Pittsburgh Triathlon - International Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
United States
Piranha Sports, LLC
Total Time = 2h 31m 47s
Overall Rank = 101/358
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 16/41
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:45, ate two Hammer bars, and took a quick shower to wake up. Drove 30 minutes to race site and parked with enough time to get race chip and set up transition. Visited port-o-pots by parking lot which had no toilet paper. A fellow triathlete realized my plight and kindly offered wet wipes. Thank you!
Event warmup:

Finished transition set up as it closed and I was in first race wave. I stretched a little bit and got in the water.
Swim
  • 24m 38s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 30s / 100 yards
Comments:

I brought my wetsuit just in case and was one of the few with one on.

I consider myself a decent swimmer and figured I would be able to keep up with some faster swimmers without wetsuits. This was the case and there was aggressive, competitive contact all the way to the first turn buoy. The downstream current was strong and I turned in a very fast swim for me, breaking last year's time (w/o wetsuit) by almost 6 minutes.

I was excited on the way back as someone drafted off me almost the whole way. I've never been that good to be worth drafting off of! I was however humbled at how good some folks are, as there were plenty without wetsuits that still beat me!
What would you do differently?:

I pushed it hard at the start and felt like I hit a wall before the turn buoy, so I need to practice a strong start more. My sighting on the way back was not as good and I was far to the left for a while. It was odd, I felt so slow the whole time but managed to turn in a really good time for me. So, I guess I just need to keep training to get even faster.
Transition 1
  • 01m 41s
Comments:

I had trimmed about a half inch off the legs of my wetsuit since they always got stuck on my heels. This worked as I was able to pop my legs out. The bike rack bar was low and I had to tilt my bike to get it out, wasting a few seconds.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. The low bike rack bar is beyond my control.
Bike
  • 1h 16m 16s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 19.55 mile/hr
Comments:

This was my best bike performance of any race. Pushed hard on the uphills, hammered downhill. Didn't care about anything my computer said except cadence and otherwise worked my legs as hard as they would let me. I'm getting more comfortable with fast speeds downhill and this was the first time in the aero position all the way downhill in Pittsburgh! I also have finally figured out the course so that I don't hit any rumble strips.

I took a Gu Roctane at the start of each loop and drank most of my two bottles of water throughout the leg.
What would you do differently?:

Keep training and get better at hills.
Transition 2
  • 01m 7s
Comments:

Good T2 for me. I don't know how to pop out of my bike shoes yet and flew past three men doing this before the last turn towards the dismount line. The ground was muddy so the cleat sank in the ground and allowed me to run full speed. This ended up being faster than those guys anyway. Again the low bike rack bar made the racking process take a few extra seconds than it should have.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I hope they make the bike rack bars a bit higher next year.
Run
  • 48m 4s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

This was a great run for me. One month earlier at the Philadelphia Insurance Olympic distance tri I wanted to break 50 minutes and came close at 50:32. This time I was determined to break it.

First mile was about 8 minutes, second mile a little slower. Then I picked it up and negative splitted my run. I walked a few steps through the first aid station to properly wash down a Gu Roctane, but ran the rest of the time and even skipped the last (mile 5) aid station.

On the back leg I kept spotting a runner in front of me, setting my sights and chasing him down. Three runners in a row were also in my age group! I finished by waving my arms to pump up the crowd as I crossed the finish line!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I broke my goal of 50 minutes on the run. I can only keep training to get faster.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed my medal, water, and waited for my brother to finish with his own Pittsburgh course PR. Grabbed some food, went to brother's house for a shower, and then drove home to Ashburn, VA.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I am extremely happy with my race but more training will of course produce faster times. I wanted at first to break 2:39:00 and then pushed for breaking 2:35:00 when I learned the race was wetsuit legal. 2:31:47 was a great time for me and now I want to break 2:30:00 next year, with or without wetsuit!

Event comments:

This is an annual event for my brother and me. I especially liked that the Sprint was done on Saturday, which made the course less crowded on Sunday. The swim start was a bit late, but I really appreciate the free parking for the race, which cut down the lines for parking. Overall it was well done this year and I'll be back.




Last updated: 2012-06-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:24:38 | 1640 yards | 01m 30s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 84/358
Performance: Average
Suit: sleeveless blueseventy wetsuit
Course: Roughly 500m upstream, cross-river at turn buoy, 1000m downstream, small cross-river to finish.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:41
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:16:16 | 24.85 miles | 19.55 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 153/358
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Two loops, out and back along toll road. The "out" is mostly uphill and the "back" is mostly downhill.
Road:   Cadence: 95
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:07
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:48:04 | 06.21 miles | 07m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 96/358
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back along flat riverside trail. Mostly paved, partly dirt course.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4