Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Columbia, MD, Maryland
United States
Columbia Triathlon Assoc.
55F / 13C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 35m 40s
Overall Rank = 233/1331
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 35/170
Pre-race routine:

Stayed at Dad's, so I actually got a little extra sleep for this race. Woke up at 4:20. Ate a banana, drank 16 oz water, ate hot ham/cheese wrap in truck. Got to transition just after 5:00, and stayed in the truck for a while because it was cold - 43 deg. I reluctantly schlepped my gear down to TA and set up. Ate a Clif bar 1 hour before start, and a banana half hour before. Drank more water.
Event warmup:

Basically I just walked around. The cold was uncomfortable and I had a hard time getting pumped up for the race. I walked down to the swim start and briefly said hello to Shaun (CubeFarmGopher) - he seemed rather busy putting temp tattoos on nubile young women. So I had killed enough time to get my wetsuit on and head to the start.
Swim
  • 29m 50s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 49s / 100 yards
Comments:

Stink, stank, stunk. I could not have imagined a worse swim. I don't know if I was disarmed by the chilly water, the fact that it was my first open water swim of the year, or I just couldn't get used to not seeing anything below the surface after staring at a nice blue line all winter. For the first 2-300 yds I just couldn't bring myself to put my head down and swim. It was weird. I kept telling myself to just swim, even if its slow, just concentrate on your form. Instead I kept popping my head up and swimming head up or breast stroking. Then I kept asking myself, "What the hell are you going to do during Eagleman?" It was embarassing. Finally I reached the first turn, and my goggles were fogged up, so I rolled onto my back and wiped the insides of the lenses. For whatever reason this new found clarity settled me down and I was able to swim. I was breathing every stroke for the most part, but I felt like I was making progress. At this point, I was so far in the back of the pack that I was surrounded by "weaker" swimmers and kept running into people as I attempted to pass them. I felt pretty strong over the last half of the swim, and even had some stretches of bilateral breathing. I could finally concentrate on form, but it was still a very disappointing effort.
What would you do differently?:

More open water swim practice. Plain and simple.
Transition 1
  • 03m 44s
Comments:

Wetsuit stuck a little bit, but not too bad. First race of the season, so I expected a little hesitancy on my part. Not real speedy, but it didn't make or break me.
What would you do differently?:

Well, I need to wear socks on the run and I like wearing socks on the bike, especially running through T2. It costs me some time, but that's the way it goes. I should have practiced wetsuit removal more - like say at the open water swim practices I should have been doing.
Bike
  • 1h 15m 18s
  • 25.48 miles
  • 20.30 mile/hr
Comments:

After the swim I was kind of out of it mentally. I had a headache and was kicking myself mercilessly. But the show must go on. Training on the Eastern Shore it's tough to get used to the hills. They were non-stop. The funny thing is that I feel like I'm an above average hill climber. I was passing people going up every hill. I'm more than happy to get out of the saddle and grind up a hill. I got into a back and forth with another guy from my age group for quite a few miles - he would pass me going downhill and I would pass him going uphill. A little more than halfway through the ride a strange/bad/funny thing happened. After a particularly steep decent I got to the top of the next grade and thought that my front tire had gotten flat - perhaps not totally, but mushy. So, I stop and check it - hard as a brick. "What are you doing you dumbass?!" The funny part was that I quickly caught back up to Mr. Downhill, and that was the last that I saw of him.
Some of the downhills were quite steep and curvy. The roads were a little on the rough side, and going in and out of shady areas made me a little uneasy on the decents. I know I lost some time by riding on the horns, but coming from the flat lands I'm just not comfortable going more than 40mph with those conditions. One of the times I was going down a steep grade I tried to push a little harder, but met with no resistance from the pedals. "Oh shit, did I slip the chain?" No, you just left it on the 39 ring from the last hill climb - dumbass manuever #3. Overall, pretty pleased with the bike.
Drank half a bottle of Perpetuem w/a gel mixed in (~284 cal).
What would you do differently?:

Train more on hills. The two biggest limiters were timing and fear. I constantly got caught in the wrong gear and found myself appling power during the wrong part of the hill. One time I was actually passing someone on a downhill and the next thing I know I was cresting the top of the next hill at 23mph. "Hey, maybe that's the way its supposed to work." Without practice on extended downhills and having never ridden the course before, I was just unnerved by some of the decents.
Transition 2
  • 01m 22s
Comments:

It's pretty obvious when you're approaching the TA, so I had ample time to get my feet out of my shoes. The only time waster here was that my bike just fit under the rack in transition, so I had to take the bottles out of my rear holder before I could rack it.
What would you do differently?:

Hang it by the brakes.
Run
  • 45m 28s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

I don't remember all the details, but as I recall there may have been a hill or two on the course. The first two miles were exactly what I had expected, although I was pleasantly surpised by my pace. That quickly changed. After leaving the park, the hills got steeper and longer. I managed to pass quite a few people, including a fair number of 35-39's that went off in the previous wave. That made me feel good, because I had no handle on my pace - just short steps on the way up and long strides on the way down.
Took a gel at mile 2 or 3, and drank water at every other aid station.
What would you do differently?:

Perhaps train on hills more, especially longer ones. I do hill repeats as part of my training, but they're much shorter than the hills I encountered here.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, grabbed a banana, drank some water, headed over to transition and drank my Endurox. I chatted with several racers, including JohnnyKay, who I had seen earlier on the run course. I couldn't find Brenda and the kids, so I walked to the truck to call. Turns out they couldn't make it because B had been up all night with Raider. That was a bummer - wished they could have been there because it was a great venue and a nice, relaxing atmosphere.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My inability to swim and to tell when my tires are flat. And, there are not many hills on the Eastern Shore.

Event comments:

A very challenging race. I felt pretty good to come in at 2:35 (top 21%) considering the way the race started. Also, it was the kind of course that knowing what to expect plays a role in how fast you go - when to push, when to hold back, etc... It made me feel like I left some time on the course. This year I have not sought out hills to train on and have tried to do more aerobic endurance workouts than threshold workouts. I believe I can break 2:30 if I choose to make this race more of a focus of my training.




Last updated: 2006-03-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:50 | 1640 yards | 01m 49s / 100yards
Age Group: 100/170
Overall: 0/1331
Performance: Bad
avg HR=133
Suit: Pro Motion sleeveless
Course: Sort of a counter clockwise "G" shape - it finished in a different spot from the start.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 66F / 19C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Bad Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:44
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:15:18 | 25.48 miles | 20.30 mile/hr
Age Group: 25/170
Overall: 0/1331
Performance:
avg HR=139
Wind: Some
Course: Rolling hills, some bigger than others, through sparse residential/farm land (in Howard Cty?!). No flat stretches at all.
Road:  Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Below average Hills: Average
Race pace: Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:22
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:45:28 | 06.21 miles | 07m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 22/170
Overall: 0/1331
Performance: Good
1. 7:02.7 HR=149 2. 6:51.8 HR=153 3,4. 15:20.7 HR=153 5,6. 14:47.6 HR=151 0.21 1:26.4 HR=158 Missed the mile 3 and 5 markers, probably at the aid stations.
Course: Around Centennial Lake, then up (up, up, up) in a neighborhood, then finishing back in the park.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4