YMCA Colonial Beach International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Colonial Beach, Virginia
United States
Set Up Events
80sF / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 05m 59s
Overall Rank = 219/254
Age Group = 40-44M
Age Group Rank = 31/32
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 3. Instant grits for breakfast with orange juice. Powerade and Pop Tarts for the road. Drove about an hour 45 minutes to the race. Picked up my packet, set up transition and got in the water just to loosen up and get a feel for it, also to see what the course looked like from the water. Met some other Richmond Tri Club folks and hung out with them.
Event warmup:

Swam maybe 100-200 yards just to loosen up and get a feel for the water.
Swim
  • 40m 9s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 40s / 100 meters
Comments:

First open water swim. Swimming is my weakest discipline - all I wanted to do was successfully get through it without a panic attack. Took it slow and easy and did ok (no trouble breathing or panic), just slow. Sighted ok.
What would you do differently?:

Just need to learn to swim faster and build endurance. I'm too cheap to pay for lessons, but I need to take advantage of my club's free coached swims.
Transition 1
  • 02m 1s
Comments:

Took longer getting socks and shoes on than I'd like, but all in all ok. 87th of 179 men.
Bike
  • 1h 20m 9s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 18.60 mile/hr
Comments:

Tried to get and hold 18 mph. Ended up with 17.8 per Garmin - avg shown here is a little high, actual course length was a little under 24 but I don't know exactly because I hit my watch a little late.
It was a nice course. There was some car traffic out there every now and then - a line of cars was backing up behind a slower bike in front of me, so I had fun riding by the cars 2 feet to my left with the grass 1 foot to my right.
What would you do differently?:

I think I pushed the bike a little hard and didn't leave myself enough for the run. Also didn't drink as much as I should have - I only used about one bottle of the two that I had - wasn't thirsty, but should have stocked up on fluids before the run.
Transition 2
  • 01m 15s
Comments:

The one good thing about biking in running shoes is a fast T2. 17th out of 179 men.
Run
  • 1h 02m 27s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

Mile splits tell the story. I just got tired. Heart rate climbed slowly while my pace dropped off. I just got over strep less than a week ago, and I haven't had a good run since. Plus I was likely dehydrated, even though my stomach felt like I was drinking too much, thinking back on it I didn't really drink too much for the conditions. Granted this was my first Oly, but the run was 13 minutes slower than my best 10K. In a sprint tri I'm only about 1:30 slower than a regular 5K.
What would you do differently?:

Drink more. Take the bike easier so I'd have a better run.
Post race
Warm down:

Got in the shade and got some fluids. I was wiped out.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

A weeklong bout with strep wrecked my taper. I did manage to get a 24 mile ride and a 4 mile run in during the last week, but I didn't swim for the last 10 days prior due to sinus congestion - figured it might only make me sicker.

Event comments:

Nice race and I shouldn't beat myself up too much considering it was my first OWS and first Oly. I was just bummed that I ran out of steam on the run. I could have broken 3hrs with a 56 minute 10K, which I thought I should be able to do. I was just too wiped out. I definitely have more respect for the distance now. The individual legs don't sound all that big, but it adds up to a long race.




Last updated: 2011-06-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:09 | 1500 meters | 02m 40s / 100meters
Age Group: 32/32
Overall: 237/254
Performance: Average
Suit: No wetsuit, just tri top and tri shorts
Course: Somewhat rectangular course in the river.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 81F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:01
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:20:09 | 24.85 miles | 18.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 30/32
Overall: 202/254
Performance: Average
avg HR 163
Wind: Little
Course: Rolling hills. Nothing too terrible, but not pancake flat by any means.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:15
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:02:27 | 06.21 miles | 10m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 29/32
Overall: 213/254
Performance: Bad
avg hr 167 mile splits 9:14 9:25 9:55 10:32 10:41 11:01
Course: Completely flat. But no shade at all except for parts of mile 2-4.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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