Best in the West Triathlon Festival Olympic - Triathlon


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Sweet Home (Foster Lake), Oregon
United States
64F / 18C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 34m 42s
Overall Rank = 40/188
Age Group = 45-49 W
Age Group Rank = 1/13
Pre-race routine:

Up at about five; three granola bars and coffee; got stuff organized and drove to start. (We were staying in Lebanon, about 20 miles from the race site at Foster Lake.) Parked about 1 1/2 miles away; Mom took the shuttle to the start with my wetsuit and swim stuff while I rode the bike over with my transition stuff. Did body-marking and set up transition; made sure to familiarize myself with swim-in, bike out, bike in and run out routes.
Event warmup:

Jogged about 11 minutes, a few strides. Checked out the trails/footing for the last 1/2 mile or so of the run course. I was debating about whether to do a swim warmup as air temps were cold (high 40's) before start but in the end I did get in as my last swim didn't go well without real warmup (in similar conditions). About ten minutes of swimming with a few pickups. Then it just seemed to take forever to the start--very long, slow national anthem, RD's joking around, a paddle tri wave, a big collegiate team wave; all the over waves started before women over 40. Thought I would freeze before we finally started!
Swim
  • 27m 14s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 49s / 100 meters
Comments:

It was a good swim for me. The time is faster than appears above (and T1 is slower) as the swim time seemed to end at the T1 entrance. When I stood up to leave the water my watch showed 26:04. I got a strong start and passed people throughout; think I did a good job of sighting and drafting when possible; felt strong throughout. I believe this is my best Oly split, at least for open water.
What would you do differently?:

Find a better way to keep warm before the start!
Transition 1
  • 02m 21s
Comments:

Time is probably slower than it appears owing the position of the timing mat. (Over a minute of running is included in the swim time rather than T1.) I also had a horrible position in transition--far from both swim in and bike out. Old ladies got shafted. Ugh!
What would you do differently?:

Not sure. If air temps had been warmer, I would have raced in my sleeveless shortie to save time in T1, but it was in the high 40's at the swim start (about 55 at start of bike) and I needed the suit to stay warm. As it was I got really cold between the time they called us out and my wave start. I kept moving as quickly as I could and didn't stand there dithering about extra layers/gloves or no. For me that is progress. (I am truly world class at dithering.)
Bike
  • 1h 15m 58s
  • 40 kms
  • 31.59 km/hr
Comments:

NP was 172. That is roughly the same (one watt higher, actually) as during my PB at Tri at the Grove last year, when I was over 2 minutes faster. I think just a harder course. Plus I was having some issues with gearing, equipment, and focus. Not as confident as I could have been--riding a brand new bike ("Andreas") in a new position. I had only ridden him outdoors once before this race, and not at race speeds on rough, hilly roads.
What would you do differently?:

Better gearing choices--I think I was mashing too hard a gear up some of the hills; too lazy about going into my small ring. But most of the hills were fairly short so it didn't seem worth the trouble. I think I put my new aero bottle top on wrong before the race, which caused the stopper to eject at about 6 miles. Then I got splashed with cold water every time I hit one of the many, many bumps or rough spots. Clearly, need to be more familiar with my equipment and put it on properly! I was less confident than I might have been were I more comfortable with the position (some slight changes from my old bike, mainly aerobars) and handling on the new bike. It felt twitchy on the downhills (probably as my bars were closer together) and I wasn't that aggressive on them as a result. Need to ride it more outside before my next race.
Transition 2
  • 01m 18s
Comments:

I remembered to put on the race belt and hat as I was running out, not stand there doing it in T2
What would you do differently?:

Not sure. It was a good transition for me. Again not the best position--not really close to anything.I was wearing running shoes I hadn't raced in before (had just put lace locks in a few days before after my other pair of Kinvara's wore out inside) and for some reason one heel didn't slip on right the first time; had to stop as I left to pull it up more. I have a bone spur on that heel and sometimes shoes get stuck there. Maybe need more practice!
Run
  • 47m 55s
  • 10 kms
  • 04m 47s  min/km
Comments:

I felt good off the bike--plenty of energy, no cramps, but just didn’t seem to have an extra gear, especially going uphill. I don’t think I was ever breathing hard; I just couldn’t speed up. I think maybe related to the long drive down from Boise the day before. I felt like my stride was shorter than normal and my legs had no snap. But I didn’t feel tired; felt like I could have easily turned around and done the run again at about the same pace, although I couldn’t speed up. A bit better on the downhills, but everyone else was running faster then too.

