Capital of Texas Triathlon - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic


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Austin, Texas
United States
RunTex
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 06m
Overall Rank = 804/1266
Age Group = F20-24
Age Group Rank = 14/27
Pre-race routine:

Stayed at the host hotel, so i got to sleep in till 5:30. bike was already racked at transition overnight, so i just ate a bagel with pb and a banana on the walk over to the race start. drank as much water as i could (maybe 24 oz). and a little orange gatorade.

Event warmup:

didnt warm up, just stretched and talked to some BTers and some other people around my transistion area. had to wait around about an hour before my wave start, which made me really nervous for some reason. my bf and my rice water polo coach were also doing the olympic, too. i tried to get coach to give me one of his legendary pep talks, but he refused ;)
Swim
  • 26m 6s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 44s / 100 meters
Comments:

My strategy worked out pretty well: started at the front right next to the buoy and stayed on the inside track the whole time. i was able to sprint out in the front pack and just stay there so i didnt have to worry about sighting too much. just looked up every 25m or so to make sure i was still heading for the next buoy. was able to pass some people rounding the buoys, since it seemed to get bogged down there.
I was really lucky to get next to a girl who was swimming at a good pace; we swam right next to each other the entire time. About half way through I started passing people with blue caps (the previous wave) and then, towards, the end it got pretty choppy and crowded with white (mine), blue and even red caps. i had to do some defensive driving to pass a girl with a white cap at the very end. turns out she wasnt in my ag, but it was still fun to sprint it out to the end.

weird note: the three guys that i know from Rice Water polo (my bf, my coach and another friend) doing the olympic all finished the swim in less than one minute under my time (all in the 25 minute range).
What would you do differently?:

Work more on my pull so that i could save my legs a little better.
Transition 1
  • 05m 27s
Comments:

Ok, this was absolutely pathetic. i didnt even have a wetsuit to worry about. i was seriously disoriented getting out of the water and i walked quite a bit of the long haul into transition. then, a camera crew was all in my face asking me questions about how the swim went. i just sucked on this transition. i did manage to drink a lot of gatorade and get my socks, shoes, gloves, helmet and sunglasses on. technically fine, just slower than slow.
What would you do differently?:

run from the swim to T1 (not walk part way). get my act together and get on the bike!!!!
Bike
  • 1h 22m 43s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 18.03 mile/hr
Comments:

Got into my pedals right away, thankfully. I am still working on being 100% comfortable on my bike, so I was v glad I didnt have any technical problems during the race. Was able to keep a good pace and pass quite a few people right away. I felt like I was flying on the downhills--the course felt so fast. A couple of hills were a bit steep and i felt like i was crawling, but i tried to keep the revolutions up and managed to recover pretty quickly.
felt pretty strong and consistent until the last loop, when my hamstrings (and the muscle right behind my knees, weird) started getting a little fatigued. backed it off a little to save some legs for the run.
my bf caught up to me at the last quarter mile of the bike (he was on his first loop of the bike since his wave started a good 45 min following mine). glad to see a familiar face, even if it was only for a minute. dismount was fine, but slow.
What would you do differently?:

Learn how to drink on the bike--yep, i drank none of my gatorade. i just didnt want to risk falling or dropping my water bottle and having to go back for it. i am so uncoordinated.
I need to practice my hill climbing and also cornering/bike handling. basically, i need a lot more practice in the saddle before i can expect to improve my speed.
Transition 2
  • 04m 6s
Comments:

Ok, repeat of pitiful T1. Just really slow. I had readjust my bike three times. I drank a lot of Gatorade to make up for my poor hydration on the bike. Ate my Gu on the run out of T2.
What would you do differently?:

Drink on the bike. Practice racking my bike.
Run
  • 1h 07m 38s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

Ok, but I felt zapped by the heat. It was cloudy and even a little rainy on the bike, but the sun came out in full force for the run. wonderful. Spectators must have thought I was near death. Slow, consistent shuffle--but i did not walk! yay for that. It was slow, but I am not that surprised. I just suck on the run. I am working on it.
I need to practice some bricks, to get used to the dead leg feeling. My hr hovered at about 173-175, which is not that high for me. i wanted to go faster, and i think i physically could have, i just couldnt get my legs to cooperate. it was a weird feeling. i was feeling ok, but hot, the entire time--i just could not go any faster.
What would you do differently?:

Practice more bricks and practice running in the heat.
Post race
Warm down:

Just chilled and ate popsicles and stretched and waited for my friends to finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Poor practice of transitions. Poor practice running in heat and not enough running after biking.

Event comments:

For my first Olympic, I was very happy overall. I had a great time on the course and I exceeded my expectations. Very well organized race. I will definitely try to do this one again next year to (greatly) improve my time!




Last updated: 2006-03-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:06 | 1500 meters | 01m 44s / 100meters
Age Group: 2/27
Overall: 0/1266
Performance: Good
Suit: tri suit
Course: one long skinny loop (in town lake, i think), thankfully lots of big buoys.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:27
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:22:43 | 24.85 miles | 18.03 mile/hr
Age Group: 15/27
Overall: 0/1266
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course: Four mildly hilly loops around downtown and the capitol. They closed off all vehicular traffic, so we had the road all to ourselves. So cool!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 04:06
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Bad
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
01:07:38 | 06.21 miles | 10m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 16/27
Overall: 0/1266
Performance: Below average
Course: Two loops around downtown, mildly hilly. Partially shaded.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4