Festival of Flowers Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Greenwood, South Carolina
United States
Setup Events
95F / 35C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 33m 26s
Overall Rank = 107/260
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 12/26
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 3am to shower, dress and drive from Augusta to Greenewood. Got to the race site at about 5:30. Got my packet, set up transition and warmed up. Ate a PB sandwich, PowerBar, drank 24oz or Gatorade and diet coke on the way.
Event warmup:

15 min run, starting easy and finishing at race pace. My right calf, which I had tweaked about 10 days earlier, felt fine. I knew this would be my limiter...if it didn't flare up, I *knew* I'd have a great race. So...so far so good. After the little run, 10 minutes or so on the bike with a 1 min all-out effort. Again, the calf felt fine. Swam about 400 meters right before the start.
Swim
  • 24m 44s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 31s / 100 yards
Comments:

Disappointing. Started off well, right with the lead pack, but for some reason, I have a really hard time drafting off of people. 300 meters in, I lost contact with the lead pack and ended up swimming in space the rest of the way. If I would have maintained contact, I would have been 2 minutes faster. Still, fastest swim in my AG by nearly 2 minutes.
What would you do differently?:

Keep contact.
Transition 1
  • 00m 43s
Comments:

Good T1...tie for fastest in my AG.
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Bike
  • 1h 08m 35s
  • 24 miles
  • 21.00 mile/hr
Comments:

Suckish for the first 10 mikles or so. Couldn't get into a rhythm, and my back was hurting. Somewhere near halfway, though, I kicked it in and felt awesome. Last 14 miles were above 22mph, and that includes a trip back to pick up a water bottle I had dropped (costing me at least 30 seconds). Repassed a bunch of people who had passed me earlier. Maybe this is why I doo better in long course races.
What would you do differently?:

Get into that groove a bit earlier. Not drop a water bottle.
Transition 2
  • 01m 2s
Comments:

Good T2. Lost a few seconds drinking, but man was it hot...so better off starting out with some fluids in me.
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Run
  • 58m 24s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 24s  min/mile
Comments:

So...good so far. Probably in the top 20 overall out of T2. My goal for this race was to finish in the top third of my AG to qualify for nationals. And, I figured I was in the top 5 at that point. So...would my calf hold up?

The first mile felt good. Not great, but good. It was hot...easilly over 90 at the start, adn the first part was shaded, but up hill. Went through the first mile maker in 7:10 (awesome!). I wanted to run sub :45, and I was ahead of pace. Even though it was so hot, I didn't feel it at all. I really felt good. And, my calf was great.

Maintained pace and went through mile 2 in 7:03. Still felt great. Breathing hard, but comfortably. At this point, I had passed 2 guys in my AG...figured I was top three at that poitn (one guy wh osaid..."you're pretty strong...you should be racing Clydesdale". wtf?). So, my plan was to gradually start picking up pace in teh next mile and, after the turn around just run as hard as I could. Visions of at sub 43 minute 10K, podium finish and sub 2:20 Oly were flashing through my head. Did I mention I felt great? I was so pumped...feeling no pain at all.

But then...POP! It felt like someone shot me in the back of my right calf. You know how you see sprinters or maybe wide receivers pull up in agony? That was how it was. I looked around to see what had hit me, but there was nothing. Just seering pain in my right calf. Then I figured out. Fuck. Stopped...through my glasses down in disgust and limped around. It really hurt.

Man was I pissed.

Stood there for a minute wondering what to do. That was the firsdt time I'd ever injured myself in a race. I've never DNFed, but what was I supposed to do? I strtetched it for a minute, thinking that would help. It didn't. So trhere I was...2 miles out on the race course. I could turn around, limp back in (I didn't want an ambulanece ride). Or, I could keep going. It was probably dumb in retrospect, but I kept going. Hobbled along, doing aweird imitation or running on the flats and downhills, limping up at walking pace on the uphills...too much strain on my calf to do anything else. Got passed a lot. Started looking at my watch, thinking if I could get it together, I could still finish in less than 2:25. BUt that 12+ minute mile was a killer. Oh well. Hope it rehabs quick.
What would you do differently?:

Not have run most of the R'n'R marathon the week before on my injured calf.
Post race
Warm down:

Med tent. Ice. Traction.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Blown-out calf.

Event comments:

So...back in Augusta, I made an appt with my sports med doc who suggested an MRI (which happens Wednesday). He's thinking I rutured my soleus, adn that surgery may be in my future. I'll know on 6/26 for sure.




Last updated: 2008-03-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:24:44 | 1640 yards | 01m 31s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/26
Overall: 19/260
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course: All left turns, starting out into the sun. Course had to have been about 200 meters long, since no one was under 22 minutes.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 82F / 28C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:43
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:08:35 | 24 miles | 21.00 mile/hr
Age Group: 17/26
Overall: 113/260
Performance: Good
5mile split: 15:32 (19.3 mph) 10 mile split: 30:20 (19.8) Last 14 miles: 38:03 (22.1)
Wind: Little
Course: Big loop.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:02
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:58:24 | 06.21 miles | 09m 24s  min/mile
Age Group: 19/26
Overall: 173/260
Performance: Bad
7:10 7:03 12:24 9:47 9:34 12:26 (last 1.214)
Course: Out and back, 3 miles in the sun. Which was hot.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]