USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship - TriathlonOlympic


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Portland, Oregon
United States
USA Triathlon
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 35m 38s
Overall Rank = 603/892
Age Group = 55 - 59
Age Group Rank = 33/44
Pre-race routine:

I had been fighting a cold for a few days before the race so I rode the bike course (1 of 2 laps) easy and swam the course the day before the race. I felt about 80% but had been improving each day. My taper was longer as a result, which probably worked in my favor. I was relaxed for this race. No pre-race jitters (not a good sign).
Event warmup:

I woke up race day and felt much better, and I was about 90 - 95 %. Good enough to race hard. The morning of the race I swam a couple hundred yards to warm up.
Swim
  • 21m 14s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 17s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was about 5+ seconds per hundred slower than I expected based on practice times. Part was I just came up a bit short in the strength category, but just as important was that I let 3 guys get out in front early. Mental error. Before the race I identified the fastest swimmer and planned to draft behind him. 100 yards into the race I looked up and took a bad sighting and before I knew it they had a gap. I just didn't have the sprinting strength to close the short gap that emerged. The swimmer who came in second I had beaten 2 months before and my swimming times in practice before the race were substantially faster then at that before this race. If I had been 100% I should have been 2nd, but then again who knows. The water conditions were perfect
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Stay away from my sick 8 year old a week before the race? Not.
Transition 1
  • 03m 9s
Comments:

This was the funny part of the race. Just coming off my cold I was feeling a bit light headed and was having some concentration problems. In the midst of the transition I pealed off my suit and when I bent over to put on my socks I realized I had only taken one leg out of my suit. I'd never done that before but I laughed it off and moved on. T1 had always been my weakness but I had improved substantially over the course of the season.
What would you do differently?:

Practice taking off my wetsuit at home until it was second nature and didn't require any thinking.
Bike
  • 1h 17m 19s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 19.28 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt a lot stronger than the warmup the day before, but I lacked the torque for the steeper parts of the hills. I think my concentration was lacking as well. My last tri I had been so focused on the bike and it just wasn't there. I blame it on the residuals from my cold.
What would you do differently?:

Try harder to focus and go a little deeper into the pain. In my last race I kept telling myself that I was in a bike race and not to think about the run. It was a bit risky but it worked out.
Transition 2
  • 01m 10s
Comments:

I am relatively fast in T2. Again I got a laugh. As I was running away from the rack I realized I had my bathing cap in my hand. How it ended up in my hand with my race belt I'll never know. At the same time I also dropped a pack of GU that had been next to my belt. Someone called out that I dropped something. Without thinking I stopped, picked it up and ran back the 25 feet to my bike. Mental lapse, but as I ran from the transition area I laughed. I had never had anything like this happen before.
What would you do differently?:

Not stop of course.
Run
  • 52m 48s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 30s  min/mile
Comments:

Legs felt like crap the first mile. So what else is new. This is by far my weakest event. On the good side, I had good focus and ran hard. I always finish the 2nd half of the run faster than the first half and this was the case this day. Two notable things. The weather was cool, but I drank the same amount of as usual. As a result at mile 2, I had to pee so bad. Earlier in the season I had made a similar mistake and just ran with the pain (it was a good distraction from the real pain I felt running). But this time it was too mch. I stopped by the side of the road to relieve myself. It must have been a good 20 seconds, however it was the right decision. It was at the base of a climb and when I started back up my legs felt great and I ultimately passed everyone that had gotten pass me while I was on the side of the road. I picked off a couple of people in my age group. I finished strong and even picked off one more person in my age group in the last 50 yards. We both sprinted down the shoot and I beat him by one second. A small victory, but an enjoyable one. I had nothing left.
What would you do differently?:

Drink less.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and did a little stretching.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Just repeating myself: Residual of a cold just came up a bit short on strength and clear thinking. This was something out of my control and didn't affect how great I felt about my race. Even if I had been 100% I would still have come up short in qualifying for Worlds. I was just thrilled to have qualified for the race. I had tried a couple of races 2 years before so this was my first serious season. This was my last race of the season and feel like I'm not ready to end it. I can't wait until next year. I am already laying out my 2009 races.

Event comments:

No free beer which is common at many tris I did this summer in Oregon. I was tired and the weather was cool. I didn't stay for the Elite race. I would have liked to. If it had been sunny I would have taken a nap and hung around.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-09-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:14 | 1640 yards | 01m 17s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/44
Overall: 127/892
Performance: Average
My pace was 1:18 per hundred yards.
Suit: Zoot Z1
Course: One lap rectangular course counter clockwise.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:09
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:17:19 | 24.85 miles | 19.28 mile/hr
Age Group: 39/44
Overall: 672/892
Performance: Below average
Wind: None
Course: 2 laps around a rolling hill course. A few short step sections.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Bad
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 01:10
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:52:48 | 06.21 miles | 08m 30s  min/mile
Age Group: 35/44
Overall: 676/892
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back on a hilly course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4