Philadelphia Women's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
CGI Racing
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 42m 44s
Overall Rank = 224/723
Age Group = F50-54
Age Group Rank = 12/40
Pre-race routine:

Stayed in a hotel in downtown Phila. Got up at 4:30. For some reason I was not looking forward to this race at all. I did some core exercises, breathing, ate some granola and biked to the race site on my trusty steed, Scar the cyclocross bike.
Event warmup:

did a pre-race warmup swim. Yes I wore a wetsuit even tho the water was 77 degrees, BARELY wetsuit legal. Made myself talk to some of the other survivors at the race, even though I'm usually too nervous to deal with conversations pre-race
Swim
  • 15m 27s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 53s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was very unfocused for the swim. I could not see the buoys well, went out too fast and passed a lot of people, then after the first turn the rest of the swim went downhill. I did some backstroke for a while. Lost the pack that I was with and had some 15-19 AGer climbing up my butt (I was in the "survivor" wave, the first wave out). Not a stellar performance by yours truly.

Since I was so "ho hum" about the swim, I decided to experiment with different breathing patterns. This was fun for a while. I usually breathe bilaterally, after every 3 strokes. I tried doing 2 to see if the extra oxygen would help rev me up. It worked but I got off course.
What would you do differently?:

Basically, I treated this like a dip in the river on vacation that I had to get through before a picnic or something. I would focus on applying some of the techniques that have worked in the pool. I'd do more OWS. Panic in teh water is not my problem, distraction seems to be. I like open water and it puts me into "summer vacation" mode
Transition 1
  • 03m 3s
Comments:

oh we won't even discuss this transition. I was still in la la land from the swim.
What would you do differently?:

uh...focus?
Bike
  • 54m 19s
  • 17 miles
  • 18.78 mile/hr
Comments:

The course was beautiful. I shook off my swim state and got a bit of the eye of the tiger going. Scar was responsive and raring to go, due to the nice bath and lube I gave him the night before the race. I felt great. The course couldn't have been kinder. I passed a lot of people. In general, because I was in the first wave, I didn't have any problems with people riding all over the road on the first lap. The second lap was a dift story, some people do not know how to stay to the right.
What would you do differently?:

Done more of what I did. I had a lot of 22mph sections going, but distracted briefly in several sections the first time around, and didn't push. I think I have the furthest to go with my biking, I'm not sure I can improve swimming and running that much, but I now have a taste of the way I need to go on the bike.
Transition 2
  • 02m 42s
Comments:

again, a crappy transition. I was dreading the run and it showed in how long it took me to put my shoes on.
What would you do differently?:

I dunno. uh, speed it up a bit?
Run
  • 27m 4s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 08m 42s  min/mile
Comments:

felt like the Bataan death march. I was relatively focused for the first half, but I felt awkward and slow. Legs weak and crampy. Second half I walked a bit, although I really didn't need to. About 100 yds before the finish I did manage to speed up to try to get some final speed in, but a major cramp seized my right inner quad and I hobbled to the finish line. Nice.
What would you do differently?:

MORE BRICKS.
Post race
Warm down:

met the Ex-Hubby (and best friend), walked around to get rid of the cramp, ate a bit, sampled the goods, then we left, picked up another friend and ate a huge lunch.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Attitude and lack of training. Need I say more?

Event comments:

Nice race. I think they did a good job and the setting couldn't be better.




Last updated: 2008-02-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:15:27 | 820 yards | 01m 53s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/40
Overall: 320/723
Performance: Bad
Suit: blue seventy reaction wetsuit
Course: triangular around red buoys in schuylkill river.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:03
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:54:19 | 17 miles | 18.78 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/40
Overall: 166/723
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: two laps of a closed off road around the race area.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 100
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:42
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:27:04 | 03.11 miles | 08m 42s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/40
Overall: 224/723
Performance: Bad
Course: out and back.
Keeping cool Average Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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