Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Ellicott City, Maryland
United States
The Columbia Triathlon Association Inc.
70F / 21C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 46m 18s
Overall Rank = 464/1587
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 75/197
Pre-race routine:

Seemed strange to be doing a race at home for a change. Apr 25th Lonestar in TX, 2 weeks ago Rev 3 in Knoxville and Sunday Columbia.

Didn't do any prep for this race, no idea other than I knew it would be hilly, never looked at profiles or course maps, lol.

After Soccer game we drove up to Columbia to pick up packets and rack the bikes. Started raining in the late afternoon. Went home had the obligitory spaghetti dinner.

Woke up at 0445 to a monsoon outside. Rained all night but no thunder/lightning. Was thinking to myself, do I really need to do this race?

Ate my Peanut butter toast, Sam and I drove up to columbia, plan was to be there by 0600 as my wave time was 0715. Once we got off the exit and drove a bit traffic was completely stopped, parked on the side of the road and walked the last .5 miles to transition. Luckilly they moved everything back 10-15 mins as we were runnnig really late, no time for bio breaks, wetsuit on and headed down to the swim start
Event warmup:

Walking from the car to transition.
Swim
  • 29m 30s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 58s / 100 meters
Comments:

Started out in the front row on the far side buoy, not the optimal line but there were about 20 of us at this buoy and 150 at the other, so I could take a bit more distance to not to be stuck in the big scrum.

Started off really strong, maybe too strong, arms started to feel a bit heavy by the first turn. Eased off a bit for the rest of the swim. Had my typical issues running into people. One guy I just couldn't shake, I would try to go left and right and he would still be in front of me somehow. I even stopped to let him pull away and seemed to catch right back up somehow.

I think it was the same guy but got kicked pretty good in the gut just as I was putting my face back in the water after sighting and felt like I inhaled a good portion of the lake. Pulled up and coughed for what seemed like 2-3 minutes but was probably closer to 30 seconds.

This completely broke up my rhythm but got back into it to finish.

Extremely happy with this time, sub 30:00 even with the stalling/kicked/etc. almost 7 minutes faster at Rev3 but pretty sure that course was short or there was some serious currnet there.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Transition 1
  • 03m 59s
Comments:

Haven't really worried much about transitions this year, focusing on getting myself comfortable for the ride/run more.

Sloppy transition, tape on cleats worked well, was able to easily clip in.
Bike
  • 1h 17m 55s
  • 25.48 miles
  • 19.62 mile/hr
Comments:

Switched out my double for a compact crank for this race. Heard from quite a few people that it was really hilly.

Hills weren't nearly as bad as Rev3, there were a lot of them but not that steep.

Still working on riding the right wattage when hills are concerned. LS was easy, never came out of aero and stuck to the watts range. Hills aren't that easy.

Pretty wet course, saw a few bodies here and there that had wiped out. Played a lot of cat and mouse with riders up hills, let them go up and then I caught them going down. Had quite a few problems with people not moving back over to the right after they passed, had to check up my speed quite a few times from folks that I guess thought they were going fast enough not to be passed on the downhills.

Had to scream on your left a few times to get people to move over. For the record I saw in a thread that people were worried about the Women in the wave in front of us being the cause of that but not a single woman I passed was guilty of that, all guys.

Saw Nick (brownnugen) on the ride, we passed each other a couple times, he must have been faster getting out of T2 since I think I got there first and knew he would blow by me on the run but didn't see him again until after the race.

Still not overly happy about this ride, faster than Rev3 and had plenty left in the tank so should have probably ridden a bit harder.

What would you do differently?:

Ride harder, not be so mental staring at my pm.
Transition 2
  • 02m 39s
Comments:

Butt slow. I had brought a 2nd pair of socks in case my feet were soaked from the ride but never set them out. Had to find my bag, dig through it to find the socks.

Sucks to lose time here but I think the dry socks were worth it.
What would you do differently?:

come up with a faster plan.
Run
  • 52m 17s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

Actually was pleased with the time. Haven't run any hills whatsoever this season. But again my run times are killing me. Droped 11 spots in my AG on the run.

Lots of brutaly hills, right out of transition big steep hill. Running through the neighborhoods ran up one hill and said quitely f$%k when I saw another hill around the corner, lol heard someone behind me say the exact same thing.
What would you do differently?:

Learn how to run faster.
Post race
Warm down:

Crossed the line, ran into Nick and we walked around for a bit to try and find food. Saw Shelly and chatted, she had a flat and had to DNF : (

Went to transition to get my stuff and load up the truck, ran back to the finish to make sure I met Sam, got there just as she was crossing the finish line. We walked around a bit also so she could get some food. Chatted with the FEXY/Reston crew a bit, then headed out to go to a company picnic.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Kind of bummmed about my overall time but HIM, Oly and Oly in 6 weeks I think took a bit out of my legs. Plus I am not nearly as fast in reality as I am in my head...

Event comments:

Good race, funny doing IM brand, Rev3 brand and Columbia so close, none of them were "perfect" as in everything they promised worked as advertised. Columbia was supposed to hand you a card when you finished with your splits on them, never did that.

But they were quick at getting results up. I think they were the most organized of the 3 races.

Think I want to do this one again next year to see if I can have a better showing.




Last updated: 2009-10-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:30 | 1500 meters | 01m 58s / 100meters
Age Group: 92/197
Overall: 719/1587
Performance: Good
Suit: Desoto T1
Course: Sort of rectangle in Centennial Lake
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:59
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:17:55 | 25.48 miles | 19.62 mile/hr
Age Group: 54/197
Overall: 324/1587
Performance: Below average
Avg Watts 188
Wind: None
Course:
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 88
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:39
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:52:17 | 06.21 miles | 08m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 83/197
Overall: 539/1587
Performance: Average
Course: Hills, hills and more hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4