race report

my race report:

name of race: florida international triathlon (0.9 mile swim/26 mile bike/6.2 mile run)
where: siesta key beach in sarasota, florida
start time: 7am, my wave went off at about 7:09
weather at start: mid 70's and a little breezy
weather at the end: HOT! probably high 80's
participants: approximately 650 (about 250 more than what they predicted)

breakfast: on the way there, i had coffee, lots of water and a bagel with peanut butter. perfect! ended up that i never felt like i needed to take in anything else except water throughout the entire race.

pre race set up: we got to the race venue at about 6am which i thought would give me plenty of time to check-in at the usat table, get my number, chip, body markings and race swag. knowing what i know now, i would maybe get there about 5:45am next time. my assigned bike rack was jammed but i got mandy in there just fine and set up my stuff. i'm a minimalist when it comes to carrying gear so i left only the basics, so my transition area was small and tidy.

Amy and I before swim start (i'm the one in a 2 piece)

swim: finished swim in 36:26 and i was the most proud of this part. i may not have been the first purple cap out of the water but i wasn't the last either. if you have followed my blog for a while, you know how i have felt about swimming for many, many years. it was something i thought i couldn't do. i pretty much had written off doing triathlons ever again after the swim disasters at St. anthonys back in the day. but, i degress. the swim was awesome. for the first time ever, i felt like i belonged in that water. i was comfortable, never panicked (miracle!), and just swam as if i was swimming in a pool. stroke, stroke, stroke, breathe and repeat. my sighting was great. never got off course and frankly, i could have gone for another swim loop but this wasn't ironman so i aimed for the shore.

my running buddy Amy first and me behind her

me, running in the thick beach sand (poor calves)

transition swim to bike: was about 1/4 mile of running in thick beach sand and rough asphalt. finally got to my bike. washed off my feet, dried them off, put socks on, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, and off i went. i did not really rush thru this part but next time i will make it a point to transition faster.

bike: what can i say, this was my favorite part. i caught so many people on the ride. only got passed up one time and that was by a very fit man on a cervelo who i suspect was in the swim wave behind mine. not bad! the course was a 13 mile loop that we did twice. no near crashes, no flats, just a pure, hard effort. ended up with an average speed of 21.8 mph and came in first on the bike in my age group. mandy q. roo was the superstar of the day. there were a few people drooling over her...true story, no joke!

transition bike to run: short run from the dismount to transition for the run. i was satisfied with the time i spent on this transition. carefully took my helmet off as to not rip the ears off. other than that, slipped my shoes on, visor, shades and off i went.

run: freakin HOT! i came in 1st in my age group for the run as well. just kept a steady pace of 7:45 the entire way. they ran out of water on the last 2 water stations which sucked. i needed water so bad but instead was given some nasty watermelon tasting liquid. i suspect it was a hammer nutrition product but was not 100% sure. it looked like water but tasted like crap. could not, would not drink it. aid stations were spaced out too far and there weren't enough of them, personally speaking. hopefully next year the race will have water at every mile, which i think should be made into a law, especially in florida, from may thru october, at least.

i think the results that i post of the top 3 in my age group speak for themselves. yes, i know, had i been faster in my transitions, i could have placed first, but coulda, woulda, shoulda is just that. it s what it is and now i know. overall, i was very happy and i feel comfortable saying that i'm a triathlete now and not just a runner or cyclist.

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 44


Place No. Name             Age     City            St Time    Rank Swim Tran 1 Rank Bike Tran 2   Rank Run


1 - 224 Tina Tanselle        40 Crawfordsville IN 2:41:04   2 28:03   2:40   2  1:15:59    1:22      3 53:03


2 - 194 Michele Rose       41 Sarasota FL          2:41:33   3 28:04   2:37   3  1:18:47    1:29      2 50:38


3 - 52 Kristie Concepcion 40 Tampa FL            2:41:44   8 36:26   3:32   1  1:11:29     2:04     1 48:15

if you'd like to see the results a little better than they are formatting on my page here, click on
this link: triathlon results.

those who also raced this weekend (Jeff, Teresa, Sherry), can't wait to hear how you all did this weekend.
race video to come shortly if stupid youtube would hurry up with the "processing" of my video. at the rate it's going, video might not be up until tomorrow...uuugh!

much love and peace out!