Half Full 70.0 Aquabike - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Columbia Maryland, Maryland
United States
The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults
68F / 20C
Overcast
Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

This event raises money for a great cause and was otherwise organized great, with very nice volunteers, so I hate to complain. But two small peeves. First, putting transition areas on grass is always a bad idea and worse in colder weather. Grass gets dew or muddy. Noone wants to walk around in wet shoes for a couple hours before a tri, particularly in cold weather. Second, long transitions from swim to run are annoying. I do aquabike for two reasons, I have horrible foot problems and am a strong swimmer. So I swim like hell to gain time on people, and then lose it in the long transition, as I walk, and worse swimmers pass me running. This happened here and at the Nation's tri. This race could have avoided both problems (the wet transition and long transition run from the swim) if it had placed the transition in one of the parking lots closer to the water.
Event warmup:

Kept warmup clothes on until the last second before swim.
Swim
  • 24m 22s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 37s / 100 meters
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Probably the best feeling swim I have done. I could have done it again at same pace.
Transition 1
  • 03m
Comments:

I hate long transitions from swim to bike. I have horried feet and have to walk transitions and have to stick on shoes or deck shoes. Delaware DiamondMan has one, Muncy Endurathon has it, this tri has it.

For me, it is "unfair." (I use that term loosely.) I like longer racaes because I can gain 3-10 minutes on biker runners in a 1500 or 1/2IM swim. But if the transition is long, the runner-bike dudes rip along in bare feet and catch me, or gain back time.
Bike
  • 3h 20m
  • 90 kms
  • 27.00 km/hr
Comments:

Tale of two races or race legs. My swim was as perfect as my bike was horrid. The only good thing about my bike "race" is that I finished and didn't give up. I was disgusted and bummed to ride so slow in my peak race.

First, I was so cold, and didn't get to normal temp until midway through the race. Second, some days you have good legs, some days bad. Today, I had terrible legs. Each time I would push hard into the pedals, my legs would scream "go to hell, nothing here this morning." Third, I was horrid on the steeper hills, partly because my front derailleur wasn't working. I literally got off the bike repeatedly and changed rings by hand.

I never got in a groove. After I warmed up, I would jam along pretty good on the downhills, flats and false flats, feel ok. I felt like I was my normal self biking. Then I would hit the steep hills, hurt like hell, go about 5 miles an hour and just plain s-ck.

My standard bike average speeds in race are 21-24 miles an hour. In my harder training runs, I often average 18-20 miles an hour. For me it is really discouraging to get in a race and average 16 or 17 miles an hour.
I am disgusted with my bike.

What would you do differently?:

1. Pick another, flatter course for my peak race. This would be a great race in preparation for another peak 1/2 IM. Like a month before my peak race, do this complete ball buster as prep, make the peak race seem comparatively easy.

2. Don't taper or rest. I don't race well when I taper or rest. Tapering and resting worked great for me when I ran track in high school and college. But I swim and bike best when I do normal volume the weeks leading to a big tri or aquabike.

3. If I did this same race over, I would have my bike fixed so that I would be able to change chain rings on the steeper hills.

4. In cold weather races like this, a thinking person would have at least one warm drink on their bike. Some chicken broth in a thermos would have raised my core temp.




Transition 2
  • 00m
Run
  • 00m
  • 0 kms
  •  min/km
Post race
Event comments:

Great swim. Nightmarish bike. Overall result in aquabike division, disgusting and embarrassing. I train too hard to perform this slowly.




Last updated: 2010-10-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:24:22 | 1500 meters | 01m 37s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
My fastest 1500 swim. I started my watch when I actually started swimming and stopped. This race included the 10 yard walk and slow entry due to slick surface, and the excessively long run-walk to the transition into the swim time. My official time was like 27 but my real swim was 24:22. Other than some noble soul who swam pulling a physically challenged young man (more power to them both), I was the last person into the water. The swim was cold, so I was careful not to start too fast. The combination of open water swimming and cold make lots of people go out way too fast. Then the cold water effect where the body pushes blood to the brain makes them die. Starting super conservative in the cold is crucial. It was an almost perfect swim for me. I just clicked into a rhythm and kept going. Sighting was easy, I passed people not just from my wave but much earlier waves, I never felt particularly tired. T
Suit: de soto two piece
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:00
Performance:
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:20:00 | 90 kms | 27.00 km/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Wind: Some
Course:
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Bad Hills: Bad
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:00:00 | 00 kms |  min/km
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]