Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I really didn't train much at all this year (due to time constraints; family and work), but I was pretty confident that I'd survive at about a 2:00 pace. I started near the back of the wave, and passed people almost the entire leg! The water was a little clearer (or at least I was able to see other swimmers better than in the past) and I was actually able to draft a little before each pass. This is the first race I've ever been able to do that!

Train less? :)

I had an excellent rack spot - it was on the outside of row right at the swim exit (I didn't have to go down a row to my spot and backtrack to the aisle). I forgot to put body glide on my knees and calves, so my suit stuck a tiny bit.
Age Group Rank: 22
Overall Rank: 244

The speed sensing magnet for my bike computer has died (a couple weeks ago), so I have been riding based on cadence and perceived effort. This is my fifth Columbia Tri and the first race that I broke 20 mph! I was planning on buying an aero helmet at the pre-race expo, but didn't see any - but my brother-in-law let my borrow his Rudy Project aero helmet. I'm positive that helped me achieve the 20+ milestone!

What I did differently this year was to not push too hard on the uphills and then push a little harder on the downhills (in an effort to keep my power output more consistent). I was passing and being passed by one rider during the whole "loop" portion of the course, but on the "back" portion of the course I pulled away from him on one of the first really long downhills.

One of my few races where my T2 is actually quicker than my T1. I really tried to get my shoes tied quickly, and apparently did. Again, not having to double back down a row to my rack spot was a great advantage.
Age Group Rank: 72
Overall Rank: 548

Planned to walk the first hill and hit a 9:00 first mile split - walked the hill but logged the first mile at 8:35. I should have slowed down, but my next mile came in at 8:20. That's too fast my present ability/level of fitness. I walked quite a bit through the neighborhood (my childhood neighborhood - I waved to my house) and hit miles three and four at 9:10 and 9:40. Mile five (which stretches from the neighborhood to the park) I did in 8:40 and mile six included some walking time up the final hill for a 9:00 split. With all the walking, I decided not to kick it in too hard - two guys in my age group passed me after crossing the dam, but I decided not to challenge them.

I was expecting to do a little better this year because I had logged quite a few more miles this spring than I have in years past, but I obviously need to get in quite a bit more hill work.

Went straight up the hill and scheduled a massage!
:)


PR'd by over 8 minutes!! But I need to continue to work on my run.
2005 - 2:50:44
2006 - 2:54:38
2008 - 3:14:55
2009 - 2:54:51
2011 - 2:41:41


I worked harder this year on the bike and run because of all the hills this course offers, but I need to work on running hills more. Great race - I love coming back home to race.