Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic

Its been awhile since I was in the washing machine, but this one wasn't too bad. Only 180 in my wave and I started close to the front. There were 10 minutes before our wave went off and those of us who jumped in early to prepare for the start enjoyed joking around to shake off the remaining pre race jitters. After about the first 200m I was able to find a clear path by myself and start to cruise. I felt good throughout the entire swim though I was never able to catch onto anyone and draft off of them. I only breast stroked a few times, and only to sight as its a little tricky approaching the bridge.

Try to find someone to draft off of.

As good as I felt during the swim, it quickly changed once I hit land. I felt extremely queasy in transition and took my time getting changed. New shoes, flying mount and getting up to speed all went well though. 88th out of my AG in T1 though ...

Need to come up with faster way to get my Garmin on. Quick release maybe so I can swim with the band on and then clip the face one once I get rolling. Im not brave enough to try to put it on the old fashioned way while riding.

My heart rate was jacked up for the first lap. I was trying to settle into a groove but it just wasn't happening. I just had my bike fitted and only had two rides in prior to this race (had a last minute trip for work the week before). Still getting used to the new position and reusing some new muscles. I was getting passed like crazy on the hills and wasnt real happy with my time overall considering the money I have spent on a new bike, shoes and the fit since last years race. I figured I was improve more than just 1 minute over that performance!!!

Spend more time in the saddle and build up strength in the legs. Muscular endurance is a limiter for me in this part of the race.

Transition from bike to run couldnt have been any better. I jumped up to 24th in my age group and cut 39 seconds off of last years effort. Got my feet out of the shoes ahead of time, did a side saddle dismount. I thought at the time I was going slow ... had a minor problem getting my socks on ... but the time clock said differently.

Practice transitions, and especially the sock piece if Im insistent wearing them.

My shins were a little sore and I didnt really feel that I had the juice. I was going to carry my own bottles of Infinit during the run to practice racing with what I will be using for Ironman. After strapping up I took about 10 steps before I realized there was no way I could sprint with that extra weight. Yea OK ... its only a little over a pound (20oz), but a very strange sensation even though I routinely do long training runs with it on. I saw my mom on my way out of transition, took one bottle out and threw the belt with the other bottle towards her and headed out.

Since 30-34 yr old males we were in the 3rd wave of the day (the first being pros and most of the the second getting passed in the water) I had virtually nobody around me the entire run. I actually passed a few people early in the run, dont ask how old they were, and held off getting passed by anyone in my age group for most of the run. I tried to hold a steady 7:15 pace and was concerned when my first half mile was showing a 7:30 pace and it was tough to get started. The beginning of the run was in grass though, so once I hit the pavement I quickly saw my pace drop down to 7:05's. I found this to be manageable and locked into a groove. It was a bummer in once sense that the majority of the crowds were surrounding the bike course this early in the race so the run was pretty barren. Then again, I think it helped provide a very relaxed feeling of being on a training run through the park. I heard my parents while I was passing through transition blowing these duck sound noisemakers we got the day before. These things are great, because you instantly know who it is and where they are.

The nutrition plan worked well taking in Infinit and supplementing with a little bit of water ... most of which was going on my head. Even though it was overcast and shady, the humidity started to increase since there were showers in the area. I was great until around mile 4 and then I had to start digging in deep to keep up the pace. Every aid station provided water to dump on my head to cool me off. This seemed to work well ... something I will have to learn to do well for Ironman.

About mile 5 I ended up getting gobbled up by the chase pack. Not because I was slowing down, on the contrary ... I was cranking out sub 7's for the last 2 miles. My lead that I built up from the swim just ended up finally being eroded. 3 guys in my age group passed me up exhaling some encouraging words. This actually gave me a pretty nice boost ... normally I get ate up early in the run, so this is a encouraging sign about how my running is improving.

The finish chute for this race is really long and as you come around the bend the energy of the crowd begins to reel you in. Everything I had worked so hard for last year came flooding back. This year was more of a tune up race and more about Team In Training and being a mentor so I didnt think I had alot invested coming in. Days before the race I actually was surprised that I wasnt more pumped up about it. Any remaining doubts about how much this race meant to me were removed as I saw the finish awning spanning overhead and heard the announcer calling my name for a sub 2:20 finish.

Continue to improve running skills. I have dropped over 13 minutes off my 10K time in the past 4 years. My goal is to get down to 6:30/mile which will get me on a Boston Qualifying pace and put me into the top podium places in my age group.

Minor stretching, walking around


Stopping a few times to sight on the swim, slow T1, climbing performance on the bike.