Westfields Sprint Triathlon - Triathlon


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Chantilly, Virginia
United States
Westfields Business Owners Association and Revolution3
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 43m 32s
Overall Rank = 369/427
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 11/18
Pre-race routine:

Naked strawberry banana smoothie and a pb stuff'd Bobo's Oat Bar for breakfast 5 hours before GO. Green tea and a shower 3 hours before. We got to transition around 6am, and I got everything set up fairly quickly. Popped into the Team Z tent to say hi, but I don't really know many people yet. I wound up wandering over to see my friend Stacey, who was volunteering.
I did forget a few things...ear plugs stayed in the bag (whoops) as did my gel that I usually take 30 minutes before GO. I don't think that really impacted me though, since the race was so short, and the swim was super duper short and in a pool.
My goal for the race was to not pass out (I got cleared by the cardiologist to race Friday afternoon) and to try to have some fun. It has been really tricky trying to enjoy training lately, with all the health issues this year. I wanted to smile across the finish line.
Event warmup:

I didn't even get in the pool. I think I was trying to just "be low key" and instead wound up going in a bit cold. 250 yards of swim wound up being my warm up.
Swim
  • 05m 48s
  • 250 yards
  • 02m 19s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was the smoothest pool swim I've ever been in. There was a ton of congestion earlier on, but by the time the 2:15 pace group got in, everyone seemed to have seeded themselves well. I had literally no contact for the entire swim.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I hadn't been in the pool for a couple weeks, and only cleared to race a day and a half before. Just taking it easy.
Transition 1
  • 03m 44s
Comments:

There was a short jog out of the rec center into transition in the parking lot. I grabbed my flip flops for the run, and glad I did. I also walked for a bit to make sure I wasn't dizzy before starting to trot.
It did take me forever (it seemed!) to get clipped in.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe stopped and drank a bit more, or walked the whole thing, to give my HR a chance to settle? I usually hustle a bit more in transition, but I was just being super cautious.
Bike
  • 48m 57s
  • 12 miles
  • 14.71 mile/hr
Comments:

Mostly flat, although the hill past the school seemed way harder than it should have. It was great to have the roads be closed to traffic. Since this race has a lot of first timers, there's plenty of drafting and passing incorrectly from people who don't know better yet.
I passed one person and held another off for a short bit of time. I spent more time in the big ring and really went for the downhills on the second loop, knowing the course a bit better. I tried to remember to smile, but the overcast sky and commercial parking lot scenery was not very nice.
What would you do differently?:

Its early days in the season, and even earlier still coming back from this winter's hibernation and subsequent mystery illness. I'm glad I pushed it, but do wonder if I'd held back would the run have gone better? My HR was at LT for practically the whole thing.
Transition 2
  • 03m 15s
Comments:

This was tough. I bent to change out my shoes, and whoa.....so dizzy when I stood back up that I almost went down. J was standing at the fence nearby, so I took a moment to chat with him and drink some more vFuel. I felt incredibly wobbly and this was the closest (except for the finish) I felt to passing out.
What would you do differently?:

Slow down! Obviously I can't race through things, so why do I keep trying to? I also don't know if getting the socks on was worth it. Maybe try a few runs barefoot to see how that goes? I used to run barefoot all the time, just haven't in these shoes.
Run
  • 41m 46s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 13m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

My feet started hurting pretty quickly, and walking didn't help. They felt like pins and needles, and I would need to pause and shake them out to make the feeling go away. I should probably mention that at my next cardiology appointment. Heart rate kept going up beyond 180 (past LT) and I was nervous about continuing to run at that pace, so I would walk it back down. For the last hill and to the finish, there was another girl shouting encouragement, and I tried to hang on. Three of us crossed the line together. I thought I had some sprint in me, but my hands started to tingle and I felt sleepy. Yikes!
What would you do differently?:

Clearly I need to figure out some run/walk intervals in advance of the race and actually stick to them, instead of trying to come up with something on the fly.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking for what felt like forever until my HR came down and the dizziness went away. I drank a skratch rescue wellness, and tried not to be stationary.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Syncope and POTS diagnoses.....the fainting and rapid HR are killing me. This is my third season of trying to train by HR, and I've just gotten slower and slower each year. Now that I'm under the care of a cardiologist, I hope I can start taking off weight, feeling healthy, and the training should fall into place after that. I hope.

Event comments:

Rev3 puts on a great event. I've done a sprint at a larger weekend event before, but was surprised at the amount of "pomp" that this stand alone sprint event got. While the bike course wasn't the best for scenery, and the run was really lonely for spectators, it is still a nice race. Local (30 minute drive) and perfect for an early season tune up.




Last updated: 2018-04-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:48 | 250 yards | 02m 19s / 100yards
Age Group: 8/18
Overall: 18/427
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Pool snake swim, 10 laps
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:44
Performance:
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:48:57 | 12 miles | 14.71 mile/hr
Age Group: 12/18
Overall: 18/427
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course:
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 03:15
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:41:46 | 03.1 miles | 13m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/18
Overall: 18/427
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4