Appleman 2008

Hmmm...not too sure what to make of this race...felt good going in...not so good with the results...strange day for sure.

It wasn't one thing, but maybe a bunch of little things...but I'll get to that.

Met up with Cheryl and Suzy at 6:30 am, got the gear ready and walked down to transition. Parked our bikes and got our goodie bags...Suzy's wasn't ready so they slapped one together including hand writing the numbers on pieces of paper for her bike and run...

The transition area was tight as it was small and had over 500 athletes...but as luck would have it, I was on a rack leading out of transition and had a fair amount of room on the other side to throw my stuff. cool. Began setting up and chit-chatted with the ladies in the area. The woman next to me said she wasn't having a great training season, let alone race season, so we talked about the best way to attack the race and just take it one part at a time (she did great, and looked good at the finish). I met back up with Cheryl and Suzy and headed down to the beach to get in the water and warm up a bit.

It was muggy, but fortunately the sun wasn't out so it wasn't too bad. Got in and did a decent warm-up, narrowly missing 3-4 head on collisions w/swimmers coming in. (whoops) The water was clear and they had treated the lake earlier in the year, so the weeds were in control (yes!).

Listened to some pre-race announcements (tried to anyway) and then the National anthem and buddhist monk chant - loved it! Suzy and I were in the last wave and Cheryl the one before us. Watched the other waves go off and figured the best place to be was on the far right. Some of the guys in the first two waves weren't doing too good, in fact a few turned around and came back to shore and one was swimming way off course - felt really bad for them!

The swim started out uneventful and I got to the 1st turn buoy no problem. Hugged it real close and kept on going. next time I went to site, I noticed I was WAY out and had to angle back to my right to get back close to the buoy line (what the?!?!) At this point I notice that my arms feel tired and my breathing isn't that great (a bit wheezy)...hmm, not good, decide to dial it back and recover. Ok, arms feel better but breathing is still messed, but manageable. Round the next turn buoy and head on in. In the next minute or so, I get swum over by the same person TWICE! and then my watch strap decides to start to undo...what next?? Nothing...out of the water in 15:31...

Run up the beach and thru the pools of water and do as quick a change as you can with a wetsuit on. T1: 2:32

Get on the bike and feel better, start pushing from the start as its a short rolling course and really wanted to fly. Ended up playing cat and mouse with another woman in my age group...it was rather weird, just when I thought she pulled ahead and I wouldn't catch her, I would be right back in it. Passed her at one point and she says "you're really pissing me off"...uh, ok, then get in front of me and stay there! Sheesh. ANYWAY, I am in front now and I hear something, and look back and there she is hanging just off my back wheel to the left...and we stay this way for a couple of miles...where is a race official when you need one??? She does eventually get ahead and I thought for good, but I catch her just as we hit transition. Bike: 32:00

T2 actually goes according to plan - in and out in 0:46

The run STUNK from the get go...just couldn't get it together and my breathing was all messed up. I did beat the other woman out of T2, but she passes me within the 1st 1/4 mile or so. Harumph. Hit the 1st mile in 9 min or so and knew it was going to be tough from there on out. Legs didn't want to go, developed a stitch, looked like it was going to pour at any minute, so really high humidity...but fortunately, NO SUN! This is a nice run too, no real hills and part of it is in the woods. So keep assessing and trying to get rid of the stitch. Shortly after I turn into the woods, I see Cheryl up ahead. Yell to her to run with me and she turns around and says "Oh, CRAP!" and starts running again. Tell her she's looking AND doing good as I go by...I just want to get this done, so I don't stop. Once in the woods it's a bit trickier and I decide to walk a good portion of the hill. THIS ends up being my saving grace...breathing is easier the last 3/4 of a mile and I am able to get my legs back under me. So, I get it in gear, and am able to pick it up a bit - and feel more normal.

Run: 27:13

Total time: 1:18:03 8th in my AG (with drafting lady in 7th)

Overall, I was slower in every leg EXCEPT for T2! Go figure. Going back thru the race in my mind, it's tough to figure out. No idea why I got tired on the swim...that has never happened before...I felt really good on the ride and well the run just plain stunk. I think it was combination of things...I had run 8 miles on Wed (1st time at that distance in many years), then jumped on a plane and was away until Friday for work, and Saturday we were busy and it was hot. My breathing was not right from mid-swim on...I haven't been using my inhaler, didn't need it, but probably could have used it during the race. But who knew?

