Greenfield Lightlife Triathlon - International Dis - TriathlonOlympic


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Greenfield, Massachusetts
United States
Greenfield Recreation Department
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 26m 38s
Overall Rank = 168/191
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 5/6
Pre-race routine:

Starting with the night before:
I drove out to Greenfield with my teammate, Anna, and got a room at the Super 8. It was fine, and the 99 Restaurant next door looked good, but wasn't open yet. :( I wandered over to KFC/TacoBell for a PizzaHut personal pan pizza -- it was dried out, old, and gross -- for dinner. The nutella on banana back at the room was far tastier. In any case, I slept about 6 hours and was happy to wake up and not have a long drive ahead of me.
Event warmup:

Setup at the T-area went fine, just one trip to the porta potty, and then I was off to the river to zip up and jump in. I had no time for a swim warmup, but wished that I had taken a few mins at the back of the waves to test my stroke/roll/etc.
Swim
  • 22m 46s
  • 1109 yards
  • 02m 03s / 100 yards
What would you do differently?:

I really should've taken a few warmup strokes and staked out a better place on the start line. I got stuck behind slow swimmers, had to dodge people wading at the shallow side/end of the line. I've never had to stand up and do dolphin dives in a swim before, but did today! It was very frustrating to feel like only in the last 500m did I really have water/space/time to myself.
Transition 1
  • 02m 20s
Comments:

Time was slower on the clock than it felt during the race.
What would you do differently?:

Get feet clean and into shoes more quickly!
Bike
  • 1h 47m 37s
  • 30.4 miles
  • 16.95 mile/hr
Comments:

Just didn't feel much power in the pedals yesterday, and coasted too much when I could've been pedaling more through downhills
What would you do differently?:

A lot -- getting the cyclocomputer hooked up again would help. Not eating PizzaHut the night before might help, too. I did have a cinn/raisin bagel with CC this morning, but it didn't seem to be in the tank. Mentally I was just a little too tuned out. I wanted this race to count for my team and to best my time last year, but I slipped into 'cruise control' mode too often for that to happen. I didn't catch any other Athenas on the bike, and I should have. I have to dig deeper, plain and simple.
Transition 2
  • 01m 46s
Comments:

Fine transition, but again, slower than I thought it should be. I lost my running hat again and had to dig around my stuff to find it --grrr.
What would you do differently?:

Keep the dang hat on top of my shoes, not let it get lost or trampled under my wetsuit, cap, etc.
Run
  • 1h 12m 14s
  • 7.2 miles
  • 10m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

In hindsight, I ran a fair race but the drive to really best myself wasn't in me that day. I got to the first hill and instead of bouncing up it, I walked it. I resolved to not walk again till the covered bridge, but then walked through water stop #2 and #3. Quickly resuming pace is good, but I can't just walk through to win. Seeing no one ahead "to catch" discouraged me. I felt like I was one of the last 10 runners out on the course. Truth be told, I was like #12 from DFL, and that hurt when I saw it on the standings. Not good, not good at all.
What would you do differently?:

Lots!!
*Resolve to run, not jog
*Resolve to drink on the run, not walk
*Really open up my stride and quit babying myself
*Put up a performance I can really say was my "everything" and my best
Post race
Warm down:

Walking, standing, sitting in the shade to eat with teammates from Wheelworks, chatting and acting happy (well, it was nice to be done) but really feeling crappy for having had such a lack-luster race performance. I realized I'd raced it as if I were just adding training miles, and that's not OK with me.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Mental toughness and willingness to push myself just wasn't there yeseterday, and I didn't really know why at the time. I know better now. Mental perspective is everything -- I have to decide and dedicate myself to the race, period.

Event comments:

I raced it last year and loved it, so I don't know why my performance felt so mediocre this year, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with the race itself. It was all nicely done.




Last updated: 2007-08-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:22:46 | 1109 yards | 02m 03s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/6
Overall: 0/191
Performance: Below average
Suit: Orca full
Course: Around a buoy line loop and then again 1/2 way up the side of the buoy line
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:20
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:47:37 | 30.4 miles | 16.95 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/6
Overall: 178/191
Performance: Below average
No cycling computer -- I need to install the replacement :(
Wind: Some
Course: Hilly loop x4 and familiar terrain from last year's race. The worst section is right after a covered bridge where not one, but two, switchbacks take on a quick (or rather slow) ascent on steeply banked roads. Stay on the outside of the banks, and you're fine...drop into the pit of the curve and you're hosed. Some things never change -- the WWLD "what would lance do?" road paint markings still inspired me to hammer up, but I feel like I didn't hammer enough on the flats.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:46
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:12:14 | 07.2 miles | 10m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/6
Overall: 174/191
Performance: Below average
True 10 min pace in first 2 miles (I saw 20:00 at mile 3's start), but I must've been slower in miles 3-4 because miles 5-7 felt fast and downhill.
Course: Loop of 1x around the bike course -- same covered bridge, same dang hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 1
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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