Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Even though the Clyde+relay wave was relatively small, I've never been in a more aggressive pack. I really don't mind the bumping and pushing and usually give as much as I get but I've never before actually been punched in the head,, not an acidental hit but a full closed fist punch to the ear. Thouoght about retaliating but it would have slowed me down to much so I let it go and got into my swim rhythm.
After the fist few hundred yards the pack opened up and I had enough swim room for myself, I think mostly because I faded to the outside, but I still made the buoy turns fairly close. Overall zig-zagged alittle but held to coarse fairly well since the coarse had closely spaced, large buoys.
Wetsuit easily cuts 10-15 seconds/100 off my pace

Nothing, Had a very good swim beating my pace from HIM last month by 7 seconds per 100 yds, due mainly to the decision to push harder throughout the swim.

T1 always slow. This time in part because while running up a muddy slope my left calf cramped, I slipped and fell. Don't really know if a cramped the slipped or the other way around. But either way I ended up laying in the mud and my left leg not responding to command. Eventually got up and ran/hobbled to my transition area. Everything else went as planned. Wetsuit came off ok but did have to work it over the ankles some.

Not fall

Starting in the very last wave, "On your Left" became my motto. Twenty-five miles of constant passing can really take a toll. Although most would move right when asked many shouldn' have been riding so far to the left to begin with. Twice had to go way wide around four-wide packs putting me way out into the traffic lane.
Past the major bike accident after the ambulance had arrived but before the medivac helo. Heard that the bop riders were held up by up to 25 min to allow the helo to land. When passing the scene although worry about the cyclist and that it could be someone I know (was there with 50+ for my tri team) I also thought that i would have to be at the bottom of a descent right before a fairly good climb and I had to bleed off all my momentium right before it. I don't feel too guilty for thie thought since the woman right next to me actually voiced the same thing.
Near the beginning of the ride, my new PD Razor bottle popped off and I lost my only water on the bike. That thing had come off before and I shouldn't have tempted fate but I did and I payed for it. I did have to gels taped to my top tube as backup but without water I couldn't take any till the bottle exchange. When I did get the the exchange, I grabbed aone and slugged down as much water As a could before disposing of the bottle, than I to a gel. In hindsigt should have put the half empty bottle in my back pocket and finished it later with the other gel. As it was I only took in the 100 cal of gel, and nothing with electrolytes, from the start to the run and I think I payed for it later, see run description.

Also, when setting up transition I found my GPS battery was drained, so no bike computer for the race. Not too bad since I don't really use the info during the race, but as a data junkie I don't like being denied the info for post race over analysis. So I excepted it and moved on. But, it was interesting to note really how often I did look down for some data and just see an empty mount. Mostly I was just looking for my speed on the downhills and my cadence on the uphills.

Overall I happy with the result but not quite satified. Look forward to bettering my time in the future with more training and less weight to haul around the course.
I'll definitey reconsider my backup nutrition plans.

My transitions suck.

For all the horror stories I heard about the run, I didn't think it was so bad. Sure lots of uphills but it's not like I had to crawl up any. Even though walking may have been faster at some points I always stayed in running mode since I've found going from walk to running again hurts too much.

Didn't get my mile splits since my polar lap button seemed to have gotten stuck, Probably got some grit under it during the swim. But did check my time at every mile marker and let my mind go to its happy place calculating required pace for the rest of the run in order to get 2:45 finish. The first 4+ miles were over 9 min miles with the hardest one close to ten so I know I must have really had turned it up in the last mile and a half to get the average I did. This was partly because at this point a guy with a CL on his leg, but no age, passed me so I decided to hang right behind him and try and pass him at the finish. Well I hung with him for a mile but in the last 0.2 he pulled away as I couldn't sustain his pace anymore and he crossed about 20 sec in front of me. Turned out he wasn't in the masters catagory anyway. But that last mile pace kept me just six seconds infront of the next Master Clyde.

Left transition knowing I haad to get water and fuel in me since I was denied it on the bike. Grabbed a cup of water at the station coming out of transtion and I swear it must have come directly from to local pool. Ended up coughing most of it back up. Would have preferred a cup of lake water. After that at every aid sation I'd grab a cup of water and Gatorade and mix it since I can't stomach full strength GE but the GE masked the foul MD water.
At the first hill the inner knee quad muscle, the vastus medialis (yes I had to look taht up), decided to complain loudly. Not actual cramp but just a load burning pain with some random contractions. Same muscle, both legs. Eventually found a comfortablle uphill pace (ie. very slow) where I could tolerate the pain. This problem gradually decreased throu the run, so it could have been a hydration/electrolyte issue, or it could be a bit fit problem. Need to reasearch this some more, but three days later and this muscle is still giving me problems.

Overall I happy with the result but not quite satified. Look forward to bettering my time in the future with more training and less weight to haul around the course.

Crossed the finish line and stpped doing very bad things to my body


Putting the Clyde/relay wave last sucks. This wave averages a lot faster than the waves in front of them leading to a lot of passing and not the safest bike course.

Bike course may, on the surface, feel like a rural setting but is in fact has many impaitent, agressive, urban drivers.