Hartsville International - TriathlonOlympic


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hartsville, South Carolina
United States
set up events
88F / 31C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 41m 3s
Overall Rank = 5/28
Age Group = F 35-39
Age Group Rank = 2/28
Pre-race routine:

Ate a clif bar and drank diet Pepsi in the hotel room. Ate a gel just before warming up in the lake.
Event warmup:

300 meters in the hot lake. No kidding, folks, this lake was like swimming in coffee. It was the same colour and incredibly warm. I think the nearby nuclear plant must heat it up with steam.
Swim
  • 27m 13s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 40s / 100 yards
Comments:

I found my arch rival at the start (who turned out to be the only other female in my age group to race) and decided to draft off her because she has beaten me everytime in the water previously. But I kept swimming up on her. I don't know if it was a ploy to make me pass. If it was, it worked cuz I went on around her. Caught the men at the turn bouy (of course!) and I managed to slip in and out of traffic easily. But this was a pretty small race so there weren't that many folks out there. Swam a direct line to the next turn buoy and I felt awesome! Everything was clicking! Made the last turn and there was the sun. I decided to put my head down and go. I couldn't see anybody, but the water honestly was the colour of coffee so visibility was quite poor. I can't see in front of my because of the sun when I tried to sneak peeks but I did notice a large power tower when I breathed right and I was awfully close to it. So I took a second to sit up and de-fog my goggles and I looked left and saw the buoys and everyone else. I must have swam about 100 yards off-course. I still felt good and didn't panic because I have a lot of confidence in my bike. So I was very surprised to see that I beat my rival out of the water.
What would you do differently?:

Sight more often on the return because of the glare. Or maybe sight smarter by taking more time with my head up until I saw the buoys.
Transition 1
  • 01m 1s
Comments:

I had trouble getting clipped in and I saw my rival pass me as she did her perfect flying mount.
What would you do differently?:

Practice a flying mount. Not be such a klutz!
Bike
  • 1h 19m 18s
  • 27 miles
  • 20.43 mile/hr
Comments:

This is where I put heart and soul into it. The bike is my last chance to put distance between me and my rival. I passed her, she passed me, I passed her, she passed, me, I passed her, she passed me. It was like this for 24 miles. When my legs started screaming, I would back off and recover. Unfortunately, I lost one of my gels that I had duct-taped to my bike. So I only gelled once when I normally take two during a ride this long and hard. I also was so busy racing, that I didn't take the time to sit-up and dump my extra bottle into my aerobottle after I drank it dry. I don't know if this effected my performance or not. I felt strong and even though this is one of my slower bike splits, this was a tough course! ANyway, at mile 24, my rival passed my yet again. We made a turn and she put the hammer down. I mean it was like she was rocket-propelled. That was the hardest thing for me to take. Every fiber of my body wanted to catch, pass and destroy! But there is still a very hot and rolling 10k. And my hip has been giving me fits during the week. And a little voice in my head told me I probably wouldn't have caught her anyway. I'd only end up frying my legs.
What would you do differently?:

Drink more. Get a bento box to stash food better.
Transition 2
  • 00m 52s
Comments:

Nothing out of the ordinary in T2.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 52m 41s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

On paper, this time may not look good. But to me, this was my best oly run split ever! So I am very happy with my time. I even walked at mile 3 to drink some gatorade. Every aid station I took water and splashed it on myself to keep cool. My coach shouted pointers at me throught the course which helped a bunch. At mile 4, I my hip flexor started talking to me. It wasn't exactly pain, but it was definitely not happy. But there was no way I was going to pull up with 2.2 to go. I even managed to sprint the finishing line!
What would you do differently?:

Faster leg turnover and use my arms more.
Post race
Warm down:

Tried to run a mile cool down, but I was hobbling bad so I bagged that. Stretched and put an icy bottle of water on my hip.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I am pleased with my fitness state. I think the only thing that might have messed with me was my hip flexor. Although it is hard for be to believe I could have run this faster.

Event comments:

This was a very hard course. And I am pleased with my performance. I wish my hip wasn't hurt. But other than that, I feel like this race served its purpose. It was a nice confidence booster for the HIM coming up in three weeks.




Last updated: 2007-06-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:27:13 | 1640 yards | 01m 40s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/28
Overall: 4/28
Performance: Good
Suit: Zoot tri shorts and sport bra
Course: Counter clockwise loop around the lake. Sighting directly into the sun on the return to the beach.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 88F / 31C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:01
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:19:18 | 27 miles | 20.43 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/28
Overall: 3/28
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Two loop lollipop. A lot of gradual uphill without the relief of downhill. Very tiring by the second loop.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:52
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:52:41 | 06.21 miles | 08m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/28
Overall: 13/28
Performance: Good
Course: Y shaped out and back loop. Rolling and hot!
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3