Swim
Comments: The race was wetsuit legal, so I got to wear the new wetsuit. I didn't have any issues being in the open water, so I was comfortable. During the swim, I never could get enough space to really get into a rhythm, but that often happens in mass start events. I was boxed in on all four sides for the entire swim, but made the most of it. Compared to last year, it was a huge improvement. After getting out of the water, a stripper helped me with the wetsuit, which probably saved me about five minutes of wrestling with it. What would you do differently?: Maybe try to get further outside and find some open space to swim normally. Transition 1
Comments: Fast, smooth transition; everything was laid out well. What would you do differently?: Nothing Bike
Comments: The bike seemed to be going well. However, the magnet had fallen out of alignment with the sensor, so I didn't know my speed. If only that was going to be my only equipment issue. After one lap, I was cruising. I was passing numerous people, keeping a solid cadence, and occasionally I would get passed by the whoosh of racing wheels, but I felt good. As I was rounding the last major turn on lap two, I felt my wheel wobble under me. It was flat. There was no riding it in since I had at least 1.5 miles to go, so I stopped to change it. Being a sprint, I had one spare, which I expected to be enough (especially with two co2 cartridges and a hand pump as a backup). The change seemed to be going okay, even though I snapped a tire lever. I got the the tire off and the new tube in okay. When I started to inflate it, I felt it rise and then go immediately down again. I thought that I had lost the seal on the co2 cartridge, so I got the second one out. This one didn't work at all. Was there a problem with the valve? I was down to my last resort with the hand pump. I started trying to pump, but it went no where. I was out of supplies. ***NOTE - I figured out later that a shard of plastic from the broken tire lever had remained under the tire and had punctured the spare. I'm not sure how the original went flat, but this explains why I couldn't inflate the spare.*** I now had a decision to make. Do I bag the race or not? I decided that with a mile and a half to go, I could still walk it in and start running. I tried running in the bike shoes, to no avail. So with the broken inner tube over my shoulder, I set off for the finish line. I became more determined as I went. Losing time, I decided that I would stick it out and keep going until they closed the course in front of me if it came to that. I finally got to the finish of the bike. All told, I had lost about a half hour. When I got to the line, Jenna saw me and asked what had happened. I told her that I had flatted and couldn't repair it. I went into transition hoping to have a good run. What would you do differently?: Take more time being careful when changing the tire; if I had found the shard of plastic, I may have been able to get back on the road; I wish my rim tape had been changed on the rear wheel before the event Transition 2
Comments: quick transition to change into my running shoes and hit the trail. As I left transition, I saw Jenna again. As I passed her, I smiled and said 'Damned if I was going to quit!" What would you do differently?: Transition, under the circumstances, was great Run
Comments: The run felt pretty good. I felt strong and confident throughout, even though I wasn't fast. I even had a short burst left at the end coming over the Mill Ave. bridge and into the finish. I would have liked to have done the 5K in under 30:00, but that will be a goal for another day. I felt good having overcome the bike trouble and bringing it in. What would you do differently?: Could have pushed the pace a little more Post race
Warm down: Just a cup of gatorade and some granola What limited your ability to perform faster: Flatting on the bike!!!! Event comments: On a day that was supposed to be about increased speed over last year, instead it became one that was about heart and dedication maintained. I know that last year I forged on despite feeling that I was going to drown. I am glad to know that even though I have grown to care about my times, I don't care so much that I am willing to take a DNF instead of a slow time if there is anything within my power that I can do to prevent it. When the dust settled and I got to look over the day, I felt really good about the things that were within my control. My times across the board were better than last year. Even with a half hour lost, I was still 18 minutes below last year's time. If I had completed the bike when I expect I would have, my time would have put me in the front of the back of the pack, which is a big improvement. Overall, some bad luck on an otherwise good day. Last updated: 2007-03-21 12:00 AM
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United States
Red Rock Co.
80F / 27C
Overcast
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 72/79
Peanut butter sandwich on wheat with some coffee before leaving. Left for Tempe at around 4:00. Set up transition area and put on the wetsuit.
Used tiger tail on legs and shoulders at the car. Other than that, just the calisthenics to get into the wetsuit!