Giant Acorn International - TriathlonOlympic


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Bumpass, Virginia
United States
Set Up Events
80+F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 57m 48s
Overall Rank = 190/293
Age Group = 50-55
Age Group Rank = 14/22
Pre-race routine:

Early in the week, I was really looking forward to this race. I felt like I had trained well on the bike and run, and was in decent shape for the swim. Unfortunately, on Thursday, something weird was going on in my head and it remained there on Friday. Major headache all day (both days) and had some aches in the shoulders as well. Could be stress, could be the nasty chest cold that Karen has had for the last week starting in on me. Guess we'll find out over the weekend.

Fell asleep on the couch the night before during the news, but got up and got in bed. Set my alarm for 6am just in case (I always wake up before 6am). Woah. Woke up to my alarm. That is strange in itself as normally I wake up on my own before 6am, but especially before a race. Got off around 7:15 or 7:30. Breakfast of coffee and cereal. Took some bread with me for the drive. Had printed out instructions this time as the last time I went to Lake Anna, no cell reception so lost on-line navigation. Managed to miss the turn AGAIN this year (Next year remember to turn left just after the CITGO station). So got there later than I would have liked after going off course for awhile. A few other logistical errors on my part, but got down to the start basically on time. Was sweating just setting up my transition area. Seemed odd. Could tell it was going to be a warm day.
Event warmup:

Just some stretching. Wore some old sneakers down to the swim start (that was smart). Saw Amy prior to the start.
Swim
  • 33m
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 01s / 100 yards
Comments:

Probably the most congested start I've had. Got kicked a bit, but nothing too nasty. Seemed like a long time before I found some clear water. Around the 1st and 2nd buoy (a little less than halfway), started to run into the previous wave of women swimmers. Also, there was one guy who was having even more navigation issues than I was, he seemed to be on some crossing patterns and I kept running into him. Started having trouble breathing after the turn buoys. Wasn't tired, just couldn't breathe well. In fact, I felt pretty strong toward the end except for the breathing issue (we'll come back to this). Did get grounded on the way back... very shallow to the right.
What would you do differently?:

Could have done better with navigation was a little wide throughout the course - wouldn't be surprised if I swam more than a mile.
Transition 1
  • 02m 43s
Bike
  • 1h 15m 22s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 19.78 mile/hr
Comments:

Despite all the biking in the last couple of months, I just felt weak today. Not horrible, but didn't have it. Fair amount of wind, but basically a nice day for a bike ride. I knew I was in trouble when my back started tightening up pretty bad about 3 miles into the segment. Makes me wonder if maybe it is swim/bike not bike/run that causes the back issue. Spent a fair amount of time just trying to stretch it out on the bike before I hit the run.
What would you do differently?:

I don't know. I was really disappointed. Thought I was going to do better.
Transition 2
  • 01m 48s
Run
  • 1h 04m 57s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, it was pretty warm by this time, but again was having breathing problems. Whenever I breathed in, my ear was clogged - like I was underwater or something. Felt kind of dizzy on the 2nd half of the run and my 2nd half splits showed it. Back was tight throughout the run, but that wasn't the main problem. I think I was at about 9:30 pace for the 1st half and 11+ on the 2nd half. Not good.
What would you do differently?:

This was even more disappointing than the bike. My legs weren't tired, but I just felt poorly. After all the mileage from the past month, I should have been better. I really thought I had a good shot at 56. Not even close.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

I guess we'll find out in the next few days if I'm coming down with something. Really weird, my muscles felt fine afterwards, but was achey in the wrong way.

Event comments:

Oh well. Not the best way to end the season. Thought everything was in place for a PR. On to Richmond half marathon. Will try not to dwell on this race.




Last updated: 2012-10-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:33:00 | 1640 yards | 02m 01s / 100yards
Age Group: 6/22
Overall: 108/293
Performance: Below average
Suit: tri shorts
Course: Long out and back. Some shallow points where my stroke hit bottom on the way back.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 79F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Average
Breathing: Bad Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:43
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:15:22 | 24.85 miles | 19.78 mile/hr
Age Group: 16/22
Overall: 198/293
Performance: Below average
I had 18.6 mph on my Garmin. 1st Lap was 19.0, 2nd was 18.2.
Wind: Some
Course: Part of the course (about 1/2?) had a rough surface.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:48
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:04:57 | 06.21 miles | 10m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 19/22
Overall: 222/293
Performance: Bad
Course: Part grass, part gravel, majority road (4 miles?)
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4