The Nation's Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Washington, Washington, D.C.
United States
TNT productions
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 40m 27s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Breakfast. Ate a bit more than usual. The hotel we were staying at put out full breakfast for us. It was really nice of them to get up at 4:30 to start cooking. So I had some eggs and a little bit of potatoes. Didn't seem to effect me too much one way or the other from what I can tell. I usually eat very little for breakfast on race day. But I might try having a bit more now.
Swim
  • 30m 36s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

On the way out I just found some open space and sighted off the shore line to my right as I turned to breath. Every once in a while I'd sight the buoys. After getting through the first 100-150M or so I settled into a pretty easy swim. Although I find I have to concentrate harder on form in a race. Don't know if it's the excitement of the race, the wetsuit or both. When I got about 200M out from the turn-around I had to get on a diagonal line to get to the buoy. Turned the buoy pretty tight and didn't bang into anyone, which surprised me. On the way back I was nervous about drifting left and swimming into oncoming athletes. But luckily didn't. Made it through the return leg without too much difficulty. Sighting was a problem and pulling up to see wore me out a little so once or twice I flipped over to take a break. Didn't have too much contact with anyone out there. Climbed up the stairs and onto the main walkway. Coaches Brian and Kevin were there cheering us on as we came out of the water. Ran through the misters (detoxification?) and on my way to T1.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure. This was a pretty good swim for me. Probably try and hold a straighter line on the way out and not get so far outside of the turn-around buoy. Also, I need to learn to breath left. That would help a lot in difficult sighting situations.
Transition 1
  • 03m 44s
Comments:

I put my shoes on in transition as I haven't mastered putting them on while riding. I think the time I'd sacrifice trying to put shoes on, on the bike, not to mention the potential for crashing as I try to put them on, is greater than the time I lose in T1. That being said, I had a hard time getting my shoes this day, and I think it shows in my time.
What would you do differently?:

Work on getting those bike shoes on!
Bike
  • 1h 11m 50s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.76 mile/hr
Comments:

I'm not the most technical rider. I just try to ride at a comfortably hard pace throughout. And shift gears to keep my momentum consistent. Overall this felt like a really good bike. I felt strong throughout the ride and didn't really feel a lot of fatigue. The only problems I ran into were nutrition and the finish. I had one gel on the ride, probably should have had one more. And I had way too much water/gatorade (I took one bottle of each) left after the bike. I drank at most half the water - 10 oz. And very little of the gatorade. I still have not mastered riding and drinking. I lose too much speed and momentum. Second problem was the finish. Just as I pulled up to dismount, I started getting some cramps in my hamstrings. probably related to problem number 1. So I took it easy, and tried to stretch while walking through T2.
What would you do differently?:

Work on hydration and nutrition while riding in training!
Transition 2
  • 01m 57s
Comments:

Due to my tight hamstrings, I walked through T2 and took a couple seconds to stretch. I also sat to put my socks and shoes on.
What would you do differently?:

Just need to get more efficient. But I'm not going to stress over :20-:30.
Run
  • 52m 21s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

Like I said, overall I'm very pleased with this time, but a little suspicious of the distance. The first 3-4 miles were tough but went pretty well. I tried to break the race down into segments. So the first 7 minutes I tried to take easy, then went hard for 15, easy for 1, hard for 10, easy for 1, etc. This worked pretty well until about 3.5 miles and I started to get tired. I walked through the aid stations at miles 4 and 5. The final mile was really tough. I was struggling and pulled up to walk just as we were about to make the turn onto Constitution (?) for the finish. Luckily I got some encouragement as a woman passed me and yelled "Come on purple!" So I got going again. On the final stretch in, still struggling, Jared caught and passed me and gave me some encouragement to get down to the finish line.
What would you do differently?:

So far I've done three olympic distance races and I haven't been able to get through the run without some walking in any of them. I need to work on my endurance and maybe get some advice on what types of training would help. My run has gotten a lot better in just a year or so. If I can build up my endurance over this distance I'll do real well.
Post race
Event comments:

A really good race. And I beat my goal time by 4 minutes. I only have one comparable time (the other Olympic had the swim cut short due to strong surf). That was my first ever Olympic distance and it was a much hillier course. All that being said, I was 17 minutes faster in this race.

The best part was doing this race with Team In Training. I had a really great experience and found the whole thing very rewarding. My teammates and coaches were awesome. And it was great to be part of such a worthy organization. Lots of "Go Team" cheers throughout the race.

Here's my two favorite moments of the race. 1 - Mary Ellen standing in the middle of the road with bikes going one way and runners going the other cheering her lungs out for TNT. Just awesome. 2 - Heading through the start of the second bike lap. A really big crowd had gathered there and they were cheering everyone on.

Final comments. For anyone reading this I highly recommend this race - it was very organized and lots of fun. And I highly recommend Team In Training - www.teamintraining.org - you'll be glad you did it.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2007-10-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:36 | 1640 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: F2R
Course: The water was very calm and almost too warm. They reported it as 75 degrees which gets pretty warm in a wet suit. The course was straight out and back. The return was directly into the sun which was challenging to say the least. Getting to the swim finish was interesting - had to find the final buoy, which you really couldn't see because of the sun - and turn left to a set of stairs.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:44
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
01:11:50 | 24.85 miles | 20.76 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: A two-loop winding course. Mostly flat with a couple of moderate inclines. No real hills. The biggest challenge was the wind on the return segment around the point. Very strong at times. The bike end was congested. The dismount line was in the street, then you had to make a hard right and jump a curb to get into transition. This caused some problems.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:57
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:52:21 | 06.21 miles | 08m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: Flat with a couple of weird features. The first is that we started out on an expressway, and we had to do a u-turn. But there's a big barrier in the center of an expressway, so they installed a platform with stairs leading up and down. This was kind of challenging. Then another portion of the run was on a road that slanted down from left to right. Also a bit challenging. And the final comment, which lots of people have made, is that the course felt short. I had a great run, but I didn't feel that fast.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4