Pinehurst Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Pinehurst, NC
United States
Inside Out Sports
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 00m 21s
Overall Rank = 107/174F
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 17/27
Pre-race routine:

I packed my tri bag and prepared my bike the night before. I got up at 5:00 am and got dressed and ate breakfast. Then I loaded the bike on the truck. We left for Pinehurst at 5:45.
Event warmup:

The parking area was a half mile away from the race site. My warmup basically consisted of walking my bike to the race site. I racked my bike, picked up my timing chip, got body marked. I set up my transition area and then got in line for the port-a-potties. It was then time to put on my wetsuit. After I put on my wetsuit, I headed down to the lake. The race started at 8:00, but I was in wave 9 (second to last), so I didn't start until 8:24. I got in the water and waded around a little to test the water and watched the elite racers start. The first 3 elites finished the swim before my wave even lined up to start!
Swim
  • 35m 51s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 11s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started in the back of the pack. As soon as the wistle blew, we went running into the water. After just a few hundred yards, I was questioning why I was doing this. I almost talked myself into turning back. But I told myself that I had just gone out too fast. I made myself slow down a bit. I quickly got in a good grove and felt a lot better. I tried to find someone to draft off of, but couldn't find anyone. It was hard for me to site for a couple of reasons. First my goggle started leaking from the beginning, so I had to swim with my right eye shut the entire time. Then the course was counter-clockwise, so the buoys were on my left side (which was weird). Apparently others were having trouble siting too, because I got hit several times by people who seemed to be swimming sideways! I stopped very briefly a couple of times just to get my bearings, but each time I did my calfs would cramp up. I was worried about that a little because I wasn't sure what it would mean for the bike and run. When I got out of the water, I glanced down at my watch. It said 35 minutes. I was thrilled. That was my goal for this race (after the times from my last race, I had prepared myself to be disappointed).
What would you do differently?:

This was the best open water swim I have had in a race so far, so I wouldn't really do anything different. However, I am still very slow - so I would say swim faster.
Transition 1
  • 02m 42s
Comments:

My rack was very close to the bike exit/entrance - so it was a fairly long run from the swim finish. I pulled my wetsuit down to my waist as I ran and that went pretty smoothly. When I got to my rack, I pulled the wetsuit off the rest of the way. It got stuck on my heels and that cost me a few seconds. The rest of the transition went fairly smoothly - I put on my shoes and helmet, then stuck my gels in my pockets.
What would you do differently?:

Practice getting the wetsuit off faster.
Bike
  • 1h 24m 51s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 17.57 mile/hr
Comments:

I ran out of the transition area, got on the bike and I was off. I had a bottle of Accelerade in my aero bottle and a couple of gels in my pockets. There was a water bottle handoff about halfway. I noticed in the first couple of miles that my heart rate was 173. My LT for the bike is 160. I knew I couldn't keep this HR up for the entire ride (if I did, I would lose it on the run). So, I tried to slow a bit to try and let it come down. I wasn't successful for the first half of the ride. There is something about racing - I can't seem to make myself slow down willingly. The hills started almost immediately. I was fine at first. I passed several people during the first half. But then the hills really started to wear me out and my legs started to get tired. My hip started to hurt around the halfway point. By mile 20, all I wanted was to get off the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Need to ride hills a lot more!
Transition 2
  • 01m 48s
Comments:

I ran my bike back to my rack and reracked it. I took off my helmet and put on my Nike hat. I sat down and took off my bike shoes, then put on my socks and running shoes (I thought 6 miles might be too far to go sockless). Then I grabbed my race number and took off at a run. The transition went smoothly, but I probably could have shaved a few seconds off if I wasn't talking to my husband!
What would you do differently?:

Not talk while racing!
Run
  • 55m 11s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

I wanted to run a 8:00 pace. But I wasn't wearing my Garmin so I had no idea how fast I was running. I had to go by feel. I had a little trouble starting out. My legs felt like they were asleep from my knees down. It took a couple of miles before they felt all right again. About the time my legs started to feel better, I felt a blister forming on my little toe. The seam in the toe of my socks was rubbing on my little toe. I thought about stopping and moving the sock, but I didn't. I hate to stop running in a race, so I just kept going. I thought my pace was a bit slower than I wanted, so I tried to pick it up a bit. I was able to keep the faster pace for a while, but I had to slow quite a bit on a couple of bad hills. I did run all the hills though (I passed a lot of people walking the bad hills). The pain I have been having in my right leg lately didn't bother me today, thankfully. I was a bit disappointed in my run time. I was capable of running the 8:00 miles. I am sure that going to hard at the beginning of the bike affected my run time.
What would you do differently?:

Run more hills and pace better on the bike.
Post race
Warm down:

I found my husband at the finish line. We walked around a bit and I got in the food line. I grabbed a banana and a bottle of water. There was a chiropractor there, so I went to that tent. But the line was too long for my to want to wait. So once I had cooled down enough, I went to the transition area and packed my stuff. We then walked the half mile back to the car. We drove to the Chinese restaurant up the street from the race site and had lunch. Then we drove home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This was my first olympic distance triathlon. I was hoping to break 3 hours and I came close to that. Overall, I think it was a successful first oly race. The one thing I do need to work on for next time however, is more hill training. I used to work hills a lot more when I live in the city (hilly neighborhood). But the new neighborhood I live in now is pretty flat. I need to search out some hills!

Event comments:

This was definitely a male dominated race. There were about 700 people competing in this race, but only 174 were women.

I think this was a well run race. I had a great time and will probably come back next year to hopefully improve my times.




Last updated: 2007-02-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:51 | 1640 yards | 02m 11s / 100yards
Age Group: 21/27
Overall: 136/174F
Performance: Good
Average HR - 171
Suit: QR Hydrofull
Course: An oblong triangular counter-clockwise course.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:42
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:24:51 | 24.85 miles | 17.57 mile/hr
Age Group: 19/27
Overall: 114/174F
Performance: Average
Average HR - 162
Wind: Some
Course: The course left the marina, did a large loop, and then returned to the marina. It was a very hilly course.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: ??
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:48
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:55:11 | 06.21 miles | 08m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/27
Overall: 69/174F
Performance: Below average
Average HR - 169
Course: A hilly loop around the lake.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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] 4