Downtown Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Columbia, South Carolina
United States
Set Up Events, Inc
65F / 18C
Sunny
Total Time = 58m 12s
Overall Rank = 37/320
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 3/22
Pre-race routine:

Man...long day. This was a 1pm start in Columbia, abou tan hour's drive from Augusta. To get to the race with my TNT triathletes, I first had to get our GTS for the marathoners off at 7:30. So I was up at 6 so I could get some food (egg mcmuffin meal from mcdonalds) and get to the Greeneway by 7:15 to meet the runners. It was pretty chilly out...about 4o and pretty windy. So I stood around for awhile why they did their 4, 6 or 8 miles.

After they finished, the triathletes rolled in, we consolidated bikes and got on the road at about 9:30. Ate a Powerbar in the car and found the race site a bit over an hour later. Racked our bikes,picked up packets, helped everyone with whtever they needed and tried to fit in some warmup.
Event warmup:

Ran for about 8 miutes, spun around the bike course and did 200m in the pool.

Not nearly enough.
Swim
  • 07m 33s
  • 500 meters
  • 01m 31s / 100 meters
Comments:

Interesting swim. We started 2 at a time, and I had the inside part of the lane (next to the rope). The guy that started next to me swam a bit faster in the first 50, but since i was next to the rope, I totally had the advantage. After that, smooth sailing. Passed three people.
What would you do differently?:

Swim more. Broken record here, I guess.
Transition 1
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

Since there was a pretty steep hill right out of T1, I decided to put my shoes on first. So, T1 was a little slower, but it saved me a lot of hastle (like, as in not falling over).
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Bike
  • 28m 38s
  • 10 miles
  • 20.95 mile/hr
Comments:

So, two things (well three if you count the inadequate warmup) conspired against me. 1: hills where I haven't ridden any; 2) Scary-ass bike course where I had 1 near car/bike collisions and at least 2 near bike/bike collisions. The first lap was fine...I felt flat onth ehills, but that's to be expected when I'v edone litte riding and what I have done was on the trainer. Hard to fake it on this course. BUt when th esecond lap started and more bikes were out there...wow. I was passing slower cyclists all over the place, and since there were a lot of turns, I had to be super careful. Coming down the big hill into 5 POints in the second lap, I very nearly got t-boned by a car that blew through the intersection...he passed right behind my rear wheel. And then on the third lap, on that same hill, I was passing a slower cyclist while going nearly 40mph...I called out "on your left" only to see him drift to his left. I then shouted "left" only to see him drift more towards me. At that point, my front and his rear wheel overlapped, nearly touching...with me shouting "left left left left...". Then we were next to each other, our bars nearly touching (romantic, right) at which point he realized I was on his left. Funny how that works.

And then, as I was finishing the bike and starting my left turn into the TA, some dude tries to pass me on my left (this was a no-pasing zone according to th epre-race instructions) and we both nearly go down.

So...freaky bike.
What would you do differently?:

Not freak out?
Transition 2
  • 00m 34s
Comments:

Pretty good T2...adrenaline firing, I guess.
Run
  • 20m 41s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 39s  min/mile
Comments:

Good effort, but just felt flat. Probably a combination of poor niutrition pre-race, not enough warm-up and a general lack of training. Good effort, though, since I ran really hard almost from the get-go.
What would you do differently?:

Train more, eat more, warm-up more.
Post race
Warm down:

Ran about another 3 miles.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

All the things mentioned earlier. You were paying attention, right?

Event comments:

So here's the thing. I made the podium again. That makes 5 podiums in my last 5 races and I used to *never* place in my AG. I've been doing these things off an on since '84...probably 150 tris, and until last year, I never..literally never placed in my AG. But apparetnly something has changed. I know my AG isn't any easier (M40-44 is tough, man). So...it must be my running. I'm still not great...but I'm definitley alot stronger than I used to be.

So here's what I've learned: if you want to run faster, sure, running more is a good start. But what you really need to do is just run the hell faster, in training.

No charge for that.

Also: props to my TNTers. I brough 5 folks to this race, four who had never raced a tri before, and th eother was doing her second. Lindsay won her AG, and everyone else did awesome...all finishing strongly and smiling at th eend. The all rock!




Last updated: 2009-02-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:33 | 500 meters | 01m 31s / 100meters
Age Group: 1/22
Overall: 7/320
Performance: Average
Includes 100 yard run out of the pool and to the mat at the back of the TA.
Suit: Oomph! onesie
Course: 10 lengths in a 50m pool, changing lanes after each lap.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:48
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:28:38 | 10 miles | 20.95 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/22
Overall: 44/320
Performance: Below average
Wind: Some
Course: Three 3+ mile loops through downtown Columbia. Steep up hill in the first half, steep down in the second. Crazy dangerous with lots of cars at the intersections and 300+ bikes on the little course all at once.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:34
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:20:41 | 03.11 miles | 06m 39s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/22
Overall: 44/320
Performance: Average
Course: This run was 3 miles at most. Hilly, with 2 outs-and backs.
Keeping cool Average Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]