General Smallwood Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Started the swim still pretty cold, but the water was warmer than the air so it wasn't that bad. I seeded myself near the front and enjoyed the first 10 minutes or so with no swimmers in front. Then it was time to climb over the waves in front. Since this course was out and back, there was some considerable crashes as swimmers crossed into the other lane of traffic.

I stayed on course pretty well, as it always is in a clockwise course since I tend right. This has nothing to do with good sighting :) I was getting tired around half way through. Probably because I go out a bit too hard. I don't pay attention enough to what is going around me. Which causes some nice crashes and climbing over people. To my defense I did run over a guy who was swimming 90 degrees off course??

Nothing.

The transition included a maybe .25 mile jog up to the transition area. Like Diamondman, they had a shoe transition area next to the swim exit. This time I just brought crocs, which was faster than shoes. I did fine on the jog out and kept my HR low.

The transition was SLOW as usual. I am not sure I care about this. I guess I should practice. But I also like a little rest.

Nothing.

Started out the ride SCREAMING because I was so cold. I considered putting on a long sleeve shirt but I saw some pretty fast girls leaving transition in just bathing suits so I figured I could suffer through the cold. After the first hill, I started warming up and forgot the cold. It was a good reminder that it is ok to freeze the first mile.

I once again, pushed the beginning of the race too hard. The worst hills were in the first 10 miles or so. I hate going up a hill and either having people pass me or seeing others in front. So I push every hill hard. At one point I looked down and my HR was at 180. That is Zone 5+ for me. I passed men on the hills to got passed again on the flats. I didn't see another girl for 15 miles or so. At around that point it was time to use my brakes for the first time.. Guess what? I didn't tighten my brakes back up when I fooled with my wheels the day before. Luckily I could reach down and tighten the front brake. Ooops.

I took the second half of the ride slower. The second half was also a bit flatter.

I had a bottle with about 400 cals in it. I drank half of it. Which was fine, since nutrition was never an issue. I had zero cramps/stomach aches.

Maybe take the hills a little bit easier. But, I do train the same way, so maybe I should just keep doing things the same way in the shorter races.

I am slow in transition. I even did the biggest no/no of them all, I SAT DOWN IN TRANSITION. I took time putting my shoes on and I was lucky enough to chat with Patrick while sitting. It was nice to see him :)

Uh... Move faster

I started out the run sort of slow. I was enjoying the race and not too concerned with pushing it too hard. The first mile was at ~8:30 pace with my HR in low Zone 3. I sped up the second mile at about 8 minute pace, but it included the nice big downhill. I took a split at the turnaround point and it was ~25 mins. Now I knew it was time to push it HARD. So I started running faster. I had a lot of energy, and other than being out of breath my legs/joints felt great. I made sure to say good job to those who I passed/or passed me and it was interesting to see how many said nothing back. I was that annoying girl who is in a good mood at the end of a race! I started figuring out that I may be able to break 50 mins for this run so I was getting really excited. Back in the park, I forgot to speed-up until right before the finish. I should have paid attention better :)

Nutrition: one gel at the half-way point.

Nothing.

None. I felt pretty good, just a bit out of breath. I quickly ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (YES! Those are the best!) and then quickly moved to transition to get my Endurox and supplements.


Nothing. I figure I could get another minute out of transitions and maybe 10 seconds if I started my kick faster in the run.


This is a great race, especially since it was the first year that they did it. It did start a bit late, but I don't think anybody complained since it would only mean increased temps. A ton of Marines helped out as a fundraiser for the Marine Corps Ball. That was nice.

For me this was the best race I have ever done. I REALLY rested the 3-4 days before hand. If I didn't feel like a workout, I skipped it. I think less is more for me as tapers are concerned. During the run I think part of it feeling better was that my focus was on the half IM this year and that added base made the Olympic distance so much easier. If anything, I finished the race with some fuel still in my tank. It was an Olympic distance PR by about 8 minutes :)

I learned that in an Olympic distance, I don't really need that much nutrition. In my last Olympic I had twice as many cals and had some stomach upset. Weather was perfect too, which may have helped my speed :)