Rangely Romp - TriathlonOther


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Rangely, Maine
United States
Tri-Maine
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 46m 51s
Overall Rank = 51/76
Age Group = 45-50
Age Group Rank = 2/4
Pre-race routine:

Set the alarm for 6 a.m. Hubby and I snuck out of our tents, gathered out stuff and set off. I had put hot water in a thermos the evening before so I could make instant oatmeal. The water was lukewarm in the morning so I had lukewarm oatmeal. It was edible. I didn't bother making lukewarm instant coffee. That would have been too horrible. We went to T2 and set up running gear, then went to T1 to set up bike gear.

I chatted with woman whose bike was next to mine on the T1 rack. Her sister had died from colon cancer a few days before and she was doing the race in her honor. It made me think of my sisters throughout the race.
Event warmup:

Rode my bike to local coffee shop to get my crucial first cup of coffee. Chatted with lots of people, jumped around to stay warm. It was shady and breezy which means cold. I was shivery, and I didn't want to get in the water too early.
Swim
  • 21m 43s
  • 900 yards
  • 02m 25s / 100 yards
Comments:

Terrible! I panicked after about 100 yards. I was hyperventilating, and I never could get a breathing rhythm. I switched to sidestroke and did that for about 75% of the swim portion. I never considered dropping out - I would be so ashamed of myself if I couldn't finish this swim. Even with my panic, the sidestroke didn't really slow me down that much - I probably would only be 2 minutes faster if I did the crawl. But my heart was racing as I started the bike ride.

Overall, I was 17th woman out of 27, but for the swim I was 25th out of 27. Swimming is my weakest event.
What would you do differently?:

Pre-swim the area. I think the brownish green color of the water freaked me out, and the chop was different than I was used to. There were very short little waves. I think I am used to longer waves. I haven't panicked on a swim since 2005!

I needed a more swim-specific warm-up. I was thinking beyond the swim to the bike ride. That was a mistake. Take it one leg at a time.


Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

They did not time the transitions. All transition times are added on to bike times. I think I passed a few people in the transition area. I was in the second wave. The third wave was relays and first-timers. Most of them passed me on the swim.
What would you do differently?:

I was still a bit panicked so I was just trying to calm my breathing.
Bike
  • 1h 30m 48s
  • 21 miles
  • 13.88 mile/hr
Comments:

I passed people on the bike. A few men passed me but no women did. I caught up to one 40-yr old woman. But she would drop me going up big hills. I would stay with her going down, but I would pass her on the flatter stuff. On one flat section, she had a car pull along side to hand her water bottles. She was clearly drafting off it. At first it pissed me off, but since she was in a different age category, I let it go. Then I sprinted up to her so I could catch the draft too. That caused the car to take off.

We were back-n-forth for a while. She told me she had dropped her chain twice in the race. When we started up the final series of big hills, she dropped her chain again. I never saw her again. I think she was cross shifting (big ring in front crossed to big ring in back).

Overall, I was 17th woman out of 27, but for the bike I was also 17th out of 27. I guess I am an average female bicyclist.
What would you do differently?:

More hill training, what else? I was pleased that I did so well in the flatter sections. I was surprised that I could pick up people there. I think everyone was so psyched for the hills that they were slacking elsewhere.

But I wish I could have been stronger on the long long hills.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Gravel lot for T2 which caused me to slow way down as I came in. I didn't want to flat a tire.
What would you do differently?:

nothing
Run
  • 54m 21s
  • 4.8 miles
  • 11m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

Loved this run. I was hoping to do it under an hour and I did much better than I expected. At first I could see 2 very tall thin men who looked liked serious runners. I was keeping with them which surprised me. I could that one stopped briefly to stretch so I figured he was cramping. I expected him to really take off. But he didn't. When I passed him, he said he was worried about the big hills to come so he was conserving his energy. He never passed me so I don't think his strategy worked. I passed about 6 people on the run, and 2 passed me. On the steepest climb, everyone ahead of me was walking and I wasn't gaining anything by running, so I switched to a speedwalk up the hill It used alot less energy to go the same speed. But it does interrupt your rhythm a bit. When we turned to make the final climb, I could see a woman about 75 yards ahead of me. I pushed and closed her to about 10 yards when she topped the hill. She finished ahead of me by 30 seconds.

For women, I was 17th overall out of 27 , but I was the 12th woman in running. So running was my best event!
What would you do differently?:

Push harder in the earlier miles.
Post race
Warm down:

It felt great to finish this race. With all the hills, I really feel like I accomplished something. I grabbed a water and walked around. Looked for my family (they were not there yet - I finished earlier than we all expected), and I chatted with other racers.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

weight.

Event comments:

Such friendly people! Everyone was psyched for this race. Lot of local people doing the race. Lots of people like me - average athletes who do this for fun. Good positive helpful attitudes.

I overheard a volunteer say there were 79 bikers, but I see only 76 finishers. The others were aquabikers. There were quite a few who registered but did not race. I believe everyone who started finished the race. Hooray. Final results include the relay teams too.

I was 17th woman out of 27 so a middle-of-pack finish.

17 71 Maureen G Anderson Waterboro ME Women 45-49 21:43.1 (73) 1:30:47.7 (49) 54:20.6 (49) 2:46:51

I got 2nd in my age category - WOO_HOO!! The first woman was 8 minutes ahead of me. Our times were close in the bike and run, but she creamed me at swimming. I was 2 minutes ahead of the 3rd place finisher - similar swimming and biking, but I was faster at running. 7 minutes ahead of 4rth woman in my age category.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-09-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:43 | 900 yards | 02m 25s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/4
Overall: 73/76
Performance: Bad
I was 73rd out of 79
Suit: my old farmerjon for kayaking
Course: narrow triangle.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Bad Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:30:48 | 21 miles | 13.88 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/4
Overall: 0/76
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: This was one hilly course! It was billed as being hilly, and I think everyone was prepared for it. I felt good on the bike - the hills were what I expected. I didn't pre-ride or pre-drive the course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:54:21 | 04.8 miles | 11m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/4
Overall: 49/76
Performance: Average
9 minutes for first mile (flat slightly downhill) 20 for next 2 miles (forgot to hit lap button at mile 2) 11 minutes for mile 4. 14 minutes for last .8 miles (the hilliest parts)
Course: Trail running - the last 2 miles have some killer hills on loose gravel up to the base lodge at Saddleback ski area.
Keeping cool Good 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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4