Triangle Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Raleigh, North Carolina
United States
Set-Up, Inc.
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 33m 39s
Overall Rank = 26/335
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 3/19
Pre-race routine:

I did not think I had a shot at the podium, because there were a lot of fast chicks out there today. Even with all these fast chicks, I went for the podium anyway :)

Scoped out my rivals to see who showed up. I like to give my rivals nicknames: There is a girl who I call 'Chrissy', because like Chrissy Wellington, she could get a flat and still win! Of course there is 'Aqua Phor' chick, who I met last year at Pinehurst, and is now my friend. Another girl I see at alot of races...I'll name her 'Speedracer', because she always wears a speedo swim suit. And a new girl I named 'Uber Buff Girl', because she is, well uber buff. You should see her rock hard abs!

I covered my stop watch with tape, so I could only see the HR. I did not want to see my time, so I could just relax and go, go, go! Redline all the way was the plan for today!
Event warmup:

Parked at Sharron Harris visitor center and biked 3 miles to site, to avoid parking hassles. Was a good choice, and a nice warmup.

Hung out with Aquaphor Chic. That was lots of fun. I was very relaxed. Didn't even think about our rivalry at all. Did some running strides by the water. Did a short swim just to make sure goggles were good.
Swim
  • 16m 40s
  • 750 meters
  • 02m 13s / 100 meters
Comments:

Lined up behind Speedracer and Aquaphor chic, hoping to stay on their tails. Did not happen. Immediately got started out to the left of a girl who kept swimming right into me. With each stroke she was splashing water in my face. Three breaths in a row I got water. So I stopped, treaded, let her pass, then went on the other side of her. Lost a little time there.

After that, I was swimming great. Steady, straight, handling the little bit of chop well. I was happy with the chop, and thinking I'd have a great swim time, because I am good at choppy swims. I saw a big group about a pool length ahead of me. I hoped it was the wave ahead of me, but I knew that it was probably my wave!

Since I had covered my watch, I did not konw my time when I exited. I am glad, because would have been bummed to see 16+ minutes. Still, 7th out of the water is not bad at all!
What would you do differently?:

Went out too conservatively. I think it's better to swim out faster to the first buoy, then try to find feet to follow.
Transition 1
  • 02m 10s
Comments:

Great transition. No problems. My T times are good compared to top of my age group. I practice transitions ALOT, so I can do them with mindless speed.
Bike
  • 48m 27s
  • 17.5 miles
  • 21.67 mile/hr
Comments:

I was very proud of my bike performance. I set out to get the #1 bike split for my age group, and I did. No easy task with Chrissy and Speedracer out there.

I knew I would never see Chrissy at all. She just too fast. I saw Speedracer coming out of T1 and heading out on the bike. Inched closer to her with each speed bump. Passed her right at the turn onto New Hill Holleman road.

Rode aggressively for a few minutes to make it really hard for her to catch me. Passed a ton of folks. Each time I passed aggressively, and yelled left at everyone who got in my way! I was really quite the bitch out there on the bike course. I feel kind of bad, but the bike was the place to win it here for me today. So I did what I had to do (within the rules, of course).

I eased up my pace after a while. Then I heard Speedracer say "left" behind me. In a much nicer voice than I had been using all day. I did not see her, but I pushed hard and did not let her pass me. I pushed hard the whole rest of the way, so as not to let her pass. Chanted "You must be a masochist, go, go, go, pain, more pain" in my head. That is from one of the TdF cervelo commercials.

A little while later, I passed Uber Buff Girl. I sped up as I passed to give her a clear message not to even bother trying to pass me back. Haha, that really works!

Not long after, I passed Aquaphor chic. I said Hi to her, and told her that Speedracer and Uber Buff girl are close behind.

Then I kept pushing, pushing, pushing. Just pedal to the medal. My bike computer was not set right, so I didn't know my avg speed. But my heart rate was always in the high 160's, so I knew I was going hard. My quads burned a little. My breathing was really hard.

The last 5 miles was a bit of a headwind. I put my head down and tucked into as small a size as possible. I glanced behind every once in a while to see where my rivals were. Every once in a while, I thought I caught a glimpse of Speedracer's pink speedo suit. That made me push harder. I kept looking ahead and hoping I'd see Chrissy. No such luck! Still, I beat her bike time, but not by enough to make up the 4 minutes she beat my swim time!


What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It was the ride of my life.
Transition 2
  • 01m 26s
Run
  • 24m 57s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 08m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

Jogged easy through transition to get my visor, race belt, and palm holder water bottle in place. As soon as that was done, I started running hard. Not quite as hard as I could, but I was going HARD. I was breathing hard. I was trying to focus on good form: fast feet and good posture.

Something I wonder alot about is why am I so good and so focused on the bike, but not on the run. I decided to try to tap into my biking karma during the run. I imagined my feet going fast as if spinning. And my upper body nice and stable. This worked! I was actually enjoying running and I was running fast. Cool!

I was also pleased to see that I was passing alot of people. Rather than getting passed. This was exciting.

About the half way point, I started to fade a bit and lost this feeling of running power. Then I started to dig deep and push hard. That doesn't really work. What works is fast feet and good posture! About then, Ginger passed me. As she passed, she said "quick steps". That snapped me out of my push harder mode and got me thinking fast feet and good posture again.

Then I hit the turn around point, which marked about 1/2 mile to go. Very soon after I saw that Speedracer and Uber Buff Girl were both very close on my tail. I thought "Oh crap, no way can I hold them off". Then I thought "But hell, I have to TRY!". I chanted quick steps in my head and really dug deep to make my feet go fast. I was hurting. At times I wanted to just give up trying because still, I had very little hope that I'd be able to hold them off. At one point, I even moved over the right of the trail, thinking not to get in peoples way who were passing me. Then I thought "What the hell am I doing? I will not make it EASIER for them to pass me. I will make it VERY HARD for them to pass me!"

Still amazed that neither of those two fast girls passed me, I turned off the trail, and hit the road. I knew it wasn't far now. I tried to pick up my pace just a little more. I glanced back. Didn't see them. Wow! I might actually pull this off. A third place spot at Triangle! When I could hear the finish announcers, I ran as fast as I could, all out, balls to the wall to the end. Glanced back just before entering the chute, just in case one was on my tail (remembering lake norman!). Nobody was there. Holy crap. Ran over the first mat. Ran harder to the 2nd mat (again, remembering lake norman!). I collapsed in exhaustion at the end and rolled on the grass. What a great race!
What would you do differently?:

Maybe just run a little faster so I can beat Aquaphor chick next time!!!
Post race
Warm down:

Jumped in the lake to cool off. Talked to alot of people, including my friend Tom H, Harold (hrliles), Kevin (klowman), Scottie (halfpint) and Pat (pctsab - thanks for introducing yourself!).

Talked a little with Speedracer. She had stopped during the swim to help a girl who was having trouble, and waited for the kayaks to arrive. She crossed the finish line less than a minute after me, so she would have beat me if not for being a hero today.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-01-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:40 | 750 meters | 02m 13s / 100meters
Age Group: 7/19
Overall: 0/335
Performance: Average
151 HR data.
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:10
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:48:27 | 17.5 miles | 21.67 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/19
Overall: 8/335
Performance: Good
166 avg HR.
Wind: Little
Course: Rolling hills.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:26
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:24:57 | 03.11 miles | 08m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/19
Overall: 0/335
Performance: Good
168 avg hr. wow!
Course: trail. hot.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]