Culpeper Sprint - TriathlonSprint


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Culpeper, Virginia
United States
Set-up, Inc.
90F / 32C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 02m 16s
Overall Rank = 175/204
Age Group = athena
Age Group Rank = 7/10
Pre-race routine:

We got up at 4:20, were on the road by 4:42, and at the race site by 6. I had hard boiled eggs, luna bar, banana & OJ. Dozed while Richard drove. We got our chips and marking, set up our transition areas, and port-o-potty stop. Ran into friend Amy just before the start.
Event warmup:

Got in the warm, disgusting water and swam out and back a bit. While waiting to start I had pain in the back of my neck & head. Massaging didn'g help, but I soon forgot it.
Swim
  • 18m 25s
  • 820 yards
  • 02m 15s / 100 yards
Comments:

This lake was pretty disgusting. After our warm-up I noted that Richard had green slime in his chest hair. When showering afterwards I found green stuff in strange places and a lot of dirt in my ears. Our wave had close to 100 people, so the start was something of a madhouse. I didn't do any breast stroke, but did deteriorate to breathing every stroke in the second half. I thought I was doing fairly well, but my arms were quickly tired and my time wasn't so great.
What would you do differently?:

Train more. Get back to weight lifting.
Transition 1
  • 02m 37s
Comments:

Went fairly smoothly, though I was breathing hard.
153/204
8/10
What would you do differently?:

I dunno, practice more?
Bike
  • 59m 21s
  • 16.04 miles
  • 16.22 mile/hr
Comments:

There was a 20 yd run through the grass from the end of the transistion area to the pavement, which was kindof annoying. I had been warned there was a tough uphill after the first turn. The course was gorgeous, I was breathing hard most of the time. Richard, whose wave started 4 min after mine, caught up with me 20 min into the ride. The hills were fun and not too steep. My max was 34.3 mph. I wanted to break an hour, and did. The run through the grass back to transition was really annoying because it was a bit steep downhill and my thighs were beat by that time.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure.
Transition 2
  • 01m 50s
Comments:

I was breathing real hard the entire transition. Maybe that was not a good precedent for the run. I decided not to put on my hat since it was still overcast (thanks be to God).
116/204
3/10
What would you do differently?:

Catch my breath, though that would add time.
Run
  • 40m 1s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 12m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, this was my suckiest run ever (except maybe in my first tri when I got symptoms of heat exhaustion). I was exiting transition, they announced my name (Rebecca Holcombe Michelsen) and I was feeling pretty good. I started up the first hill (on a grassy berm) and promptly got an excruciating side cramp. I walked a bit. Someone encouraged me and patted my back. I started running again. It was so painful I had to stop again. It went on like that the whole run. I managed to run most of the second half, but less than half of the first half. The ironic thing was that because it hurt really bad when I bounced, I could run uphill with little problem, but downhill was excruciating. So this killed two of my goals: to not walk, and to finish in under 2 hrs. Really frustrating, especially since my legs felt like they could run! If I hadn't had the cramp, I would have finished in under 2 hrs easily.
What would you do differently?:

I don't know... More interval training? More bricks? More sit-ups? How do you prevent these cramps? I've never had this problem before.
Post race
Warm down:

I must have looked pretty bad, because the people at the finish made some comments I don't remember. Richard met me at the finish. All I could do was collapse in the grass for a while. The side cramp went away, but them I felt vaguely sick to my stomach... for the next several hours. I was bad, I didn't stretch and only walked as far as the port-o-potty. I did manage to eat cookies and bagels and stuff.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Mostly the cramp during the run. Well, that and only having really trained for 4 weeks due to that little wedding we had.

Event comments:

A bit more challenging than your average sprint. The lake is gross, but not terrible. The bike ride is gorgeous. Rolling hills on the bike, and lots of hills on the run. Friendly and well-done event. Set-up always does well. I would have enjoyed it much more if I hadn't had that stupid cramp on the run.




Last updated: 2007-07-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:25 | 820 yards | 02m 15s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/10
Overall: 127/204
Performance: Average
Suit: zoot shorts and sport bra
Course: counter clockwise triangle
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 83F / 28C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:37
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:59:21 | 16.04 miles | 16.22 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/10
Overall: 122/204
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Longer than 15 miles and 800+ feet of climbing.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:50
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:40:01 | 03.11 miles | 12m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 7/10
Overall: 195/204
Performance: Bad
Course: holy cow hills
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? No
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] 4