Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Ellicott City, Maryland
United States
The Columbia Triathlon Association Inc.
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 33m 57s
Overall Rank = 207/1590
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 23/143
Pre-race routine:

Slept in my new house for the first time last night, thereby saving me 45 min of driving time. I went to make my "breakfast" (strong black coffee) but realized the coffee filters are at the old house. Bummer. The DD near my house was still closed, so I had to settle for gas station coffee.
Event warmup:

Setup transition, stood in the rain, and hit the porta potties. I had a gel about 20 min before the start.
Swim
  • 29m 36s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 48s / 100 yards
Comments:

I really took a pounding on this swim. This is only my 3rd OW swim, and the other two swims I never had much of a problem with other participants. Sure, there was some bumping and jostling, but nothing too bad. For this swim, I felt like I was in an MMA ring the whole freaking time. About 1/4 to 1/3 through, one guy apparently decided to tackle me - I literally felt him grab me and push downward. Really, dude, WTF? With about 1/4 to go, I got kicked in the face so hard I saw stars, and it knocked my goggles off. So I treaded water for a while to fix those, and had water in my eyes the rest of the swim. With about 400 yards to go, I got another kick straight to the nose, and I guess it was obvious because the guy that did it actually stopped to ask if I was alright. Finally, I tried to spring the final few 100 yards to the end, but with about 100yds left I got punched / elbowed right in the throat. I couldn't breath after that, so was treading water for about 20 seconds right next to the end. It was a teeny bit frustrating. I'll note that, other than Mr. water tackle, none of this appeared deliberate at all. I just really couldn't get away from the crowd.

Other than these issues, my swim time wasn't too bad. Swimming with a wetsuit helps me A LOT, as I'm a sinker. I couldn't really get in a rhythm, and every time I took a hard bump it threw me off a little. I was breathing almost exclusively to my right side, which is NOT how I train. I sighted pretty well (for me), which was something I really tried to work on after last years zig zag race. I still think this course is a little short, given the pace I was able to finish at.
What would you do differently?:

I'm not too sure. Bring weapons to the swim maybe? My overall time was a whopping 6 seconds behind last years, so I guess I can't really complain too much. The swim is still VERY much my weak point for triathlon.
Transition 1
  • 03m 48s
Comments:

I could NOT get my damn wetsuit off of my feet. It just would NOT come off. I eventually had to sit down in the mud and just pull. Frustrating. At least I didn't put my bike shoes on before taking it off like last year. I was still 1:03 faster in T1 then last year, meaning I had gained 57 seconds over last year by the time I hit the bike. Overall T1 place = 686, age group = 64, gender = 480
What would you do differently?:

Pull harder on the wetsuit? I'm sure practicing with the darn thing would help too.
Bike
  • 1h 15m 1s
  • 25.48 miles
  • 20.38 mile/hr
Comments:

I really tried to hammer the bike, believing that my run would not be as good as last year's. I am really really happy with this ride. I drank about 40oz of Gatorade over the course, which was just right for me. The course was very crowded, and I was shouting "left" a lot. There was a lot of people just riding on the left side the whole time, and it was difficult to pass at times.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing that I can think of
Transition 2
  • 01m 31s
Comments:

I was 5 seconds slower this year than last, but I can't really complain. The mud slowed down getting my shoes on / off a bit, and I need to practice putting my Garmin wrist strap on a little better. T2 place = 284 overall, 210 for males, 22 for AG
What would you do differently?:

Practice with the Garmin strap.
Run
  • 44m 3s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

This is a VERY hard run. That said, I feel like I did well, and paced myself better than last year. Overall I shaved off a whopping 19 seconds off of last years time. I drank a couple of cups of water and Gatorade during the run, which was "just right" for me
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Post race
Warm down:

I saw B when I was running down the chute, meaning I knew she DNF'd. I looked for her for like 30 min until SCamp played match-maker and helped us find each other. This is about the millionth time we've forgotten to set a meet point. Duh. After that I grabbed a little food and drink and chatted with a few BT'ers and a few folks from work. But overall I left pretty quickly. I was cold and wet, and kinda ready to go home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being a crappy swimmer.

Event comments:

I had a good race, and shaved about 6:30 off of my time from last year. The race is fun, but the weather sucked. Also, they really really need to work on the traffic issues the morning of the race. We left with plenty of time, and still felt a little rushed. I'm sure all of the rain didn't help this year.




Last updated: 2009-11-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:36 | 1640 yards | 01m 48s / 100yards
Age Group: 70/143
Overall: 729/1590
Performance: Average
Suit: Full Zoot Wetsuit
Course: One lap around Centennial lake.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:48
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:15:01 | 25.48 miles | 20.38 mile/hr
Age Group: 22/143
Overall: 204/1590
Performance: Good
Avg HR = 162 bpm Max HR = 175 bpm Max speed = 40.46 mph
Wind: Little
Course: Columbia Tri course. Fairly hilly, but no mountains.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 88
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:31
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:44:03 | 06.21 miles | 07m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 15/143
Overall: 122/1590
Performance: Good
Avg HR = 169 Max HR = 181
Course: HILLS!
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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