Galena Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Galena, Illinois
United States
65F / 18C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 20m 58s
Overall Rank = 597/800
Age Group = F25-59
Age Group Rank = 32/55
Pre-race routine:

Woke up early, stressing out about the hills. BF dropped me off at the shuttle, which took me to the Lake. Set up transition, ate a powerbar and drank some water. Portapotty twice.
Event warmup:

Walking around, short swim to acclimate myself to the water temp.
Swim
  • 13m 3s
  • 660 yards
  • 01m 59s / 100 yards
Comments:

Wasn't as cold as I expected to be. I think that getting into the water ahead of time really helped with that. I was happy with my navigation considering my lack of experience in open water swims and the number of turns to negotiate. I could really feel that my swimming fitness had diminished as I found myself out of breath and doing backstroke a couple of times (the breathing was surely exacerbated by the temperature, but still need to work on the fitness).

The pool at my gym had been closed for the six weeks preceeding the race, and my schedule only allowed me to get in the water ONCE before the race. I was half tempted to jump in Lake Michigan just to get back in the water! I need to improve my swimming anyhow. I was happy with my time and performance, though, especially considering my limited swimming prior to the race.

I tried drafting a few times, but had a hard time staying on anybody's feet. Murky water didn't help much with that.
What would you do differently?:

Train more consitently. Have a contingency plan for if my primary pool is unavailable. Improve swim fitness/form/bilateral breathing/DRAFTING/everything. :)
Transition 1
  • 04m 46s
Comments:

The gravel in T1 stuck to my feet, so I had to brush them off before I got into my bike shoes. I hadn't Body Glided my wrists and the wetsuit stuck there a bit, which I wasn't expecting. I need to figure out my hair. It was a gnarly mess when I pulled my cap off, so I had to re-ponytail before the helmet went on. Mounting and up the first hill went better than I expected.

Everything else was smooth, including my setup for getting everything into the clear plastic bag. I was pleased that I didn't end up struggling with that at all.
What would you do differently?:

Figure out my hair. Body Glide EVERYWHERE. Learn to start with shoes clipped into pedals.
Bike
  • 1h 18m 17s
  • 16.8 miles
  • 12.88 mile/hr
Comments:

Holy Cow! I was scared of the hills but ended up making it through. I hadn't trained on hills much at all, so it was pretty daunting. I made my goal of NOT having to walk my bike up any of them and of being in aero as much as was reasonable. Got scared on a few descents with the strong crosswinds blowing me around a bit, but it was FUN to be flying downhill that fast. The course reminded me of cycling in Ireland, but much less leisurely. As I stomped my pedals up the hill, watching others spin up past me, I realized that I may want to consider another cassette that is more hill friendly in the future.

Despite being slow as you know what, I was happy with my performance when I put it in the context of my training and experience. This was a tough course and I made it!
What would you do differently?:

Train on hills more, swap out cassette to a 12-27, remember to drink more.
Transition 2
  • 01m 58s
Comments:

Fairly quick transition. The slower-downer was having to untie my plastic bag from the rack and get my stuff out. Wiping the dirt off feet before putting running socks and shoes on was also a time suck.
What would you do differently?:

Perhaps learn to run without socks (trying it out in training first, of course) for sprints.
Run
  • 42m 55s
  • 4.3 miles
  • 09m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

I'll admit it. I walked up the first hill. My HR was still too high from the bike, and I knew I wouldn't be going any faster running than walking. I gave my permission to walk up the hills but made myself run on any flats and downhills. I ended up running up a few of the smaller hills anyhow. I knew I was a tad dehydrated from the bike.

I walked a good portion of the first half of the run, then ran with another girl for approx the last 1.5 miles. We pushed eachother thru to the last aid station, which we both needed to walk thru to hydrate. Got running again, remembering that it was all downhill from there. Had to put on the brakes a bit going down that big first hill, but once the grade wasn't as steep, we both kicked and ran hard to the finish. I must've been hauling on the 2nd half of the run when I was with her because this has been about my normal pace for FLAT 5Ks. Very happy with my time here.
What would you do differently?:

Run more, more consistently, hydrate better on the bike, practice running hills.
Post race
Warm down:

Water water water and an apple. Walked around to cool down and did some light stretching. Got a nice massage which helped to loosen up the lower back, IT band and legs. Got REALLY cold about 30 min after finishing and couldn't wait to get my hands on my T1 bag with my l/s shirt in it.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Inadequate training, not prepared for the hills, mentally I tend to let myself take it easy to easily - as in "you can walk up the hills, it's okay." I need to HTFU!

Event comments:

I thought this was a great race. It was hard, but not outside of my abilities. It pushed me a lot and was a great challenge. I know what I need to do to be better prepared for next time around, and I'm energized to go into my next sprint knowing that I'll be able to handle it no problem after dealing with Galena! :)




Last updated: 2008-02-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:03 | 660 yards | 01m 59s / 100yards
Age Group: 34/55
Overall: 0/800
Performance: Average
Suit: Full Wetsuit
Course: Rectangle with three right turns and one left turn.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 60F / 16C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:46
Performance:
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:18:17 | 16.8 miles | 12.88 mile/hr
Age Group: 32/55
Overall: 0/800
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: HILLY Point to Point. More uphill than down on the first half. Beautiful scenery.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:58
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:42:55 | 04.3 miles | 09m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 32/55
Overall: 0/800
Performance: Good
Course: Out and Back: Up a huge hill then up some more hills, turn around, down some hills, down the big hill.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5