The beach where we started
Swim Swim Trn1 Trans Bike Bike Bike Cum Cum Trn2 Trans Run Run Pace Finish
Place Name Age City/State Plc Time Plc #1 Plc Time Rate Plc Time Plc #2 Plc Time /mile Time PN
===== ====================== === ===================== ==== ======= ==== ===== ==== ======= ==== ==== ======== ==== ===== ==== ======= ===== ========= ==
128 MICHAEL GUZEK 26 ARLINGTON VA 25 57:12 200 5:59 110 5:49:45 18.9 78 06:52:55 207 5:58 231 5:19:41 12:13 12:18:33
For more details check out http://www.greatfloridian.com/results/2001/results.htm
The
beach where we startedPre Race
Maarten and I posed for a final picture and headed towards the water. In the water I made some small talk, swam a few hundred yards and just waited for the whole thing to get started. This may have been one of the hardest parts of the race. I had been waiting for months to get here and here I was. And as I listened to the singing of the Star Spangled Banner the seconds ticked away like hours.
As she finished singing, there was an eerie calm and people just were just looking around waiting for some official start. We just started walking out, no one sure if the race had started. We were all looking around until the guy next me, shrugged his shoulders and dove in, and at that moment the race began. Everyone just raced ahead. I was lucky enough that my walk ahead had gotten me clear of most of the pack and I knew that as a good swimmer I could be clear of most of the chaos. I was partially right. By walking out so far, for about the first hundred yards I was out front…...actually, I was IN the front. Knowing I would not finish that way I braced myself for the inevitable swimmers that would be literally be climbing on my back shortly. There was some arm wrestling for about the first half-mile and then things cleared up. I managed to stay on some feet for a while which helps because I tend to go left to right when I swim and this kept me straight, but after a few minutes I lost him. The thing on the swim part of the triathlon is that it is almost impossible to figure out where you are relative to everyone else and nearly as difficult to find out how your time is until you are done. This course had two 1.2 mile laps so at least there was a time check point halfway to see how you were doing….I came out around 26:30…not too bad, right where I wanted to be.
I figured I could do around 55 min for
the swim but I basically wanted to be out in under and hour. Second lap was uneventful and I just
tried to concentrate on the next part of the race. As I got closer to the beach I started
getting really really excited. The
race was REALLY about to begin when I got on the bike. As I emerged from the water the clock
had me at 57 minutes….little bit higher than I was shooting for, but I knew I
was top 20 or so out of the water and more importantly I had survived and was
feeling great.
The T1 transition was one to forget. “strippers” had removed my wetsuit on the run up, and volunteers handed me my transition bag with all my gear in it. I ran into the tent and dumped my gear across the grass…..socks on, race belt on, gloves on, shoes on, shades on……BOOM!! Here I go out the tent. Toss my bag in the “Done” pile and get my bike. I am running out and a volunteer yells “You Need Your Helmet!” WHAT!?!? How did I forget my helmet!!!?? Son of a B!@#$!! Re-rack the bike, run back to the tent, to find my bag was gone. I am grabbing volunteers (pretty aggressively at this point) and yelling at them “WHERE IS MY BAG?” Finally someone found it and I grabbed the helmet and took off. That whole episode which seemed like days took about 3 minutes and got me off on the wrong foot, but nevertheless got me out of the transition area at 1:03 and I was now working on my goal of a 6 hour bike split.
