Celebration Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Columbia, Maryland
United States
CTA
95?F / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 35m 41s
Overall Rank = 1088/1402
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 48/76
Pre-race routine:

Got to park as advised by 5:15, and parking was cake, tho just over 3 hours until my swim wave. Loved seeing all the familiar faces in transition. The view of all the bikes, sun rising in the background, great classic rock blaring created this incredible ambiance that was was sort of surreal, and just so dang cool.

Had transition set up before 6, and headed over to Team Fight tent. Had Kashi GoLean w/ soy milk + coffee & banana as usual
Event warmup:

chatted, sucked down water, & hit the port o potties several times
Swim
  • 25h 07m
  • 1094 yards
  • 2h 17m 48s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was confident (only) about the swim, so was surprised to feel horribly, incredibly nauseous just a couple of minutes into it, which freaked me out. I alternated breaststroke/freestyle for what seemed like forever until I felt a little better, then finished the swim going my own pace – 25:07 was slower than I’d hoped, but I’ll take it. Fighting through the bodies & attack of the killer seaweed kept it interesting at the end.
What would you do differently?:

Definitely avoid the Gatorade pre-swim - vowed not to change my routine but I did!

Would also do some quick sprints vs treading water to get HR up purposefully - wonder if it was the gatorade or the adrenaline rush at the outset that made me feel so violently ill?
Transition 1
  • 06m 12s
Comments:

I knew that I was taking my time in transition, but didn’t realize just what a slug I was, though at least I left transition with my heart-rate down & feeling rested. Walked to bike when realized how painful running still was, emptied bladder, drank water, ate some chomps, put on sweatband, glasses, helmet, and gloves to absorb sweat. Walked bike out of T1, too.
What would you do differently?:

Walked faster or run into T1 - just couldn't though, and getting my HR down was good for my nerves
Bike
  • 1h 17m 37s
  • 175.5 miles
  • 135.67 mile/hr
Comments:

I’d ridden the course only 5 or 6 times & had only a couple other road rides under my belt beyond that, so was most nervous about my (lack of) prep for the bike, yet I had my best ride ever on the course with my fastest max speed (still nervous on downhillls) & average mph thus far. Loved what the adrenaline rush did for my legs, and being able to enjoy the scenery without worrying about dodging traffic, too. The volunteers on the course were so cheerful & encouraging. I took a couple of minutes to stop and drink water at the turnaround and was stoked to not feel totally trashed on the hills. Centennial Park never looked so good as it did at the end of that ride. The Sunday morning practice rides were great prep.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. My speed and confidence on the road should definitely improve with time - I love the bike! I need to practice drinking & driving, too - attempted once or twice, but slowed down so much to focus on not crashing simultaneously. Probably didn't need to stop as long as I did at the turnaround, either.
Transition 2
  • 02m 17s
Comments:

Surprised it was this short - was so wobbly coming down the hill into transition - harder than T1 to get used to walking, let alone running. Knew starting off for run that running was still incredibly painful, so dropped to the ground to try to stretch out my hip a bit.
What would you do differently?:

nothing. Will say that seeing folks pushing their bikes up the hills was a great reminder for me, that (1) getting through the legs ANY way I could was still a win, and (2) I wasn't in as bad a shape as I'd thought - everything's relative.
Run
  • 43m 21s
  • 3.4 miles
  • 12m 45s  min/mile
Comments:

I knew the run would suck bc I haven’t been able to run for the last couple of weeks without a lot of hip pain (beyond being new to the running thing in general), so I mostly walked, but had great conversations along the way. I’d been running about 8½ minute miles in my training, so had hoped to be able to get 10-12 minutes/mile, but am happy with my time bc it means that I finished! I stuffed my bra with ice at every stop, which never would’ve occurred to me had I not read so many RR’s on the MMTC list – what a difference it made; I had no idea it was really as hot as it was.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe try to run more and to run faster? Felt like knives jabbing my hip every time I tried to run, but it never got worse, and I wasn't a whole lot more sore on Monday than I'd been the day before, so wondered retrospectively if I could've pushed it more? I made sure I'd saved up enough gas for the end to make a strong finish in public view, lol.
Post race
Warm down:

weepy & hugged the family with a sh*t eating grin on my face. So glad daughter was waiting just before the chute so that she could jump in and run across the finish line with me, though she had a hard time keeping up with my last-hurrah sprint!

Drank more water, craved a diet coke, but the chocolate chip cookies really hit the spot. Should've stretched, but didn't.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My hip. Fine on the swim - didn't try to go fast. Bike I did my own personal best. Hip was killing me on the run. Having knees taped up, though, was amazing - first time my knees haven't hurt in literally years.

Event comments:

I think it was awesome, but what do I have to compare it to? Seemed very well organized, though for the life of me didn't understand the logic of putting my AG in the 11th wave out of 14, or combining F45-49 with F20-24 (followed by M25-29 to boot!). Ice in the bra was HUGE factor in keeping as cool as I did on the run.

Racing for a charity team was just the reality check I needed to keep it all in proper perspective, too.




Last updated: 2010-04-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
25:07:00 | 1094 yards | 2h 17m 48s / 100yards
Age Group: 20/76
Overall: 0/1402
Performance: Average
Suit: banned
Course: straight shots with 2 90-degree turns. Only surprises were the quantity & aggressive nature of the seaweed
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 06:12
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:17:37 | 175.5 miles | 135.67 mile/hr
Age Group: 50/76
Overall: 0/1402
Performance: Good
max speed 33.5, a new personal best, and avg speed = 13.5, also a new personal best for the course
Wind: None
Course: Hilly!! (but I knew that)
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:17
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:43:21 | 03.4 miles | 12m 45s  min/mile
Age Group: 53/76
Overall: 0/1402
Performance: Bad
13:09/mile
Course: also hilly!
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5