Miami Man International - TriathlonOlympic


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Miami, Florida
United States
Multirace
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 52m
Overall Rank = 277/432
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 23/36
Pre-race routine:

My husband and I were going down to Miami for one last race of the year, our first international distance and some time off from the kids. God bless grandparents! We took the Auto Train which is close to our home to Orlando then drove from there. It worked out well but it's hard to sleep on the train even in the sleeper cars. However, we enjoyed the quiet time on the train and we had plenty of time to rest when we arrived. We had a great dinner Friday night at Michael's in the Miami Design District.
Event warmup:

On Saturday, we did a 15 min. bike ride around the park to make sure the bikes felt ok, swam around the lake for a few little bit during the practive swim and ran 2 miles back at the hotel. The body felt ready to go.
Swim
  • 28m 29s
  • 1056 yards
  • 02m 42s / 100 yards
Comments:

Well - let me first say I don't really like swimming and it's not my strong suit by any means. And this was my first open water swim. I had set my goals of 20m best case and 25m worst case thinking that the wetsuit would help me swim faster. I might have made my second goal if I had not wasted time swimming to the wrong buoy and swam into (literally) another buoy. But I was happy with finishing and not drowning. I wasn't really tired at the end but glad to be done. Really like the sleeveless wetsuit.
What would you do differently?:

I made a mental turnaround in the pool recently so I hope that will carryover to next year's training. I really need to get over my I suck at swimming attitude and get more time in the pool.
Transition 1
  • 04m 36s
Comments:

The time may look really long and it was but the run from the beach to transition was pretty long. And the bike in/out was a long, long, long way from my bike rack. Plus this was my first time taking off a wetsuit. So yes it took more time that usual but there were good reasons for it.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing other than more practice and more events.
Bike
  • 1h 13m 4s
  • 22 miles
  • 18.07 mile/hr
Comments:

The course was dead flat but strong head and crosswinds on most parts especially the return. My goals were bottom 18mph and top 20mph so I was happy w/ my bike. The wind was tough and I worked pretty hard to fight through some parts. Course was pretty good - some vehicle traffic on certain roads and not always the friendliest of drivers. Volunteers and cops were great. I backed off the peddaling on the last mile to rest up the legs. Great finish in the park with lots of fans cheering on the road side.
What would you do differently?:

Need to keep getting more time on the bike. With a half and full marathon this ywear, I was much more run focused in my training. Started last year around 15-16 mph for bike averages. Now I'm holding steady at 18mph. Next year - 20!
Transition 2
  • 03m 11s
Comments:

Pretty good - ran most of the way but walked a bit. It was a long way back to my rack and didn't want to get my HR zooming before the run start. Had to put socks on for the run b/c I got a small blister on my toe from the bike shoes. First time I've had that happen.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 1h 02m 40s
  • 6.5 miles
  • 09m 38s  min/mile
Comments:

Fun run (if there is such a thing). Course was flat and windless. The early half had a brief run through the park then out to the zoo parking lots. The last half was mostly through the zoo with lots of animals to see. I saw elephants, gorillas, rhinos, baboons, huge birds, and a few others that I can't remember.

I started off with my typical short quick shuffle until my leg muscles relaxed and I was able to get a longer, faster stride. I drank Accerade along the way and dumped water on my face twice. Ate one banana Hammergel with some water around mile 2. It was yummy! LOL It's amazing what tastes good when you are hungry. This was my best part of the day. My goals were to be between 9m miles and 9m30 miles. So I accomplished that and was pleased that I could have kept going.
What would you do differently?:

Keep working on bricks to get the legs transitioning better and faster off the bike. Add some interval training to help build speed. I want 8ish min. miles next year.
Post race
Warm down:

Sat down for a few minutes to catch my breath and drank some fluids. Not too interested in eating.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Today - my swim, the wind on the bike and the long transition area.

My finish time wasn't great and I was below 50% for overall females (finished 92 out of 186) but I was happy with myself after a long year and lots of events. I'm thrilled with my progress. Two years ago, I set a new year's resolution to complete a triathlon - I did 2 sprints. This year, one of my resolutions was to complete a half marathon. I did the Shamrock Half in March and the Baltimore Marathon in Oct. I also completed 2 sprint tri, 1 sprint dualthlon, 1 international tri, 2 tri relays and a half dozen other road races from 5K to 12K. I got faster each race and had only one truly disappointing performance.

Most importantly I stayed healthy, had fun and am looking forward to next year when I want to tackle a HIM.

Event comments:

Excellent race - great organization, volunteers and stuff. Had fun and would highly recommend the race to anyone looking for one last race of the season. Just stay an extra night to hit South Beach before heading home.




Last updated: 2008-08-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:28:29 | 1056 yards | 02m 42s / 100yards
Age Group: 35/36
Overall: 345/432
Performance: Below average
Suit: Sleeveless Nineteen
Course: Clockwise rectangular course in a clear lake.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 04:36
Performance: 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
01:13:04 | 22 miles | 18.07 mile/hr
Age Group: 18/36
Overall: 273/432
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong
Course: Out and back dead flat course but strong winds.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:11
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:02:40 | 06.5 miles | 09m 38s  min/mile
Age Group: 15/36
Overall: 207/432
Performance: Good
Mostly Z4 (160s to 170)
Course: Flat course on pavement, sand and grass. Parts through the Miami Zoo. Pretty cool.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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