Goosepond Olympic Distance Triathlon - Triathlon


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Scottsboro, Alabama
United States
53F / 12C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 58m 48s
Overall Rank = 16/36
Age Group = 55-59
Age Group Rank = 1/2
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4 am for 1.5 hour drive to race. Bagel with cream cheese, banana and some orange juice, then hit the road. Overcast with drizzle, expecting and dreading rain (for bike portion). But weather improved with no rain. Got set up in transition and had time to spare with half-iron distance group starting before olympic group. Relaxed and excited, especially once the dreaded wetsuit was on without incident. (first wetsuit race, had only had it on twice before in practice).
Event warmup:

None, should have ran some, but was socializing too much. Did a few yards in the water before the start, but not much time at that point for warm-up.
Swim
  • 34m 48s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 19s / 100 meters
Comments:

My first mass start experience and first olympic distance tri. I was positioned at front of pack so I was mauled by the packs of college tri team young guns right off the bat. Took a little time to settle down the nerves from all the contact and get a groove going. Choking on lots of water during breathing due to chop but kept my cool overall, only stopping once and doing back stroke to settle down for a few yards. Never felt like I was getting good deep relaxed breaths due to chop and wet suit felt too tight. May be too small, but could have been nerves and cold too. Looking at the huge distance between all those buoys I momentarily thought I was in over my head, and just wanted to quit. But the encouragement and advice from my more experienced friends kept replaying in my head and calmed me down. Did better staying on course, but still had to sight a lot and correct my usual pull to the right. Glad to get it over with.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Try to warm up a little.
Transition 1
  • 02m 4s
Comments:

Amazed T1 was this fast. Ran up on beach into the hands of a wonderful wetsuit volunteer, plopped down in the grass and they got if off quick. Had a little trouble getting socks and shoes on, as I didn't have my 5 gallon bucket ready as a seat, and just did it standing up, trying to keep balanced. Breathing heavy but ok.
What would you do differently?:

Have the bucket ready to sit on, that's the main reason I brought it!
Bike
  • 1h 20m 6s
  • 40 kms
  • 29.96 km/hr
Comments:

Good ride overall. Little wobbly on the clip on aerobars, first race with them but had decent amount of practice in training. Had a little incident with Gu. Wanted to do one at beginning of bike leg, tore of top with my teeth, and accidentally started squirting the gu in my mouth and started swallowing along with the top of the packet. Started choking a little and almost panicked and started coughing and trying to get it out. Coughed up gu and spit all over my legs and bike. Funny afterwards, but at the time I was thinking what a way to go out! There were a lot of college tri teams in the olympic, so I had the added benefit of having a cute little coed as a pace bike in front of me to keep me motivated ;) Was hoping for 20mph average, but winds and course kept it down a little. Ran around 23-25 a good portion of the more downhill return.
What would you do differently?:

PREPARE THE GU!
Transition 2
  • 01m 17s
Comments:

Haven't started flying dismounts or shoe tricks yet. Not sure I will at my age and level. Overall amazingly fast especially compared with my dismal transitions at my first race. One of my mentor friends who was there as a spectator (he had done a full ironman the previous week) was shouting encouragement and advice as I exited which really helped keep my focus.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 1h 01m 30s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 09m 55s  min/mile
Comments:

Legs pretty messed up at start. Had tried to stand up and stretch on pedals at end of bike, but felt like left calf was trying to cramp, so didn't do that much. Water station close to beginning, so I walked that to try to get my legs going. Walked a little too far, but got going ok. I'm a slow runner, and have just got up to 10k distance, so tried to settle into my usual 9.5min/mile pace. Couldn't pick up pace much. Sun came out and it started warming up which got me hot fast. I struggle in the heat. Managed to keep going replaying the pep talks from my friends and watching my pace and distance on the garmin. My overall race goal was 3 hours, and I saw that it would be close, but doable and that helped keep me going. Managed to mount a sprint at the last quarter mile or so to squeeze in with 12 seconds to spare below the 3 hours!
What would you do differently?:

Maybe try to put in short walk breaks (I usually train with run/walk method) and see if I could get the running pace up enough to be overall faster even with the walks. Just need more time and practice. Before 4 months ago, I hadn't ran a mile in almost 30 years.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking around and stretching. Legs pretty shot, especially hamstrings.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Age, and training level. Better speed will come with more training I think.

Event comments:

Proud of my performance for first olympic distance at 56 years old. Ready for more challenges and will continue training hard.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2015-10-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:48 | 1500 meters | 02m 19s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/2
Overall: 0/36
Performance: Average
Suit: Blueseventy Reaction
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:04
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:20:06 | 40 kms | 29.96 km/hr
Age Group: 0/2
Overall: 0/36
Performance: Good
18.9 mph average
Wind: Some
Course: Busy roads into downtown but well marked and volunteers and police at intersections. Last section was busy 2 lane road, with turn around for olympic group that was pretty congested and caused a little slow down behind cars grouped together behind other cyclists. Overall pretty flat course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 81
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:17
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:01:30 | 06.2 miles | 09m 55s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/2
Overall: 0/36
Performance: Average
Course: Mostly flat, but a few small hills. No traffic.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4