Since I can't go back and change anything, I'll just have to chalk it up as "just one of those days."

Webster Lake 2008

I do this race every year and love the venue – only 20 minutes from the house!! I had been watching the weather all week as this race is notorious for being either rainy or really hot! Forecast was for rain after 10:00 am…cool…I’ll take that!

Met up with Suzy and Cake in the parking lot and went and got our goodie bags and body marked. Our rack was close to the bike and run out, but we couldn’t quite figure out how we’d bike in, oh well, I’ll just follow the pack… Set up transition area and went down to hit the bathroom and check out the swim course. The swim was a triangle, but it looked like it was short…which given my swim time, I was right.

By the time we got back up to transition area to get our stuff, there was a line which had to have 100 people in it waiting to sign up via race day registration!! Unbelievable! FIRM really was not ready to handle this and as a result, the race didn’t start on time and some people didn’t have chips before the 1st wave even went off. WOW! Rick and Dick Hoyt were there and their race was being filmed. Cool.

Suzy and I were in the 4th wave and as we watched the others go off, it was apparent that staying to the left, closest to the buoys was a good place to be. So, that’s where I went. Got into a pocket early and a decent rhythm and felt pretty decent. But for some reason, was having problems staying straight, so had to keep siting. On the second leg of the triangle, was doing well, passing some of the people in the prior waves, when I thought I heard someone yell. Look up and was literally 6 inches from swimming head on into a kayak! Ouch, that would have hurt…a guy was hanging on to him, resting and the kayak had moved in close to the buoy line for him. Sheesh…after that the swim was uneventful, and finished up strong. Swim time: 11:33

The run up to transition is always interesting as it’s a good ¼-1/3 mile! At least you get the blood going to your legs – but man it can be tough on your feet! Tried to get in and get out, but still took me a while. T1: 4:14

I love the bike course on this race despite the “killer hill” at ~4 miles…Legs were burning a bit, and tried to spin them out, but they wouldn’t loosen up. Hmmm, this ought to be interesting later on…I was making good time and getting psyched to start climbing…but what the? Shifted my chain right off the large front gear, but was able to shift and pedal it back on…phew. Kept going and started climbing, alternating spinning and standing…shifted to my smallest front gear and DANG IT! Chain came off…lost all momentum and couldn’t pedal it back on! What the @#$@#%!!! Pull off to the side before I fall over and take someone else with me, futz with it and finally get it back on…that cost me a couple of minutes, I think. And since I was at the steepest part of the hill, I had to run my bike up to the crest before I could get back on! UNBELIEVABLE! So, I’m covered in grease and totally frustrated but now riding and getting back up the hill. The rest of the ride went pretty uneventful and was able to regain some time. I had wanted to break 39 for the bike, and missed it by less than a minute…bike: 39:46 (18.3 mph)

We had to run down along side of transition and in the back to get back in and that was a major pain. Got back to rack my bike and noticed a yellow lens on the ground…whoops! Rode the whole course with only one lens in my glasses! Fortunately, lost it in transition and not out on the course…T2: 1:40

This was my first full race since my surgery and so far, the foot was holding up pretty good. The run is fairly flat and loops thru a neighborhood, with a couple of short rollers. Get out on the run course and my right Achilles started acting up, so tried to get my stride out and relax…told myself I would take a walk break if it didn’t start to loosen up after the 1 mile mark…1 mile came and it was fine, so kept going. On the way back, my foot started to get hot and sore, so again, made a bargain that I would take a quick break if it got unbearable…never happened, so was able to finish up running. Saw Suzy and tried to do a high five, but missed and only caught a few fingers. She looked good! After that tried to stay relaxed and pick it up a bit. Got passed in the last 100 yds or so by someone in my age group and just couldn’t get it back…she finished 4 seconds in front of me. Oh well. Run: 23:42 (2.8 miles)

So total time was 1:20:50, good enough for 15 out of 34. AND a good 1 minute faster than last year, despite my dropped chain. Run was about the same, but that’s ok considering I wasn’t even really running until March of this year.

Met up with Cheryl and went back to cheer Suzy in – she did awesome!!

It’s a fun race and by the turn out FIRM had this year, looks like it got popular overnight! They had a hard time handling all the race day registrations and timing was a bit messed up for a while after the race. But they finally got it sorted out, but not sure how it worked with the awards (not that it mattered to me).