Iron Girl Columbia Women's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Columbia, Maryland
United States
The Columbia Triathlon Association Inc.
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 08m 36s
Overall Rank = 358/1730
Age Group = Relay
Age Group Rank = 14/56
Pre-race routine:

up at 4am; breakfast of bagel and yogurt smoothie; drive to venue at 5:15, arrived about 5:45. Left my stuff at the tri club tent near the swim start/race end and then went to TA to meet up with my teammies.
Event warmup:

Far too much waiting around for my preference; no real warmup.
Swim
  • 27m 48s
  • 1000 meters
  • 02m 47s / 100 meters
Comments:

this was a deep water/treading start but I stayed where I could just put my toes on the bottom until about the 1 minute to go call, then started to make my way over to the pack. Stayed to the outside (right) the whole way and had almost no contact with other swimmers. I usually felt like I was swimming alone, so I was probably too far right the whole way.

Less than half way into the swim I felt my cap working its way off my head and soon after it came off completely. I managed to grab it as it slid down my back and shoved it into my shorts. I continued the swim but from there on out my hair get getting in my face and obscured my vision when I was sighting. I also kept wondering if I could be disqualified for swimming without a cap.

By the time I got out of the water I felt like I had been swimming for ever. I had forgotten to turn on my watch so I didn't have a clue how I did. Later heard everyone complaining about poor/slow times and consensus is that the course was around 200m too long.
What would you do differently?:

stay a little closer to the pack; maybe start wearing my goggles over my cap.
Transition 1
  • 01m 33s
Comments:

Since this was a relay my biker, Regina was ready and waiting at the rack. I sprinted from the water for all I was worth and my runner, Jenny, made the chip transfer and Regina was out of TA like a shot.

T1 rank: 8/56 relay, 11/1730 0verall
Bike
  • 1h 00m 14s
  • 17.5 miles
  • 17.43 mile/hr
Comments:

Regina and I rode the route together a few weeks ago and did it in 1:02:++, a day after she has ridden 60 miles so I knew she could do this around an hour with rested legs.

She had a great ride! She was passed by one woman at the top of the steepest climb but passed her back shortly after and wasn't passed by a single other person. She was all smiles as she ran the bike through TA to the rack :)
What would you do differently?:

Regina had an accident during a bike commute about 10 days before the race and she was still bruised and sore from that. I'm sure she could have done it even faster without that handicap!
Transition 2
  • 01m 38s
Comments:

Again, since this was a relay Jenny and I were waiting at the rack and Jenny was all ready to run. I had to get people out of Regina's way so she had a clear run to the rack. As soon as Regina stopped I was pulling off the chip and transferring it to Jenny.

T2 rank: 12/56 relay, 37/1730 0verall
Run
  • 37m 23s
  • 3.4 miles
  • 10m  min/mile
Comments:

Jenny thought she could do the distance in 34:++ but wanted to do it in 30:++. However, she had never seen the course and underestimated the hills. When my watch said she was at 35+ I knew she wasn't going to be happy.
What would you do differently?:

Get Jenny to practice the course ;)
Post race
Warm down:

lots of hugging, picture taking

What limited your ability to perform faster:

swim course too long, swimmer just too slow
injured biker
runner not prepared for the reality of the route

Event comments:

Best race vibe around! All the swim starts were delayed due to traffic problems. Relays started in the last wave, around 1.5hrs after the race had started; I didn't like that. It was fun to have teammates to root for but I'm not sure I'd do another relay.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-11-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:27:48 | 1000 meters | 02m 47s / 100meters
Age Group: 40/56
Overall: 910/1730
Performance: Average
Suit: tri top & tri shorts
Course: basically an out and back; was supposed to be 1000m but everyone agrees that it was probably around 1200m
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 83F / 28C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:33
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:00:14 | 17.5 miles | 17.43 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/56
Overall: 154/1730
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Hilly!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:38
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:37:23 | 03.4 miles | 10m  min/mile
Age Group: 34/56
Overall: 937/1730
Performance: Below average
Course: Hilly!
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5