Finger Lakes Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Canandaigua, New York
United States
Mary M Gooley Hemophilia Center
62F / 17C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 50m 35s
Overall Rank = 172/278
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 309/53
Pre-race routine:

Up early for some breakfast and the short ride to the race. I had loaded everything the night before so all I had to do was put the gatorade bottles on the bike and fill the aero bottle with water.

I got to transition early thinking it was going to be like last year where it was sort of first come first serve. This year they had the rows set up by groups of race numbers. But the early arrival served me well as I was able to get an end spot on the rack so I had extra room to set up.
Event warmup:

Not much other than a couple of trips to the porto potty and a short jog to get the blood (and other things) moving! :)
Swim
  • 36m 54s
  • 1584 yards
  • 02m 20s / 100 yards
Comments:

Over 2 minutes slower than last year :( . Besides the fact that my sighting had me all over the course, like the trip to the pier, down to the yacht club, over to the boat house for a blue whale, this swim was just not one of my better performances. It was cold and I just couldn't get moving. I have no one to blame it on besides me Since LP I just haven't made it to swimming like I should.
What would you do differently?:

Ummmm, maybe actually swim once in a while? Plus I stopped briefly to give Connie a kiss which made Marmadaddy jealous so I had to blow him one on the way by. Probably lost a second doing this which means absolutely nothing. :)
Transition 1
  • 02m 1s
Comments:

Not bad, should have been faster but I wanted to dry off some to keep from freezing on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Practice
Bike
  • 1h 16m 29s
  • 24 miles
  • 18.83 mile/hr
Comments:

I imediately lost some time as I didn't see the mount line and had to dismount and then re-mount. This allowed some to get ahead of me and along lakeshore drive they had us in narrow lanes that made passing difficult at best. I managed to get past a few but also got stuck some until the road opened up.
I thought I was pushing comfortably hard for most of the bike. My goal today was to get solidly in the 19 mph as I thought this was possible on this course after riding it a couple of times the last month. I also felt I could do this and still have some left for the run. I think besides the double mount at the beginning, I lost this oportunity in 2 spots. Climbing the hill out of Rushville and in the narrow lanes both into and out of transition. I also think the fact that my swimming is slow gives me a false sense of accomplishment as I rarely get passed on the bike and pretty steadily passed people.
But on the bright side, my time was better than last years and although I am somewhat impatient and want to see imediate improvements, I did do better than last year.

One thing that is kind of bad is the traffic on some of the bike route. Two years in a row I have experienced a lunatic pulling a trailer, swerving in and out of the bikes, blowing his horn and generally making an ass of himself. This year it was a pickup pulling a camper. I guess the signs at the intersection stating there was a race in progress and the sherriff cars at all turns and major intersections must have been missed by this mental midget!
What would you do differently?:

I beleive if I really want to get to the next level on the bike I am going to have to get about 30 pounds lighter give or take. The 10 pounds I have put on since Lake Placid plus another 15 to 20. I can probably accomplish the mid 19's at this weight and some more saddle time, but to break 20 I don't think so.
Transition 2
  • 01m 5s
Comments:

I sure don't know where this time came from. I felt it was slower than T1. Looking at my run time versus what I showed on the Garmin for the run I am wondering if this is accurate? I had to sit down and put socks on because I didn't where them on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to run without socks. Don't know that I can't, but I have never tried.
Run
  • 54m 6s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

After the first mile or so the legs started to get into the groove. I was shooting for a 50 - 51 minute 10K which would have put me into PR territory. I realized about the 3 mile mark that I would be off this so I pushed the pace a bit harder which I thought would be good enough. I dropped it from 8:24 mile/min to 8:19. When the results were posted I was disappointed to see the 54:06 as I had it at 52:36 and I am confident that I pushed the buttons as I crossed the mat. I also need to work on my math skills as I didn't pick up the pace enough to over come the start.
What would you do differently?:

In this race particularly I would have pushed harder on the first lap rather than worrying about having enough in the tank to finish strong. Overall I just need to keep working at getting miles in training. And winning the tiara (weight loss challenge) wouldn't hurt my running speed either :) !
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and chatted with some of the other racers and BT folks. Found a chicken sandwhich and a lemonade and sat on the rocks by the lake and watched the kids swim.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I kind of got into a funk after Lake Placid that took me until about a week ago to escape from. I had hoped to recover from that race and use the fitness I gained training to add some speed work and do well here. I have found reading other forums here that I am not alone in that regard and it is not uncommon after a big race to have a long mental recovery. Add that to some unexpected work issues that cut into my training time and the last six weeks have not been as productive training wise as it could have been.

Event comments:

After reading through this it may sound like I had a negative experience in this race. I am not overly pleased with my results, but I did have a great time. And it is always fun to hang out with some great people, which this race seems to attract!

The people that put this race on have done a nice job with this race. Even adding the extra participants this year didn't affect there ability to put together a great race on time!




Last updated: 2008-06-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:36:54 | 1584 yards | 02m 20s / 100yards
Age Group: 47/53
Overall: 232/278
Performance: Bad
Suit: Sleeveless
Course: Rectangle course out with a short cross over
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 62F / 17C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 02:01
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:16:29 | 24 miles | 18.83 mile/hr
Age Group: 37/53
Overall: 161/278
Performance: Average
Wind: None
Course: Rolling hills out of Canandaigua down to Gorham and to Rushville. Pretty good climb out of Rushville then along the lake home.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:05
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:54:06 | 06.21 miles | 08m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 37/53
Overall: 172/278
Performance: Average
Course: 2 laps of the sprint course. Some trails, some road, all flat.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4