Triangle Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Raleigh, North Carolina
United States
Set-Up, Inc.
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 56m 57s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 32/52
Pre-race routine:

It was nice being so close to a race venue - but it makes you feel like you are forgetting something. Packing was way too easy. My husband and I raced together so we parked at the energy plant and road our bikes down to the park. Good move! We had scoped out the entire course earlier in the week, that was nice. Met Doug from my mentor group during set up. Turns out he was racked on the same row as us. Said hi to a bunch of friends - got body marked (think I had my picture taken during that, I'll have to check) went to the potty, etc. The usual.
Event warmup:

Didn't do one. The swim start area was too small for that many racers and I didn't feel like fighting all the people. Found out later that Katie found a leech on her foot after her warm up. GLAD I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THAT AHEAD OF TIME!!!! YUCK!!!
Swim
  • 20m 56s
  • 820 yards
  • 02m 33s / 100 yards
Comments:

There was quite a bit of body contact during the first 200yds or so, especially considering we had a large starting area. I think the people that started to my right started swimming into me. I was annoyed with people trying to swim OVER me so I hung back for a few strokes to let a few chicks duke it out ahead of me (instead of on top of me).

For once I SWAM STRAIGHT! The first length followed the power lines so it made for very easy sighting. It took me until the first turn to get comfortable but then I was able to focus on my hip rotation, dropping my head more and having a hard,full pull underwater. Overall I was pleased with the swim. Even though it wasn't fast I never felt anxious or tired and even started to catch back up to my wave pack on the last stretch. That's a first for me. Standing up for the exit was difficult b/c the bottom was very disturbed from the previous waves and your feet sank into all kinds of holes very quickly.
What would you do differently?:

Due to the good hip rotation I didn't do too much kicking, more of a 3 kick rhythem just for balance. Maybe using my legs more would help with the speed but overall I was gland to see the improvements in form I've been working in the pool stayed with me in open water.
Transition 1
  • 03m 12s
Comments:

I heard the announcer say this was the longest transition run in the series and I believe it! The timing mat was as close to the water as it could have been so that made for a pretty accurate swim time and unfortunately a long accurate T1 time as well. I took an extra few seconds to wipe down my feet to remove all the dirt and grass. Decided to ride sockless and I didn't want stones in my feet.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It was adequate without wasting time.
Bike
  • 57m 28s
  • 17.5 miles
  • 18.27 mile/hr
Comments:

I had a fabulous ride! I'm so excited! Luckily I remembered to gear down on the ride into the race that morning so I was in the correct gear for the start (first for me). The race organizers put sheets of plywood over the speed bumps at the park enterance/exits. I guess they helped but I was kind of launched off them going 18mph. Doug likes to think he is on his mountain bike and bunny hopped them :) I couldn't believe my eyes when I passed a lady with the same pink tires as me on the way out! I joked with her that I thought I was the only one with pink tires.

I train on these roads all the time. There were LOTS of people on the course and that occasionally became a problem. Passing people who can't hold a line is tricky when there are people in front and behind you as well as people trying to pass you while you are passing someone else. But it all worked out.

My legs had tons of power in them and I attacked the entire time. I passed lots of people and was very pleased the only people that passed me had aero wheels and were guys. I was very proud of my climbing performance. At the bottom of the hills I would gear down into my climbing gear and was always passed by the pack I was riding with at the time. But without fail, I passed all of them before we reached the top and was able to gear back up and take off once we reached the top! It amazes me how many people with $7000 worth of bike and gear don't know how to use it properly. I was passing people that I honestly had no business passsing. Therefore I've decided I like being a roadie when it comes to my bike handling skills. It has really paid off.

The turn off of Friendship had a long climb and then the last hill going up Hwy 55 was a nice challenge. I was pleased we had an entire lane of the highway to use. The return after 55 was very fast -lots of rolling downhills. I hit max speeds of 38mph no matter how aero I got (think I need better wheels to go faster - wouldn't that be nice :)).

I knew about 10 minutes into the ride that I needed water instead of the cytomax I was drinking. After a while I decided to stop drinking all together and wait for the water on the run. I knew my stomach was starting to turn from the lack of water and pushing so hard on the bike, but I decided that easing up on the bike wasn't going to help my run. So I made the decision to sacrifice the start of my run for a really great bike ride. I attribute this decision to the recent discussions in my mentor group about nutrition absorption on the bike and water intake. Thanks guys, it worked!

The road back into the park and transistion was tight. There were 4 lanes created with cones: RUN out/in and BIKE out/in. I almost bit it on one cone that was out of line cuz I was looking for friends going out on the run :) My bad.

I heard a guy went over his handlebars at the dismount and broke his wrist and arm. They said you could hear the bones snap! Ouch!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, it was great!
Transition 2
  • 02m 11s
Comments:

Didn't run as fast as when I left T1. The legs were still recovering from the ride. Going sockless helped remove the grass from the swim so putting the socks on for the run was easier.
What would you do differently?:

nothing
Run
  • 33m 6s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 38s  min/mile
Comments:

Like I said from the bike, I knew this was going to be slow going at first, but I also knew exactly what I had to do to recover. I shuffled along to start with as I put on my race belt, reset my Garmin for the run, put my hat on, etc. Then I focused on watching the riders come in to help distract me. Once we turned into the woods I said to myself, "keep running the best you can to the first water station." and luckily the water was right around the corner. I walked from there to fully drink my water and help settle my stomach. Poured the remaining water on my head to cool down. That was mile 1 (11:50 pace) Then I did a run/walk combo to the next water station. At the half way point I started to feel better (second mile pace was 11:07) so I was running more, walking less. I saw Katie behind me at the turn around point and decided no more walking. By that time I was feeling much better and ran it in. (Last mile was a 10:00 pace) I felt fine by mile 3 and sprinted it in. If the distance were 10K it would have been perfect. Oh well.


What would you do differently?:

Just keep working on my running.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank more water and cheered in the rest of my friends.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of workouts in the past 2 weeks and lack of water on the bike.

Event comments:

Too many racers for this venue. I'm glad they moved it from Crabtree, but they should have capped it at 700. The race results were not posted after the race - don't know why. There was good food for the racers afterwards. Great race for all levels of athletes and I will be back next year.




Last updated: 2009-06-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:56 | 820 yards | 02m 33s / 100yards
Age Group: 45/52
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: none- too warm
Course: counter clockwise box. Fair amount of waves.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:12
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:57:28 | 17.5 miles | 18.27 mile/hr
Age Group: 12/52
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: Counter clockwise loop. False flat starting, hilly in the middle, downhill return.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 89
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:11
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:33:06 | 03.11 miles | 10m 38s  min/mile
Age Group: 43/52
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course: Loop that was mostly trail running. Out on road, then ran on either access gravel roads or grass/dirt paths through the woods.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4