Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
Philadelphia Triathlon, LLC
84F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 49m 46s
Overall Rank = 656/1544
Age Group = 25-29 Male
Age Group Rank = 65/113
Pre-race routine:

Woke Eric up at 4:00am. Had a uncrustable sandwich and some gatorade. Loaded up the jeep and headed to Philly. Unloaded the bikes and had about a 10 minute walk to get to the transition area.
Event warmup:

I only got to do a short run before I had to jump on the shuttle to head over to the transition. I had to go to the bathroom when I got there so I spent 30 minutes in line for the port-o-potty so I didnt even get a swim warm up in.
Swim
  • 31m 40s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim was the biggest concern for me. I totally lost it in the sprint race I did early this month. I was noticing during the waves before mine that the majority of people were lining up on the first bouy and was just a mad crowd. I decided to stay farther to the left to gain my composure and then work my way back in the bouy when the field opened up. My breating went extremely well and I sighted properly. I didn't get tired and just overall I felt so much better about my swim. As a side note the day before I was listening to the pro pannel answer questions and a first timer asked for advice in general about running their first race. One of the most respected pros (Karen Smyers) basically told this chick she is most likely going to freak out on the OWS and going to crap out on the first 200 meters (kind of like what I experienced my first race). Although it was the truth I didn't think she should have struck fear into this girl. It also started playing head games with myself. So low and behold I am sitting on the shuttle bud in the morning. Who comes walking on and sits right next to me? Karen Smyers! I thanked her for her comment the day before about the OWS and she kind of apologized for them which I found kind of weird. I chatted with her for a while and things were fine. I look back now and I think she was my motivation for swimming so well. I just wanted to prove to her and myself I was gunna do it and do it well. So maybe I should be thanking her for getting into my head.
What would you do differently?:

Probably swim a little faster and possibly start a little closer to the inside bouy. I ended up probably swimming an extra 100 to 200 meters just for staying on the outside.
Transition 1
  • 02m 54s
Comments:

Transition was pretty smooth. I was a bit woozy from the swim but I gained my composure pretty quickly. It was a long run from the racks to the mats so Lauren was right, transition times would be a bit longer than the shorter races I have ran.
What would you do differently?:

Nada.
Bike
  • 1h 18m 25s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 19.01 mile/hr
Comments:

My bike was probably my weakest point of the race. Coming out of transition we hit a hill about a mile into it and all the blood in my body was still in my torso from the swim. I had a lot of difficulty on the hills and this only told me I needed more time training on hills. Besides that it wasn't too bad. I still averaged almost 19mph... just think on how well I would have done on a flat course.
What would you do differently?:

Train more on hills.
Transition 2
  • 01m 48s
Comments:

So here is where my run started to p*ss me off. I didn't realize this till this morning (the day after my race) that during my run I didn't have my race belt/number on. I started thinking today I didn't even see it sitting on my towel yesterday at transition for the run. I went back to my bag this morning and my number is not in there. I don't want to make excuses but someone ganked my race belt/number!
What would you do differently?:

Nada
Run
  • 54m 57s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 51s  min/mile
Comments:

I would say my run sucked but there are a few things that contributed to my time and mishap on it. #1 - I cramped within the first mile so I ended up having to walk/massage it off. That took about 3 minutes. #2 - I was issued a 4 minute penalty for not having my number on my body (thanks @sshole who stole my belt). So what happened to starting with a two minute penalty and then going to 4 on the second offense. Besides that my run went really well. I picked it back up and finished strong. So sitting here thinking that if I didnt cramp and I didnt get a penalty I would have had a 48 minute run which would have came out to like a 7:45 mile. Also it would have dropped me to below MOP for my age group. Oh well, there really isn't much I can do about it now. The times are what the times are.
What would you do differently?:

Not cramp and find the prick who took my belt and beat his @ss.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked for about 10 minutes. I was in some pain and was cramping really bad once I stopped the run.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hill climbing, cramping, and penalty for no race number.

Event comments:

This was a great race for my first race. It was close to home and extremely well organized. I wish I could have done better and it just gives me a base to make my goals for next year.




Last updated: 2006-12-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:40 | 1640 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/113
Overall: 836/1544
Performance: Average
Suit: Blue Seventy Helix Long John
Course: Straight swim from St. Joe's boathouse to fairmount park (MLK Blvd.) towards the tail end of the swim there was a reversed "J" bouy set up and a short up/cross river swim to the transition area.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:54
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:18:25 | 24.85 miles | 19.01 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/113
Overall: 615/1544
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: Two loop bike course mostly thru fairmount park and wraping around the art museum. 4 hills total on each lap including a hell of a climb up Lemon Hill. Im just glad that hill is a shorter hill... its just steep!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 91
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:48
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:54:57 | 06.21 miles | 08m 51s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/113
Overall: 808/1544
Performance: Average
Course: A pretty flat run course. Circled behind transition and headed north for a mile and circled back and headed south for approximately 2.5 more miles and circled there to head back for the finish.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %2
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
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