plan. Went back to the pool and wanted to swim a little, but the rain had started, the water was cool, and I didn't want to stand there wet and cold in the rain. Went back to transition and covered my shoes and handlebars to keep them dry.