Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Ok, the start was all well and good. No meatgrinder and I started with long pulls. I spotted a white cap (all the caps were white) 20 meters ahead that seemed to be keeping pace with me after about 200 yards out. I made an effort to catch up to that swimmer. I tried to pass one or two times but it seemed that I couldn't go past him and maintain that speed for much longer without hitting LT so I backed off into the slipstream, got on his feet and stayed there. Thanks for letting me draft. Thanks to the Concourse swim group for teaching me how to draft.

Find faster feet that would force me into RPE 5-6.

Either due to the drafting or current (not noticeable) It's the best time I've ever had for 1500M -- I usually would do this in a pool in 28-29.

Here is where I messed up. I had trouble putting on my cycling gloves over wet hands ... after I found them on the other side of the bike -- next time, no gloves for an oly race. It chewed up about a minute of T1 time which cost me a qualifier for the Age Group Chapionships in Tuskalooga. 1 minute = 5 slots ... I could have been 48th. Everything else was fine. My T1 time is usually sub 2:15 on short race courses.

NO GLOVES for short races -- ever again. Add a little extra bar tape instead. This should shave off about 15 seconds on a good T1.

Work on training without socks and practice putting on shoes AFTER mounting. Not sure I want to learn how to jump on the bike. That looks --uncomfortable.

It started out well but the first big hill at mile 2 on HWY 27 put me in the granny gear half way up so I spun at 9-10mph for about a 1/2 a mile. I went into the small chain ring 2 more times after that but made up for it on the long downhills hitting 39mph a few times just by going Aero. Aside from a few potholes and segments on the bridges, no real problems.

Could have hammered the first hill at mile 2 and bought 30+ seconds instead of granny gearing -- the ride down was a long easy aero coast at 32+mph. Plenty of time to recover.

Really not much to compalin about. Last Oly 3 weeks ago average speed was 19.3 mph -- today it was just over 20 mph.

Snapped out at the line. Got off the bike and hit the ground running through transition.

Nothing until I can go without socks without blistering.

Starting out was good but that first hill was painful. I was past LT by the time I got over it. When I got to the steps I couldn't jog around the person ahead of me as they decided it was time to walk and there were people coming back the other way (ok, a forced respite to drop the heart rate). On the way out I quipped to people as I ran by -- Yelled encouragement to 3 people from concourse going out and coming back, a 'good job' to a TNT lady that jogged slowly but refused to walk that hill on the way back. Baby steps on the hills coming and going but on the downhills I extended the stride backwards.

3 weeks ago my 6.2 Oly run was 8:39 m/mi. Definite improvement at 8:22 m/mi.

In the last mile it started to rain and cool down some and I played cat and mouse with one guy. I gunned it for the last half mile. At 1/4 of a mile to go I went into full sprint mode. Everyone must have thought I was insane doing a full sprint like that but that cooling rain made me feel REAL GOOD! I finished that last half mile -- no joke -- sub 2:30. I haven't done that since high school 880's.

Need more brick workouts.

I wish I knew how to tap into that kick I had at the end a bit sooner. When I crossed the finish I felt like I was only in the middle of an interval run session.

Perhaps not think so much during the race...

Was greeted by a friend from concourse at the end. His first Oly and second tri. He did a great job. (60-64 age grouper) and finished in a respectable time for ANY age group.

Oranges, Oranges, oranges

Standing/walking around in the rain cooling off. All the gear in T1 was soaked. Glad I keep extra clothing in the car.

Said goodbye to some new friends, cleared out of T1, changed clothes, called Mom and told her I raced well and was on my way to a salad buffet. She worries...



Lessons Learned:

Personal bests all round with the exception of T1 glove fiasco. I attribute an improved performance to relying on RPE instead of interpreting/setting/following heart rate monitor readings.

Get more sleep.

No more gloves in T1 for short races.

Not previewing the course and being too conservative in some efforts. I've raced the last 2 Oly's a lot like I've been training but I've been training for an IM.

Push sooner on shorter races: I'm still trying to figure out where that HUGE kick came from at mile 5 and wishing I could engage it in mile 3. I think it was the rain cooling my body down, downhill and a cat and mouse game with other racers. It was like a shot of pure oxygen, caffine and sugar straight into the bloodstream. I'll be doing a few cool weather races in the fall and I'll see if temperature can play that big a role.

There's so much room for improvement....


An excellent well organized race overall.

A great venue. I'll be doing this one again.

If I had a "do over" I would have lined up LAST to start. That way the rain would have started at the beginning of my run.