Escape from Ft. Delaware Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Delaware City, Delaware
United States
PIRANHA SPORTS
62F / 17C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 06m 39s
Overall Rank = 158/287
Age Group = Clydes
Age Group Rank = 9/18
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 3am for the early morning transition opening.

Had a bagel and cream cheese with some water for breakfast.
Racked the bike and hopped on the first ferry over to Ft Delaware to wait out the time until the start.

I tried to get some sleep on the island, but it was cool and very windy so I never really dozed off.
Event warmup:

The most warmup I got was when I went hiking up to the Fort looking for an extra port-a-potty. There were none, so I had to hike an extra 1/4 mile to some tree cover.

I did find a nice spot with sunshine for some stretching.
Swim
  • 39m 57s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 26s / 100 yards
Comments:

The fierce winds kicked up some pretty big waves. As we were ready to jump in, I saw that there were at least a half dozen people grasping onto kayaks and they were only a few meters out of the start.

We were called to jump in and the RD did a quick countdown from 10 so that we didn't float away. One thing that surprised me was that, when I jumped in, only 3 feet down, everything went black. I knew that this was going to be a fun swim through murky river water.

I tried to breathe bilaterally but ended up consistently taking on water. I eventually settled on a breathing rhythm that mapped the wave frequency, so I was consistently breathing on every stroke to the right as I decended the crest of the wave. It meant that I wasn't taking on as much water as before, but I also had to stop swimming to sight in.

The swim just seemed to go on and on, so I just started to focus on swimming from buoy to buoy. This seemed to get me through the anxiety of taking so long in the water.

At one point, my goggles had fogged up and increased my difficulty in sighting. I stopped and wiped them off with a finger. Not a good idea when you're floating in chopping water.
What would you do differently?:

More practice sighting in river and ocean swims.

Anti-fog on the goggles to keep them from clouding up and keeping me from having to stop mid-swim
Transition 1
  • 02m 22s
Comments:

I've gotten pretty good at the run and strip in my wetsuit. This time I made sure to hold on to my cap and goggles, unlike Columbia.

Suit off pretty easy. Socks and shoes on. Helmet buckled and shades on. Spritz of sunscreen and I'm off.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Bike
  • 1h 18m 29s
  • 24.9 miles
  • 19.04 mile/hr
Comments:

4TH in my AG!!! I can't believe that!

On the downside, I may have pushed too hard on the bike and paid for it on the run, but thats for later.

I kept a solid cadence and passed several people right out of the gate. I had fallen behind in the swim and now was the time to make up for it.

The practice for and race at Columbia prepared me well for how to handle climbing and descending. I geared down for a high cadence and passed some people who were hammering up in too high of a gear. I was able to keep a minimum speed of 14mph going up, and got up to 37mph on the descent.

Everything else on the course was pretty much flat, but I stayed in the aero bars, kept a high cadence and simply kept passing people.

After the 1/2 way point, I started to feel like maybe I was going out too hard and my back started to cramp up. My mind turned away from the pain as the wind became my foremost nemesis.

On the 2nd climb over the bridge, the winds were gusting pretty fierce by this time. I struggled through to maintain an 8mph climb and then really got a feeling for the winds when I maxed out at 18mph on the downhill while I was PUSHING!

One of the best feelings of the day was that I was not pulling up the rear of the course. Because I went out with my age group, it meant that there were others going after me. It gave me the feeling, for once, that I was not last on the course and that there would still be things going on when I came in at the finish.

When I came in, I realized that I didn't drink enough on the bike. There was still 1/3 of the gatorade left in my bottle.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing I can do about the wind.

Strengthen the back.

Drink more.
Transition 2
  • 01m 25s
Comments:

Solid transition. Bike shoes off, running shoes on. Quick drink of water and I was off.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to take off the shoes while still on the bike.
Run
  • 1h 04m 28s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 10m 24s  min/mile
Comments:

I thought I may have pushed too hard on the bike and this was where I paid for it.

Coming out of T2 my legs were simply dead. I kept up a run as best as I could, and walked through the water stations. I was also fighting a feeling of vomiting. The last gel that I took on the way out was simply sitting in my stomach like a rock.

I did get a boost when I passed Eric on the run and saw him going strong. That lasted for about a 1/2 mile until I fell back into a slogging rhythm and I was being consistently passed.

My final pace still recorded as a PR, but I'll have to get faster if I'm going to feel more comfortable in triathlons.

I sprinted out the last 1/2 mile after I saw my friends Eric and Kristen standing on the side of the road cheering me home.
What would you do differently?:

More water
More run training
Post race
Warm down:

Stretching and took in some water. Still trying to get my stomach to empty.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The swim was brutal and the wind on the bike was attrocious.

Event comments:

All in all, this was a fun race and a great opening salvo to my Triathlon dream weekend. The 2nd phase was spectating at Eagleman on Sunday.

I had one friend doing the race with me, and two more there to support. We all shared a suite at a hotel the night before, and it was like spring break again. A pure blast.

I did learn that I'd rather compete as an age grouper from now on, and not try to compete as a Clydesdale anymore. In the near future, I will not be able to compete in either classification, but I had SOOO much more fun racing when I knew that transition wouldn't be empty, the finish line would still be populated, and food would still be hot when I got done.


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Last updated: 2006-02-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:39:57 | 1640 yards | 02m 26s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/18
Overall: 162/287
Performance: Average
Suit: QR SuperFull
Course: Point to point swim from Ft Delaware Dock to Delaware City
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: High
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:22
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:18:29 | 24.9 miles | 19.04 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/18
Overall: 76/287
Performance:
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Flat and fast. 1 mile climb over a bridge at Mile 3 and back in at mile 22.
Road: Smooth  Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:25
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:04:28 | 06.2 miles | 10m 24s  min/mile
Age Group: 18/18
Overall: 0/287
Performance: Below average
Course: Flat out and back
Keeping cool Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3