Columbia Downtown Triathlon - Triathlon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Columbia, South Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
56F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 29m 22s
Overall Rank = 67/76
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 11/11
Pre-race routine:

Ate oatmeal with almonds. Drank water as I could with the drive from Charleston.
Event warmup:

Swam 150m warmup in the pool. Couldn't do much else as I spent an hour waiting to use the restroom as there were no restrooms available until the PE center opened. BAD!
Swim
  • 17m 18s
  • 500 meters
  • 03m 28s / 100 meters
Comments:

Weakest event. I'm glad I stayed back. I had to do backstroke almost the entire race. I just wasn't ready. I have been practicing in a 25-yard pool & I don't do flip turns, so the difference between lap "breaks" in a 25-yard to 50-m pool is significant. (For me)
What would you do differently?:

Get more practice in the 50m pool.
Transition 1
  • 01m 48s
Comments:

I was slightly confused as to where to mount and had to re-asses which slowed me down a little.
What would you do differently?:

I need to practice a running mount with shoes already clipped in.
Bike
  • 41m 28s
  • 10 miles
  • 14.47 mile/hr
Comments:

Coming out of T1 into a hill was brutal. Most of my training has been done on a flat bike path. The hills murdered me. I was one of the strugglers the other commenter was referring to, but beginners have to be in triathlons too.
(Race course was not 10 miles - according to my GPS, it was approx. 9.57 miles)
What would you do differently?:

I need much more practice on elevation changes so that I don't lose speed/power in the bike.
Transition 2
  • 01m 44s
Comments:

I was zonked after the ride, so I must admit I rested a little in t2.
What would you do differently?:

I need to be more focused on my transitions to be more efficient. I also need to be more organized so that my transition area isn't a mess and I can find everything that I need quickly.
Run
  • 27m 6s
  • 3 miles
  • 09m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt pretty good coming out of T2. I started out at a less than 8 minute/mile pace, but slowed after the elevation increase.
(Run course was also not 5k according to my GPS, it was closer to 2.78 miles) This looks good for my "time" but I know that it wasn't correct.
Post race
Event comments:

The race volunteers were less than helpful for the most part. The biggest complain is by far the lack of restroom facilities. Many people travel from out of town for races, and you expect to have a bathroom (at least a port o john) available to you.
The man who opened up the PE center was less than helpful, and was actually smug and condescending when asking where things were. It was like he couldn't believe that we didn't know our way around the PE center and he kept referring to signs that didn't exist. He was "friendly" when you walked in, when he greeted you, but woe to you if you asked him any questions. I don't know who he is, but he should not be in a position to help people.
Additionally, the volunteers on the run course just stood there. There were portions of the run that were not fully marked and the volunteer just stared at you until you asked which way to go.
The police presence was wonderful, but the volunteers were not helpful at all. In packet pickup, most volunteers were woefully unaware of where things like body marking were going to occur.
In the future, if the packet pickup is at 715, the "facilities" should be open at that time. Also, if parking is not available adjacent to the race site, a clearly drawn map should be available for out-of-town participants.
Additionally, sticking to the swim order would have made this infinitely more efficient. I hung back on purpose, but it was quite obvious that some people should have done the same as I saw instances of 2 & 3 people overtaking slower swimmers.
The race ended up going well, but the volunteers were not properly informed of all of the race details and many were unfriendly or scoffed at you if you dared to ask them a question. I don't understand why you would volunteer to help if you didn't actually have an interest in helping people.
I created an account on this site specifically for the purpose of giving this feedback as my 2 biggest complaints were the bathrooms being unavailable and the bike/run courses not being the published length.
(Also would it be too much to ask for additional race "swag" for completing a SCTS event? It would be nice if there was a finisher item, in addition to the registration tee, and the AG winner should definitely get a better price than a hat).




Last updated: 2014-03-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:17:18 | 500 meters | 03m 28s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/11
Overall: 0/76
Performance: Bad
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:48
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:41:28 | 10 miles | 14.47 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/11
Overall: 60/76
Performance: Below average
Wind:
Course: 3 loop course with the increase in elevation at the beginning of the course (right out of T1)
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:44
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:27:06 | 03 miles | 09m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/11
Overall: 53/76
Performance: Average
Course: Out and back with a loop at the end. Mostly uphill for the first half, mostly downhill for the second half of the out and back. Up a small set of stairs for the loop.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3