Massachusetts State Triathlon - Sprint Course - TriathlonSprint


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Winchendon, Massachusetts
United States
Max Performance
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 31m 49s
Overall Rank = 172/273
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 3/6
Pre-race routine:

Pre - race began the night before - when, after an emotional day I considered (and did) leap at a night at my mother's when pondering the fact that my daughter stays up 'til midnight, the neighbors were having a party and my husband was going to be up late working on drawing comic books (he's a professional artist in his spare time). I was emotionally done when transitioning there and forgot some major items:
a. watch
b. race belt
c. SPORTS BRA!

Anyway, I snuggled in for my 4 to 4.5 hours of sleep and woke in the morning and made my usual protein/carbo fav. to cover 200 calories/hour: english muffin with peanut butter :) Stretched a lot, packed a coffee..er, planned a pit stop!
Event warmup:

I got to the race place with a fair amount of time to prepare. The vendors were NOT open (where I thought I could purchase a race belt)...but a nice man actually had an extra that he got from Triathlete magazine that he GAVE to me :D (more on this in a bit). To backtrack some, I decided to wear my Victoria Secret push-up bra for the entire event rather than go without. I may have been carrying some extra padding, but it was in the right places ;) ANYWAY - the watch situation just had to be plain ol'e tolerated.

I opened up a few gels, one Hammer w/caffeine (Espresso) to be consumed 15 minutes before start and one to be consumed right before the bike (Huckleberry). I set up my area and ran in and out of the TA to help acclimate myself.

The guy next to me thanked me for having "such a colorful bike" to help him find his. Nice. My bike says " Smith & Wesson " on it and is orange and blue camo. It is so tacky that it. is. awesome.

Ben found me which made everything awesomer, and he brought fans which made everything wicked more awesomer.
Swim
  • 08m 20s
  • 587 yards
  • 01m 25s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started off a bit worried - still not quite trusting the "glide" ...eventually I noticed that when I was gliding I could:
a. breathe
b. pass people like they were treading water
considering a and b, I glid(ed) the rest of the way :)
What would you do differently?:

Not be too cocky - I need to spend more time in the pool/open water. Two Athenas passed me here. I could have placed differently were I more prepared.
Transition 1
  • 02m 38s
Comments:

I put on socks, took off wetsuit...high maintenance athlete here! My T1 might not have been super fast, but I was comfortable for the whole race and that's got to count for something. That being said, now that Asics has come out with a new super sexy barefoot tri shoe I may have to go barefoot next time ;) Glad I rolled my socks, had everything organized.

Oh! Guess what? My race belt buckle FELL OFF! I had to tie that sucker on.
What would you do differently?:

Trust that the wetsuit comes off no problem. No unnecessary fumbling.
Bike
  • 47m 37s
  • 12.5 miles
  • 15.75 mile/hr
Comments:

Tough course. I cat-and-moused with two major people. One was an older gentlemen who told me to "get on it" when he passed me. I passed him back and he said "there you go!..I don't want to see you again!" I told him he was super motivating. He did pass me later (wah - wahhhh) but that's okay.

Next I was cat-and-mousing with this cool lady (number 300) that I later saw during the run. I told her she was fast and hard to catch. We exchanged a lot of motivation. She rocked.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing much. I was an animal ;) Seriously, I should ride my bike more.
Transition 2
  • 01m 32s
Comments:

"Jumping off moving bike"...where's the option: "hilarious" ?
Run
  • 31m 44s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 12s  min/mile
Comments:

Not having a watch was a real handicap for me. I think I could have given a lot more. I just tried to have fun. High-fived:
Athena pals
Ben!
the cool lady from the bike leg

I'm proud of this though, this used to be my average for a plain old 5K :)
What would you do differently?:

have proper equipment (and possible amazingly sexy Asics shoes...) ;)
Post race
Warm down:

Thanked Ben, his brother and his friends profusely for cheering me on (they even made a sign that said "Go, Grace, Go!" ), Stretched, chatted with my new Athena pals (We're hot and curvy), ate a free meal of pulled pork, coleslaw and sports drink. Ben bought the drink. Thanks, Ben.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Equipment - a real bra, no watch, faulty race belt. Such is life. I had fun. Truly.

Event comments:

Tons of volunteers, great food, great everything - wished there were award-winner photos :) Also, the vendors didn't seem to show up and set up so well... Overall, great race, can't wait to do it again next year!!!!




Last updated: 2011-06-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:20 | 587 yards | 01m 25s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/6
Overall: 70/273
Performance: Good
Calm, beautiful lake. Ahhh...I want to go play in it now!!
Suit: sleeveless wetsuit
Course: "U" shape. Loved.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:38
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:47:37 | 12.5 miles | 15.75 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/6
Overall: 158/273
Performance: Good
1 lap for Sprint.
Wind: Little
Course: Beautiful course. One HUGE hill - it's at least a mile. They warn ya' about the .75 piece, but truly, there is some 7mph action happening for at least 1.5 miles total! Whew!
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:32
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Bad
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:31:44 | 03.11 miles | 10m 12s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/6
Overall: 210/273
Performance: Average
Shady. Lovely. Out and back.
Course:
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5