Waterman's International - TriathlonOlympic


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Rock Hall, Maryland
United States
Kinetic Multisport
72F / 22C
Overcast
Total Time = 4h 15m 37s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 4/4
Pre-race routine:

Woke up, put on a first layer of sunscreen, got dressed, packed up the car, and off we went to Rock Hall, MD. I had an Uncrustable about 3 hours before anticipated start time, and then immediately started burping. Then as soon as we made it over the Bay Bridge we stopped at a McDonald's so I could destroy their bathroom. I immediately started getting worried about dehydration (spoiler alert, it wound up being okay) and then had some nerves for the rest of the drive.
Made it to race site, parked, checked in, set up transition, and then over to the Team Z tent to wait. I put a second layer of sunscreen on before getting the wetsuit on, but still wound up getting a little burned on my shoulders. Got some amazing race day french braids from teammate Lysette. Sadly, she won't be going to Miami, so I will need to keep practicing on myself. In the last hour I sipped through a Naked juice Green Machine.
Event warmup:

It was a short walk from the Team Z tent to the swim start. Maybe 1/4 mile?
Swim
  • 41m 35s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 46s / 100 meters
Comments:

I'm trying to remember if it was a long walk from the pier to the timing mat. I really thought I got out in under 40 minutes. Since the pier was wood and I was barefoot, there was absolutely no running happening here to protect the ankle.
There was more plant matter than I remember from last year, but it was still a nice swim. Easy to site off the buoys, slightly salty, not too crowded. I didn't push it at all, just kind of leisurely swam the whole thing.
What would you do differently?:

I probably could have kicked a bit more, or even just swam harder. I always say that.
Transition 1
  • 05m 45s
Comments:

2 weeks out from a sprained ankle, so I walked every single step of transition through the grass. Getting my wetsuit off the bad ankle was pretty painful, but once it was done it was all systems go.
Lost a solid minute at the mount line because once again I couldn't clip in.
What would you do differently?:

I don't think there's time to change pedals before Miami, but over the winter I'm ditching the speedplays. Even when freshly cleaned and greased I still can't clip in. Standing with full weight on a pedal and nada. Beyond frustrating.
Bike
  • 1h 56m 54s
  • 24 miles
  • 12.32 mile/hr
Comments:

First seven miles were lovely. Then it started to get windy, and it was getting tougher to race my own race as people continued to pass me. But I soldiered on, never going into zone 4. There was a hill that I seemed to have blotted from my memory of last year's race, but it wasn't too bad. The last stretch along the road back into Rock Hall was windy and not pleasant since there was consistent traffic.
I kept telling myself "I can do this all day" to remind myself to take it easy. I had 44 ounces with 4 scoops of Skratch in my hydration pack, and I went through nearly all of it.
What would you do differently?:

Should I have gone for some solid food? I was disappointed with my overall time, but the wind made a big impact, so not sure I even should have done anything different.
Transition 2
  • 04m 7s
Comments:

Carefully walking through the grass, swapping out shoes, saying hi to J since I had a spot right near the fence, and then getting a bit of jog on once I got out of the grass. I grabbed my Skratch chews and opened them up and had two straight away.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Had to be careful to protect that ankle.
Run
  • 1h 27m 16s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 14m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

Immediately started in on one minute run, one minute walk, and kept it up the whole way. I stayed super positive during the first lap, cheering on teammates and strangers, giving out high fives, thanking the volunteers, etc. Every mile I had a couple chews with some water. Because there was the half going on at the same time, there were plenty of aid stations.
There was a lot of loose gravel on the road, so I was so intent on watching where I put my feet. I was straight up terrified of turning my ankle.
The first loop seemed to go pretty quickly, but the second loop was a bit darker. It felt like the same people kept passing me over and over, and I started to wonder if there were multiple sets of twins on the course, or if they were really that fast and lapping me that much, or if I was just confused.
The final two miles were so hard. I skipped two different run segments because I just felt exhausted. I started to get some pain in my right foot in my 5th metatarsal, and I just didn't want to think about what that could mean. For the last 1.5 I could hear them announcing the podium. As I reached the last bit of road before the finisher's chute, I saw J. I told him I had missed the cutoff (4 hours) and he said yeah, but you made it. You're going to finish. I made the turn to the finish chute and carefully made my way across the grass. Crossed the line, they took my chip and handed me a bottle of water, an icy cold towel, and a medal. I was a finisher!
What would you do differently?:

Not sprain my ankle three weeks before the race.
I was on an epic role in training. August was my best training month of my entire life. September was all about rehab. I still can't believe I bounced back enough to participate.
Post race
Warm down:

As soon as I got out of the finish area, I made my way over to the podium, since they were still announcing people and several of my teammates were placing. It was so nice to see everyone do so well!
I thought there might be an outside change I would place purely due to number of participants, but alas there were 4 in my division. The third place girl was 45 minutes ahead of me, so clearly even if I were healthy nothing would have been different.
As I turned to move back to the Team Z tent, I realized how badly my right foot was hurting. I could hardly put any weight on it, and bending it was not happening. Oh no! Fast forward to Monday at the PT's office, and all is well. Definitely some 5th met irritation, but nothing fractured. I just need some different shoes.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Still working on fitness. Ankle, knee, etc.

Event comments:

Last year I had commented that the volunteers at Waterman's seemed a little lackluster. That is the case again this year. Or maybe uneducated is the better term. I was handed the wrong items twice during check in. There were no volunteers directing parking. You really had to know the course, because the signage was small and there were few volunteers out on the bike course. I watched a girl come in from the half bike course past the cutoff, and be told by a volunteer that the run had "been cancelled." She didn't understand (neither did I) until someone else said that she hadn't made the cutoff. Just not the right way to handle that, you know?
I know a lot of people really adore Kinetic races. I've done three this season. They.....were fine. I will do some next season because they do a lot of the local races, but given the choice I prefer Rev3.
Overall thoughts...this is the first Oly I've done since 2017. My third. Also my slowest, on arguably the easiest course. I wish I weren't so slow. But at the same time....I totally raced my race, and bounced back faster than ever. Yes I needed naps, but I wasn't wrecked for days like the last times. Progress!




Last updated: 2019-04-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:41:35 | 1500 meters | 02m 46s / 100meters
Age Group: 4/4
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 05:45
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
01:56:54 | 24 miles | 12.32 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/4
Overall: 4/
Performance: Below average
Wind: Headwind
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 04:07
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:27:16 | 06.2 miles | 14m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/4
Overall: 4/
Performance: Below average
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4