Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Ellicott City, Maryland
United States
The Columbia Triathlon Association Inc.
70F / 21C
Precipitation
Total Time = 3h 49m 40s
Overall Rank = 1457/1589
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 184/197
Pre-race routine:

Woke up, showered, PB&J for breakfast and headed to Columbia. Worried about not getting in the park in time as traffic was backed up to Rt29 on 108.
Event warmup:

Uh, stand around looking awestruck/stupid/wtf did I get myself into was pretty much my warm up. I think my nerves got my heart rate up sufficiently that a warm-up wasnt really needed.
Swim
  • 26m 8s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 35s / 100 yards
Comments:

Swim felt great. There wasnt any OWS freak out or people swimming over me. Even managed to swim over a couple people and pass a few in the swim wave ahead of me. I was pretty shocked at my time considering I havent trained as well as I would have liked. Didnt kick AT ALL and purposefully held my stroke rate down so I would last. Once I log some more hours in the pool I think I can definitely get my swim time down a bunch!
What would you do differently?:

Sight a little bit better. I held a good course, but went a bit wide around the backside of the swim course. Couldve shaved off at least a minute had I just stuck to the buoy line and swam instead of worrying about getting in peoples way or people getting in my way.
Transition 1
  • 06m 39s
Comments:

Slow. I was so pumped about my swim time that I used up a bit too much energy on the run to T1. Suit came off fine exsept for it getting stuck on the timing chip. Thought about taking it off but was worried I'd forget to put it back on.
What would you do differently?:

Practice wetsuit removal a bit more.
Bike
  • 1h 52m 58s
  • 25.48 miles
  • 13.53 mile/hr
Comments:

Did much better than I expected. I drove the course a month beforehand and was scared I wouldnt be able to ride up all the hills. Rode up all the hills just fine, slow, but fine. Ended up getting my first flat in a race in my first race so was actually nice to get that out of the way. Hadnt really practiced with the CO2 so it took me way too long. Didnt have a repair kit to patch the big gash in my front tire so I was just praying that it held. According to my bike comp my average was 17+mph so I definitely spent way to much time changing my flat.
What would you do differently?:

Train on hills A LOT more. Practice changing a flat. Bring a repair kit. Pure luck was the only thing that kept the tire from flatting again.
Transition 2
  • 05m 6s
Comments:

Slow again. Saw Mr. Heathen in T2 and chatted with him for a bit. Not really sure why this took me so long. I think I was just glad to have survived the bike that I took my time.
What would you do differently?:

Speed my slow a$$ up!
Run
  • 1h 18m 51s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 12m 42s  min/mile
Comments:

What can I say, my body hates to run. The first 1/2 mile of the run it felt like someone was jamming hot pokers into my shins and lower back. Luckily, a woman in the F50-55 age group came by and told me to suck it up and that if she can do it at 52 years of age, I can do it at 37. That motivated me and we spent the rest of the race encouraging each other. I think she hated running up hills more than I do! My time wasnt fast but it was only 11 minutes off my stand alone 10k PR, I wasnt too upset about being so slow.

I used my new Zoot Ultra 3.0 run shoes that I picked up at the expo despite the Zoot rep sternly telling me not to run in them the next day. I freaking love those things. Its like running in slippers! I highly recommend them.
What would you do differently?:

Dont walk! Log WAAAY more training run miles. Out of all 3 discipines, this is definitely the area where I need to just suck it up and run.
Post race
Warm down:

Got the post race massage at my wifes insistence. MY BODY DOESNT BEND THAT WAY!!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training and overall fitness. If I wouldve have trained more like I know I had to instead of training how I felt like training I know I would have been alot closer to 3hrs instead of 4.

Event comments:

My first Oly and if I didnt have the tri bug before, I definitely have it now!

Made my goal time and didnt DNF or end up DFL so I am super happy about this race.




Last updated: 2009-11-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:08 | 1640 yards | 01m 35s / 100yards
Age Group: 43/197
Overall: 338/1589
Performance: Good
Suit: Vector Pro X2 Fullsuit
Course:
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 06:39
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:52:58 | 25.48 miles | 13.53 mile/hr
Age Group: 189/197
Overall: 1489/1589
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course:
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 05:06
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:18:51 | 06.21 miles | 12m 42s  min/mile
Age Group: 187/197
Overall: 1484/1589
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4