Greater Cleveland Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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Mentor, Ohio
United States
North Coast Multisport
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 33m 26s
Overall Rank = 42/196
Age Group = F 25-29
Age Group Rank = 1/20
Pre-race routine:

Woke up late, threw stuff into the car, hit the road. Directions took me down a road that was closed due to flooding. I made it to the park and got my stuff to transition with a couple minutes to spare. The guy that was manning transition was yelling at everyone to get out because it was closing down. I barely had enough time to set out my shoes and put my numbers on my bike and helmet before I had to run down to the beach. The morning air was cool and I was shivering a little once I took my long sleeves off.
Event warmup:

Stood on the beach and shivered while the RD went over the swim course again. About 10 minutes before my wave was to go off, I got in the water and warmed up for a few minutes - only to be told that they were delaying our start so we didn't collide with the 1/2 IM swimmers who were finishing their swim. It was much warmer in the water than on the beach, but I was still shivering. As were a lot of people with their wetsuits on! By the time I actually started I felt cold again.
Swim
  • 16m 47s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 55s / 100 yards
Comments:

The waves for this tri were done by age group, not by gender, so I was starting with a bunch of (fast-looking) guys. The horn went off and I dolphin-dived my way out until it was deep enough to start swimming. I wanted to try and get a strong start on this swim before settling into a good pace, and I did that - except my strong swim kept pushing me right! I veered off a straight line about 4 or 5 times this race, which I have never done before.

We swam straight out, made a right-hand turn around the first buoy, then swam straight into the sun to the second buoy. It was impossible to sight! Made a left around the second buoy, then a quick 100 yards or so to the third buoy, left around that, and then a few hundred yards to the last turn back to shore. I had a hard time sighting overall, between the sun and my swimming off course. I didn't find feet to draft off of the whole race (probably because I wasn't going straight!) but it felt like a fairly decent swim for me. Had I stayed on course I probably would have been much faster.

Many in the 1/2 IM race felt that the swim course was about 400 yards too long, and some felt the sprint was overmeasured as well. My time was slower than normal, but it did include a 200-300 yard run up the beach and into the transition area. When I glanced at my watch coming out of the water I was at about 15:30 - much slower than my last sprint swim time.
What would you do differently?:

Under the circumstances, not much. I was cold when I started and basically doing blind sighting to the first buoy, which I didn't have much control over. The rest of the swim was ok.
Transition 1
  • 01m 17s
Comments:

My legs were shaking and I had a hard time clipping in, for some reason. Probably took me 10-15 seconds to clip in, which I can normally do in my sleep! Other than that, not much to say - a fairly quick and easy transition.
Bike
  • 44m 45s
  • 14.5 miles
  • 19.44 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike felt awesome. Because all the biking I have done includes hills, this course felt so easy. I almost missed the turnoff for the sprint course, which apparently happened to some other riders. I pedaled in the big ring almost the whole course, and kept cadence between 90 and 105. I felt smooth, fast, and relaxed. The only bad thing was that I lost the straw to my aerodrink bottle in one of the corners, so I had to stop pedaling and reach down to grab my extra water bottle (thank goodness I had it!). I passed a lot of people, but I'm sure many were in the 1/2 IM so I can't judge performance on that.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It felt fantastic.
Transition 2
  • 00m 59s
Comments:

There were only 4 bikes on the rack when I got in!!! I dropped my bike while running with it, but otherwise transition went fast and just as planned.
Run
  • 29m 41s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 09m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

Coming out of T2, the announcer said "The second overall female has left on the run!" and I almost had a heart attack right there!! Granted, I was in the first wave and had a quick bike, but I was SO excited to be in that position. I knew it wouldn't last long, but it was nice to hear anyway.

I set off on the run nice and easy, concentrating on breathing and slowly lengthening my stride and quickening my cadence. Got passed by some guys, but no girls yet. The first mile was uneventful, and I didn't feel terrible, but the sun on the road was a little hot. Hit the first aid station and checked my watch for a 9:30 first mile split. Ugh. I was NOT going to run a 30:00 5k again! Poured a cup of ice-cold water (thanks, Fleet Feet volunteers!) over my head and tried to up my pace a little bit. Got to the turnaround, headed up the tiny hill, and started back. That's when the cramp started to form. I concentrated on running light and fast, and timed my breathing to try and get rid of it. It didn't completely go away for almost the entire 2nd mile, but it never got terribly bad. During that second mile I got passed by a couple of women and a bunch of guys.

Once we hit the shady parts of the street I felt so much better and really picked it up. There were no aid stations after the one at mile 1, and no mile markers, so I couldn't tell how fast I did the second two miles. The last part of the course breezed by, and before I knew it I was back towards the park, and just had a big downhill run before heading on the grass and through the chutes. I finished very strong - even was able to wave and smile for the cameras!
What would you do differently?:

I will be working on the run this winter!!
Post race
Warm down:

Drank lots of water, ate watermelon, walked around and stretched a bit.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I am a sucktastic runner. Everything else went wonderfully.

Event comments:

The organizers did a great job of pulling this event off after the flooding closed the original race site. They had to re-create a bike and run course 3 days before the event! The volunteers were fantastic. The only complaint I really had was the swim start, because they held us up about 10 minutes so we didn't run into the 1/2 IM swimmers coming into shore.




Last updated: 2006-06-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:47 | 880 yards | 01m 55s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/20
Overall: 31/196
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Beach start, rectangle swim.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:17
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:44:45 | 14.5 miles | 19.44 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/20
Overall: 33/196
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Mostly flat loop, lots of turns.
Road: Smooth  Cadence: 95
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:59
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:29:41 | 03.1 miles | 09m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/20
Overall: 89/196
Performance: Below average
Course: Mostly flat loop on sidewalks/roads. Only the last mile or so was in the shade.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5]