Celebration Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Columbia, Maryland
United States
Tricolumbia
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 50m 44s
Overall Rank = 143/994
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 20/82
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4AM, couldn't get back to sleep, so I just took my time getting ready to head out the door. Once I reached the race site, mostly obsessed over my tires since I flatted before even getting on my bike last year. I hoped for something under 1:55 this year, and that maybe with a good day could get down towards 1:50.
Event warmup:

No real warm up, just wandered around and then helped my wife kid-wrangle once they arrived.
Swim
  • 22m 18s
  • 1000 meters
  • 02m 14s / 100 meters
Comments:

Probably started too close to shore, it felt like I was boxed in for the first 200 meters or so. I felt really comfortable after that, sighted really well. The only rough part is that every swim I've ever done in Centennial, I start getting nauseous over the last bit of the swim. No fun controlling the gag reflex during a swim. I must have misread my watch getting out of the water, thought it said 25 minutes, it was actually 22! I agree with another report that it must have been shorter than last year, since that's a four minute improvement. Very excited to see my cheering section at bike out, and only slightly less excited to have two tires full of air.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, other than make the decision to detour around the folks early on, but it seemed like a waste of energy.
Transition 1
  • 02m 31s
Comments:

No problems here. Didn't set the world on fire or anything.
Bike
  • 56m 48s
  • 17.5 miles
  • 18.49 mile/hr
Comments:

Unfortunately my Garmin screwed up early in the ride, so I lost my ability to tell my speed and time. Plus, being in the first wave made it a little lonely out there. But, the ride felt really good, pushed in the right places, and I think made up 8 or 9 places on the ride. I had one guy stand up to try and challenge my pass right before Mt. Albert, I don't think he knew what was coming up, and didn't end up seeing him again after that. When I had someone in my sights it was good motivation to push a bit, otherwise I might have held back a bit. Still, this probably ended up being about the same effort as last year, minus the flat.
What would you do differently?:

I don't really have a problem with the hills on this course, but I'm getting a compact crank this week and will be interested in seeing the difference it makes.
Transition 2
  • 01m 12s
Comments:

Nothing exciting here, except getting to hear as I left transition that I was the 23rd person out on the run course. Sure there's 1000 people who started later than me, but I'll take whatever good news I can get.
Run
  • 27m 57s
  • 3.4 miles
  • 08m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

Even more so than on the bike course, it felt pretty lonely out there. Even though I've run the course dozens of times, for the first 3/4 mile I caught myself a couple of times wondering if I was on course. Weird. Again, lack of mental focus on my part made it tough to push without other runners around. Didn't really move up or down in AG standings throughout, pretty much every time I passed someone, someone else would blow by me a minute later. Ended up about a minute slower than last year. I felt really good coming up to the finish, slowed a little to check if my older daughter (3) wanted to finish with me, but she was fine just watching so I kicked it in, I saw the 1:50 and change on the clock, which made me pretty happy.
What would you do differently?:

Push a little more. My legs felt fine, but aerobically I just wasn't quite there.
Post race
Warm down:

Met up with the family, hugs all around (better than any finisher medal!). One great thing about an early wave, no line for the massage or food tents, so I took advantage of both. We hung out for a little bit up on the hill and watched the finishers coming in, and headed out at around 10.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Need to focus more, I zoned out a little bit when there weren't other folks around.

Event comments:

Never any complaints about a CTA race. They make the trains run on time, and it's always a quality experience. Also fun in that this is a tough course for a "sprint" so it's a great lead in for longer distance later in the year.




Last updated: 2010-11-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:22:18 | 1000 meters | 02m 14s / 100meters
Age Group: 31/82
Overall: 279/994
Performance: Good
Suit: N/A
Course: Loop in the lovely, stagnant, Centennial Lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 83F / 28C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:31
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:56:48 | 17.5 miles | 18.49 mile/hr
Age Group: 22/82
Overall: 150/994
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Out and bike with hills.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:12
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:27:57 | 03.4 miles | 08m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 24/82
Overall: 194/994
Performance: Average
Course: Loop around Centennial Lake with an out and back to the upper part of the park.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5