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Hightstown Triathlon - Triathlon


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Hightstown, New Jersey
United States
55F / 13C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 15m 19s
Overall Rank = 38/195
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 2/14
Pre-race routine:

Drove over on my own. Ate a Clif bar and a banana. Had some electrolyte drink. It was so cold I didn't want to do a warm up swim or even a run, in case I was sweaty.
Event warmup:

None. Just a little stretching.
Swim
  • 08m 4s
  • 500 yards
  • 01m 37s / 100 yards
Comments:

I wasn't happy with my swim. I started ok but not too hard and did a good job getting out in front right away. One woman got out ahead of me and I lost another challenger quickly. After a hundred yards or so, I had another woman right on my heels drafting. I had to stop, though, because with the cold my goggles had fogged up so badly I couldn't see the buoys, and she went around me. I didn't run into too many people from the previous wave and was able to take a good line to the finish, not getting stuck in the bushes as usual.
What would you do differently?:

Definitely swim harder. I didn't feel like I was working hard at all, and didn't care. The water temperature may have contributed to that. I'm starting to see the reasons why people want wetsuits, though I haven't committed to them yet.
Transition 1
  • 01m 59s
Comments:

I had a good T1 - pretty quick - but I forgot to take my watch off and put it on my bike, so I had to stop at the transition exit and fiddle with it. That was something that slowed me down unnecessarily - I could have gotten the watch off while running and slipped it on before I was moving. Everything else went well.
What would you do differently?:

Get the watch transferred more efficiently.
Bike
  • 36m 33s
  • 11.2 miles
  • 18.39 mile/hr
Comments:

I had a very good bike. I went out hard from as early as I could (easier than usual since I didn't kill the swim) and started passing duathletes right away. Unfortunately, there were lots of noobs out there who didn't know what was going on, so I spent much of the first half of the bike bellowing at them to stay right and that I was passing. I saw several faster riders cross the double yellow line (a dq-able offense) to get around riders riding in the middle of the road and even two abreast! As long as I kept yelling things at them, I didn't have trouble - only with one woman who thought "on your left" meant she had to move to the left and almost crashed into me. Besides these annoyances, I was cranking out a pretty good pace. Very few women passed me - I was waiting for Beth to come by, but she never did - and I was able to crank it out through the finish.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. The bike was great. I wish I could go even faster, but that will take more work!
Transition 2
  • 00m 54s
Comments:

Pretty good T2. The rider immediately next to me was sitting on the ground putting his shoes on, which got in my way a little when I showed up at the rack, but I got by him without too much trouble. I had my watch off as I was going into transition, and then put it and my race belt on once I got going. T2 was really just about changing my shoes and grabbing a swig of water (which I wouldn't have needed if I'd drunk enough on the bike!).
What would you do differently?:

I've done faster, but really, no complaints with this effort.
Run
  • 27m 51s
  • 3 miles
  • 09m 17s  min/mile
Comments:

My run was great. I felt awful at the beginning, as usual, but kept plugging along and quickly realized that I was holding a pretty good pace, under 10:00/mile. When we turned onto the horizontal street, I picked up the pace because it was slightly downhill, and I knew few parts of the course were. I got to the turnaround point without having been caught by anyone in my age group. On the way back, Keri passed me (she urged me to run along with her, but her pace was a lot faster than mine and I was already hitting a really good pace) and then we saw Beth coming at us in the other direction. It was nice to have support among the ladies in my age group. It was also great to have team support, though there were only a few of us there today - I high-fived Chris about a mile into the run and then high-fived Nat at about the same point on the way back. Knowing that I was holding a good pace and not wanting to screw anything up, I kept myself in it and running the whole time. The last half mile was hard, especially because I was accelerating across the whole run (I negative split my miles by about :20 each), but I was able to hold it together and finish really strong. Knowing the course definitely helped with that.
What would you do differently?:

On the run? Nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

Wandered around and chatted with people. Jogged back to transition with Keri and Beth to pick up my gear (and some warmer clothes!).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I think the cold. The swim felt draggy and off, which I am attributing to being tight at the start from standing out in the cold for so long. Other than that, it was a great race. There's really no such thing as a perfect race, but this was pretty close.

Event comments:

I'd like to give this a better rating because it's been one of my favorite races, but it was under new direction this year and they really didn't know what they were doing. They tried to imitate everything that was done last year, but it was clear that they didn't understand the details. I had to teach the body markers how to mark correctly (after they did mine wrong in permanent marker), I had to get them to move the dive team which had set up in the way of the swim exit, I spent half my bike course yelling at people who weren't keeping left, I saw riders without bar end plugs, I saw many racers on the wrong side of the road because others were blocking. Better instructions (any instructions at all, really) would have corrected this. The pre-race meeting was minimal and there was no pre-race email to explain the rules and etiquette to newcomers (and provide logistical information for veterans). It also started half an hour late and then the awards took forever to begin after the race. This has been a great local race for me in the past - I hope that they can correct many of these deficiencies in the future so I can be glad to compete there again.




Last updated: 2017-09-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:04 | 500 yards | 01m 37s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/14
Overall: 13/195
Performance: Average
Suit: CJTC tri top and zoot shorts
Course: Out, around a bouy, and back partway to the dock.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:59
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:36:33 | 11.2 miles | 18.39 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/14
Overall: 47/195
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Out, loop, and back along county roads
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 87
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:54
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:27:51 | 03 miles | 09m 17s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/14
Overall: 99/195
Performance: Good
Course: Around the streets of Hightstown. They change the course slightly every year to accommodate a different finish line. This one was nice, but kinda far from transition.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2

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2017-09-10 9:39 PM

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Subject: Hightstown Triathlon
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