I think I was also mentally out of it--I kept passing/ trying to pass women with “OD” and “OT” on their legs. Kept wondering why they couldn’t be consistent and mark “Olympic Distance” or “Olympic Tri”. It didn’t occur to me until afterwards that “OD” was in fact the duathlon participants. (No, I was not short on nutrition or hydration, or overheated. I slept pretty well the night before for 8 hours. Just dumb, apparently. Or maybe I needed more caffeine!)

This was the only Oly I have ever done where I didn’t feel ANYTHING after--not sore, not out of breath, not particularly tired. Only felt sore after sitting in the car after the race and on Sunday driving back, and that just a bit beyond the level I would feel just sitting/driving without racing. ?????

What would you do differently?:

Probably needed even more run warmup. Consider getting down a day earlier to give myself more time to loosen up. Nine hours of driving is a lot!


Post race
Warm down:

Didn't really do one. Walked around a lot getting food and drink for Mom and me. My legs really weren't sore and I wasn't all that tired. We went for a short walk (maybe one mile) before the awards, and then we decided to walk back to the car (about 1 1/2 miles away). That was enough warm down.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I think a lack of focus on the bike--new bike, aerobottle issue, and rough course distracted me from making good gearing choices, being more aggressive on some parts (downhills) and keeping power steadier. On the run, not sure. I don't usually feel like that in a tri run. Maybe the focus on longer distances in training, or just stiffness from the long drive (9-10 hours from Boise) the day before, left me without that extra "gear". It wasn't a fatigue issue--this was a recovery week and my legs were feeling really good before the drive down.

Not sure where else to put this--the pic shows me with the first place AG trophy. Incredibly, the first place woman (just under 2:27) was 45. But in this race there is no "double dipping" for awards. So I get first AG, although technically I was 2nd. Whatever.

Event comments:

This race is really well-run. It is advertised as "by athletes, for athletes" and clearly they have taken the time to do things right to make people happy! There were a lot of different events over three days and this was Day 3, but nothing seemed to get short-changed. The course was beautiful and clearly marked, with abundant aid stations on bike and run (every mile on the latter). Unique awards, great post-race BBQ, snacks, and beverages, plenty of things for kids and family to do,well-organized parking and transport. Really no complaints at all. There was one really rough section of road (recently repaved, seemed to be asphalt over medium-sized rocks) that took its toll on bikes, nutrition, water bottles, people, and bike splits. That was the only low point--but I don't think it's the organizers' fault! There is everything from sprint to HIM (including du and aqua bike for each distance), to a "Try a Tri" for beginners, to races for little kids, youth, and collegiate teams. Would highly recommend this, along with my hometown race, Tri at the Grove, if you happen to be in Oregon a the right time. It was well worth the drive back from Idaho! No matter where I have to move due to job/family demands, Oregon will always be home in my heart--I'm always happy to come back for any reason, including a race.


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Last updated: 2018-09-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:27:14 | 1500 meters | 01m 49s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 0/188
Performance: Good
One lap course, so no lap data!
Suit: ProMotion Full Suit
Course: One basically rectangular loop counterclockwise in a big lake. Never got that far out from shore; I could see the bottom much of the time. Most of the time was spent swimming down and then back up parallel to the shore.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:21
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:15:58 | 40 kms | 31.59 km/hr
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 0/188
Performance: Average
Wind: Little with gusts
Course: Basically out and back with about 600 feet of elevation gain/loss each way. Lots of rolling hills; one short, steep one between about mile 6 and 8. About 1/3 to 1/4 of the route had really rough pavement. That slowed my speed and caused part of my aero bottle top to come off--lots of bike bits on road.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 75
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:18
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:47:55 | 10 kms | 04m 47s  min/km
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 0/188
Performance: Below average
Not sure. Too out of it to check splits, apparently.
Course: Double out and back. Roughly--out about 1 1/2 miles, turn around, net downhill back to an intersection, out another direction about 1 1/2 miles, back, down a short trail around a campground and across a bridge to finish near the lake, start, and transition. Mostly rolling. Nothing extreme, but few truly flat parts.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %?
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5