Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I wanted to draft for the 1st lenght until the 1st buoy. I started toward the right. But I got caught in between some slower swimmers in front and faster swimmers catching from the back. This 1st length turned out bad, which I knew slowed me down. I did end up drafting some, but got a slow start. The back length was good, I was catching some people. I am a little dissapointed with this swim. I wanted to go sub 25 mins. Still have not beat my 2008 time, but I'll take it.

Try not to draft at first. Get into a comfortable spot with some better swimmers.

Very happy with this. PR in T1. Good run out of the water. Grabbed some water from the volunteers. Got my sleeves off while running, but I have to take my Garmin off as well. Got to my bike, I was happy to see that there were not many people there yet, suit off easily, shoes on, glassses on, helmet on, and I ran out of T1. I still put my shoes on in T1, not while riding. Probably a good idea, due to the mud anyway.

Keep working on this.

Still raining, and very wet. But the rain stopped by the time I was finished. At first I thought this was going to become a training ride, due to the very wet roads. But I felt really good, so I just kept going. Kept the Cadence 85-90 knowing this is where I am efficient. I took the downhills holding my horns, and not in aero do to the winds and wetness, to gain some more control. I pushed up and over the hills and glided down them. Took the sharp turns and traffic circles fairly easy. I knew that I was doing well. I got to the end of Linthicum at 48 mins and decided to FTP it home to try for 1:15 (which was my goal), with a stretch goal of 1:13 on a good day. I got to the park at 1:11 and hurried to the finish line in 1:12. WOW!!! Very, Very Happy with this. Nutrition - Water in my aero bottle, and a gel flask of Hammer Gel Espresso. The Fuel Belt Gel flask sucked and I still could hardly get an gel out of it. I put it in my shirt pocket to turn it upside down and it fell out after I got about 1 shot from it.

Nothing, I felt great. Wet roads really didn't bother me much.

I was very happy with T2. I was pumped up from a great ride. I ran to my rack, helmet and glasses off, bike shoes off. It's good that I keep them on, due to the mud slide going into T2. The shoes cleats became good mud cleats for running. HR monitor off, run shoes on, belt on, and ran thru T2. Great P2 here in T2.

Keep working on this.

I felt great at the start of this run. I was still worried about cramping as I've had in previous years, and I was worried that my left calf was still going to give me some trouble. I thought there was going to be some Hammer Gel packs on the course, so I didn't take any with me. There wasn't so I had gatorade at every station. This actually worked great. The run did not seem long, and before I knew it I was at mile 3. No cramps, no problems. I was monitoring my pace to keep between 7 - 7:30, which I knew I could do for this distance. So at mile 3, I knew I had 24 mins to finish to go 2:30 for the race. I kept pushing up over the hills. Mile 5 was close to 7 mins. I had 10 mins to finish. I pushed thru and got a nice run PR with a great kick at the end. I hit mile 6 and thought I can sprint 1 more lap around the track and I blew by a few more people.

Nothing, just keep on training.

Foil, food. FeXY tent.


Rain.


I went into this race thinking it was going to be a B or C race for the year, but I couldn't do that. I wanted at good practice for Eagleman. Pre-race prep, gear, everything. I really wanted to PR, and I really wanted to go under 2:30. With the rain, I didn't know if this was going to happen. With all of the training I've had this year, on dry land, my bike could have been even faster. The run course was great, no sun, and gatorade worked real well. I almost under nourished compared to previous years during the race. I had a Hammer Bar and Diet Coke about 30 mins before the race, 1 shot of Hammer Gel during the bike, and Gatorade Endurance during the run. I usually would have had more gel, and my stomach would have been upset. Legs didn't cramp, I was warm, and mentally I was focused on every aspect of the course. I had a plan, and I executed according to that plan. And I beat my goals. 13th place in my age group out of 197 guys, I'll take it. I also got my 1st Podium ever, Lisa and I got 2nd place in the Married Couples' division. Awesome Job!!! Thank you Coach Baldwin and Team FeXY!