Charlottesville International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Well, I certainly wasn't feeling good about my swim. Nothing specific but I felt like it took a lot out of me and it was a struggle in general. I ended up at the 53rd (AG) and 55th (OA) percentiles so I was solidly in the middle of the pack...which was one of my goals for this season. I did a bit better than I thought looking at the results but I'm certaily not satisfied with my performance. Overall rank was for men only.

I need to figure out how to relax during a race. I felt like I was struggling for 90% of the swim. I know this is partly because I see people passing me and get anxious which leads to me trying too hard. Also, the 2-lap swim course isn't mentally friendly. I hate getting back to where I started and still only being 1/2 done.

I was feeling a little beat from the swim so I wasn't rushing particularly hard at T1 but it looks like I was fairly fast compared to everyone else. 13/179 OA and 2/32 AG

Nothing...no problems related to the transition itself.

I didn't handle the hills nearly as well as I had expected to. I would have liked to have more gear on several hills...I was grinding at 60rpm in my highest gear on a few climbs. My legs felt like they were on the verge of cramping most of the time while climbing which was the limiting factor for me. My HRM data shows I was significantly low on average but it was all I could get out of my legs without risking cramping. I left with 2 bottles of Accelerade mixed double strength. The plan was to use this for the first half and then grab a water bottle at the exchange and switch to my gels for the rest of the ride. Well, the 2x Accelerade was too strong and they had some little kids handing out water bottles...we failed to hook up and I didn't get any water so I was stuck with overpowering Accelerade. I finished the ride feeling neutral about my performance. Overall rank was for men only. I ended up at the 79th (AG) and 75th (OA) percentiles so I'm right at my goal of being a top 25% rider this season.

Having a chance to actually ride the cxourse in advance might have helped prepare better, and having hills to train on would also be good...but neither of these were realistic options. Next time I'll be sure to bring my own water and also dilute my Accelerade more.

I had a slight issue getting my leg over the bike on the dismount but managed to pull it off without too much comedy. Transition overall was uneventful and i was fairly fast compared to everyone else. 16/179 OA and 2/32 AG

Nothing.

The run hurt but I managed to not bust my ankle. There were some very tough hills (both up and down) and the course was very technical due to all of the offroad features. I didn't feel particularly good about my run. In fact I felt like I was slightly overheating and couldn't get enough to drink even though it was completely shaded. my legs felt flat generally and I just couldn't get into my groove. I did start to settle in by the lat mile or so. The water cups at the aid stations were very small and they actually ran out of water at one of the stations abut a mile from the finish. Overall rank was for men only. I ended up at the 88th (AG) and 91st (OA) percentiles so I'm just about at my goal of being a top 10% runner this season.

Can't say there was much diffierently I could have done...I just wasn't feeling it today.

Downed 4 bottles of water and walked around some. I was feeling pretty spent.


I just felt flat on the whole course. Myabe the 2-week taper isn't right for me. Maybe I should have gone for a ride/run in the rain the day before the race just to get out and work my legs some. I really can't say. The results show that I did better than I felt but I need to finish a race feeling like I had a good day and that wasn't the case today even though I was near the top of my age group.


This was a relatively small race. There wasn't any music at the transition before the race. The post-race food was sufficient but nothing impressive...water, begals, oranges, and bananas. I wish they wouldn't have used little kids at the bottle exchange...I might have had a better chance of getting water on the ride. I also wish the cups on the run course were larger...I was grabbing 2-3 at a time. This was a relatively inexpensive race ($55) so I guess they did fine. It was the first time they've held an Oly distance race but they do have a sprint and Xterra race also.