USAT Age Group National Championships - TriathlonOlympic


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Burlington, Vermont
United States
USA Triathlon
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 34m 58s
Overall Rank = 1166/1989
Age Group = F 35-39
Age Group Rank = 65/142
Pre-race routine:

Everytime before a race, I like to do something active everyday, even if it's walking the dog or mowing the lawn. I didn't have the luxury this time--I had to drive 12 hours to get there. While we made pit stops, we played tag and checked out the sights along our way.

The day before the race, we drove the course, racked the bike and tried to sleep. I walked through transitions so I wouldn't get confused and tried to find landmarks for the swim. (That won't matter anyway if you continue to read...)
Event warmup:

I arrived around 6:15 to beat the rush just in case I forgot anything. Steve took the kids back to the hotel, so this was the first time without a sherpa. I made sure everything was where it was supposed to go before I checked my bag. I kept a shirt out--thank goodness for that. It was a COLD and WINDY morning.
Swim
  • 27m 12s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 49s / 100 meters
Comments:

I felt I swam just fine. I never paniced thanks to my Lake Erie training growing up. The waves didn't scare me. Sure it made the swim tougher, but what slowed me down the most was a) the start: I wanted the outside. Somehow I ended up in the middle of the 2nd row. Horrible placement. b) the rolling 4' waves made it very difficult to spot the orange bouys. The yellow color was much better to work with. c) the sun: As you turned to head back into the harbor, the sun was at such an angle you couldn't escape it. The rolling waves disoriented you. I looked up and saw 2 distinct courses of swimmers--to the left or to the right. I knew the picture of the course in my head. I went right and chose correctly. All I could follow was the kicking of someone to my right then I finally saw a guide bouy. Again, I was never scared, I just felt blind.
What would you do differently?:

Go with my gut and go right instead of treading and trying to figure it out.
Transition 1
  • 02m 38s
Comments:

I finally remembered to put my bike in a good gear. Fortunately also, I was positioned right near the bike out so I didn't have to run with it so quickly after the swim.
What would you do differently?:

Run faster through transition. I felt good coming out of the water remarkably, but I knew there were hills coming so I saved it.
Bike
  • 1h 17m 58s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 19.12 mile/hr
Comments:

Driving it made it seem worse than it was. At 3am I woke and was worried, maybe even paniced, about the hills. We don't have hills like that here. I trained on terrain similar the best I could. The wind was pushing me up the hill I believe. That was the direction it was coming from. Also, I thought I'd go much faster on the downhills than I did. I was tuned into my inner granny, too. I used it more than normal to be sure I brought my running legs to the game.

Overall, I played it smarter than normal for me. I grannied it, but I also pushed it when I found myself being lazy. I actully did better than I though I would on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Ride with a group during training. Find a free coach. Add rockets to my back for the bike. I need to figure this out!
Transition 2
  • 01m 35s
Comments:

Again, I think I resisted going faster because I didn't want to blow up. Thankfully, no one was around me for the dismount. It was a very narrow area--maybe 3 feet wide. Just a running paty, really.
What would you do differently?:

Go faster.
Run
  • 45m 35s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

I trained for that hill over and over again. I ran Carriage Rd for endurance and used the incline on the treadmill whenever I couldn't get outdoors. Always--first mile up then reduced the incline and sped up my runs. The training seemed to help. I felt great on this run. The hill even seemed shorter than I expected, but steeper. Since I bring my infinit, I just dumped water on me when I got the slightest bit hot. The temperature and breeze cooled me down instantly.
What would you do differently?:

Push it. Although, I did feel myself slow down and corrected that behavior. I even picked up the speen in the last 2 miles, with my last mile being under 7 minutes. I felt great doing it, too! I need to realize that I should push my heart and muscles in racing and not let it go to status quo.
Post race
Warm down:

Saw Steve and kids near the finish but lost him for a little bit. Didn't really warm down since there were so many people and not much room. Spent time hearing Steve get phone calls from people telling him they saw my finish online!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fear. Fear of losing my mojo on the run if I pushed it on the bike, or on the bike if I pushed it on the swim. I feel that I at least am wise to it now.

Other than that, the stinkin' BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, not the bike, but my biking ability!

Event comments:

This may have been the biggest race I have done. By far, the biggest competition in my age group. Rev3 only had 34 in my AG. This had 142! I knew I'd get crushed, but my goal (besides finishing) was to finish in the middle of my AG pack. That was accomplished -- Top 58% overall, top 38% female, top 45% AG. A mixed bag. I was pleased I qualified to attend and wanted to go for the experience. I can't complain about anything. This was the icing on the cake. The good Lord answered all my prayers again. I'll write more about this in my blog: www.tritritritri.blogspot.com




Last updated: 2012-02-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:27:12 | 1500 meters | 01m 49s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/142
Overall: 793/1989
Performance: Below average
Garmin said I swam 1600. I wouldn't doubt this. I'm never too far off the bouys, but this was ridiculous.
Suit: xterra vol sleeveless
Course: A funky rectangle. It is very similar to Cleveland, but the orientation of the rectangle is at a 45 degree angle to the breakwall which helped with confusion from the rolling waves and blinding sun.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: High
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 02:38
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:17:58 | 24.85 miles | 19.12 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/142
Overall: 1493/1989
Performance: Average
AHR: 156 MHR: 170 1600 ft of climbing My heart rate is never this high on the bike. It did significantly decrease over time. You can definitely tell when a hill hit, though.
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: One loop with a turnaround. Rolling hills with beautiful scenery. Great devotion that morning tied into it.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:35
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:45:35 | 06.21 miles | 07m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/142
Overall: 967/1989
Performance: Good
AHR: 171 MHR: 179 141 ft climbing in first half mile final mile was under 7 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!
Course: up a ginormous hill then pretty flat along a rectangular path-- city streets out then running path in
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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] 5