Venice Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Venice, Florida
United States
South county Family YMCA
93F / 34C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 04m 23s
Overall Rank = 60/349
Age Group = F30-34
Age Group Rank = 2/16
Pre-race routine:

4AM wake-up. Whole wheat bagel with lite cream cheese. Mug of hot tea. H20 on the way to the race and Gatorade G2 during transition set-up.
Event warmup:

Swam a bit in the Gulf. Threw in some faster sprint segments to get my HR up a bit.

Stomach started grumbling (as in I was hungry) while I was watching the male waves go off. This was a warning sign of what was to come.
Swim
  • 08m 30s
  • 400 meters
  • 02m 08s / 100 meters
Comments:

Rectangular. Out 25 meters, south 350 meters, back to shore 25 meters. This swim course must have been measured long. You could have fit THREE 25 meter pools in the distance considered to be "25 meters". This isn't a problem in my book, as I dig the swim. However, I also like to have my splits "correct" when all is said and done. If I swam 500 meters instead of 400 meters, I would like to know that.
What would you do differently?:

I had a GREAT swim! Without a doubt, one of my better swims! My strategy of going out hard and strong at the beginning has continued to work for me. Today I was able to clear the chaos before I even hit the first buoy. After rounding the buoy, it was just me and two other purple caps... spaced fairly far apart from each other. I'm usually up in the front of my wave pack for the swim, but today I was so far ahead (and there were about 4-5 minutes between waves), that I was pretty much on my own in regards to navigation without anyone to follow until I caught up with the male 40+ wave in front of me. I felt very strong throughout entire swim! I almost wish it had been longer!
Transition 1
  • 00m 42s
Comments:

I consider myself to be a budding T1 specialist. For whatever reason, I run very well after a swim. I had one of the faster T1 times out of all of the women there. However, I continue to lose a lot of time b/c of my need to put on my shoes, stop and mount the bike, etc...
What would you do differently?:

Gotta work on getting into those shoes while on the bike.
Bike
  • 24m 3s
  • 9 miles
  • 22.45 mile/hr
Comments:

There were too many people at this race for a 2 loop course and such a short distance. There have been problems with this course in the past and today was no exception. There was a horrible crash right in front of me in the zone that I feel should have been labelled "no passing". I do not feel that I can recommend this race until the bike course is changed.

Course logistics aside, I feel that I biked well. I did not cycle 22mph as indicated-- the course was about .75 mile short according to my Garmin. I held a near 21mph pace which is appropriate for me in a sprint distance. Heart rate was high, but no higher than during longer training intervals.
What would you do differently?:

I did not drink nearly enough on the bike b/c I failed to consider the combo effect of high intensity + scorching temperatures. By the time my bike leg was over, the heat index was already 93F out (according to weather history at weatherunderground.com) and I don't think I realized I was sweating as much as I was. Even though I practice racing at this pace, I should have backed off the bike about 1/2mph and drank more. It might have saved my run. I had a great bike split and was the third overall female coming off of the bike, but this is a triathlon, not a cycling event. Therefore, I've gotta call myself out and rate my outcome appropriately-- below average. Hydration & nutrition (hello, growling stomach) are paramount... even at sprint level and especially in 93F heat index. Lesson learned.
Transition 2
  • 00m 44s
Comments:

I've been practicing a flying dismout, but this was absolutely NOT the course to try it out on. Still, I had a great T2 time even without it.
What would you do differently?:

Actually employ the flying dismount! :-)
Run
  • 29m 27s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 09m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

OH. MY. GOD!

OK... so this is what happens when you start a race under-fueled enough to actually have hunger pains before the swim start AND you don't consume enough fluids during the bike leg.

I knew coming into T2 that I might be in trouble b/c my HR was not settling down properly. When I left T2 and started the run, my suspicions were confirmed.

This is the slowest 5k I've run since I started all of this in 2008. I pretty much ran the leg of this race at what is normally my EASY pace! Yep, my easy pace! Only this felt like a zone 5 effort! Nutrition is SO important! I can't stress this enough and I really learned a lesson today.

I nearly called it quits at mile 2.5. I wanted to lay down and die. I didn't think my legs were even going to carry me to the finish line. I started the run as 3rd female overall and ended up in only God knows what place. This was a huge disappointment for me. Mostly b/c I had such a great race in July and thought I could pull a similar (maybe even better) effort off and more importantly because I didn't respect the distance. A sprint tri raced HARD will burn a ridiculous amount of glycogen (no fat at this sort of HR zone). I did not take my nutrition seriously enough and I paid the piper dearly.

I crossed the finish line as a blubbering, over emotional trainwreck! I could not catch my breath at all. I couldn't stand still. I was balling my eyes out under my sunglasses. Some very nice gentleman (who had just finished his own race) came over to me and poured HIS ice cold, post-race water bottles all over me. I had numerous people ask me if I was alright. Honestly, for a moment, I thought I was going to have to ask for medical assistance.

Eventually, my HR began to come down and I sat on a curb all by myself for a bit. My emotions were out of control. A fire ant bit me on the ass, which is the only reason why I'm probably still not glued to that curb.
What would you do differently?:

1. Fuel up at home and then again at race site. Gel, banana, anything would have been better than a growling stomach.

2. In very hot conditions, cut back bike pace just enough to take in more fluid.
Post race
Warm down:

Made some phone calls and tried to figure out what in the world went so wrong. :-(

The best part of the race for me was meeting Karibu (who is the next BT rockstar) and his lovely wife! :-)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

1. My lack of nutritional preparedness (both the day before & the day of the race).

2. Heat + sprint distance race intensity = must dial back established race pace to survive! Lesson of the day!

Good news:

I took home 2nd in my AG and was 8th female overall for the day.

Event comments:

The course: Not so great. The bike course is unsafe and needs to be changed. Period. The fact that race organizers are trying to make us "ride on the left and pass on the right" is already an indication that the course is not up to par. Local events attract a lot of beginners. Add in the course congestion, flow pattern and lack of bike handling abilities... it's a disaster/accident waiting to happen (and it did, right in front of me)!

Directions: I had to scream off the bike "where's the bike entry" b/c nobody was providing verbal cues. The same goes for a turn on the run course.

Post race food: Terrific! Sharkys' on the Pier provided eggs, sausage, biscuits, fruit, bagels, OJ. The works!





Last updated: 2010-07-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:30 | 400 meters | 02m 08s / 100meters
Age Group: 2/16
Overall: 27/349
Performance: Good
Suit: None
Course: Rectangular. Out 25 meters, south 350 meters, back to shore 25 meters. This swim course was without a doubt long! You could have fit THREE 25 meter pools in the distance the Venice Police (who set the buoys) considered to be "25 meters".
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 88F / 31C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:42
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:24:03 | 09 miles | 22.45 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/16
Overall: 45/349
Performance: Below average
Wind: None
Course: Two loops with a very dangerous section that should have been marked as a "no passing zone". This course is dangerous enough that officials had us bike on the left and pass on the right in order to try to avoid collisions. Garmin had this course as nearly 3/4 mile short at 8.25 miles, which would explain that 22.5mph nonsense that was calculated up above! My true average pace for an 8.25 mile course was 20.7mph.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 93
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:44
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:29:27 | 03.11 miles | 09m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 9/16
Overall: 0/349
Performance: Bad
Course: Snaking, winding paved path + road along the beach. HOT as HELL!
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 3