New Jersey State Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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West Windsor, New Jersey
United States
CGI Racing
80F / 27C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 15m 28s
Overall Rank = 1109/1128
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 86/88
Pre-race routine:

up at 4:45am to get the last minute stuff packed and bike loaded onto the car. Ate a banana and took 2 aleve since my knee had been bothering me the last couple of days. Drank some water.

Arrived at 5:30 am and got first spot on rack not that it mattered much since we were the last rack in transition before the run exit. Definitely not hard to find the rack. Stomach was doing somersaults and extremely upset. Should have packed some immodium.

Ran into Michele Redrow who gave me a great pep talk about nerves and how she still suffers from them and how to turn that into excitement. It definitely helped.

Mike waited with the boys at the volunteer tent to meet Jeanne so that she could take them out the water station.
Event warmup:

visit to the port-o-pots then a quick warm up swim which helped settle the butterflies.

Headed to the Ryan's Quest tent to have our group photo taken then headed down to the swim start location - missed the moment of silence and National Anthem, arrived in time to catch the end of the pre-race meeting. Was not too worried about missing the start since I have a while to wait anyway. Bruce (Mike's relay team swim/run partner - since Mike was doing the bike portion) and I stood and chatted while waiting for his swim wave.

Swim
  • 15m 45s
  • 547 meters
  • 02m 53s / 100 meters
Comments:

Started to the back and left standing waist deep in the water rather than treading at the buoy. Helped me get started without being winded but meant I had to swim through and around the slower swimmers - should have swam over them but I am not that kind of person.

Felt good but got winded anyway and ended up alternating between freestyle, sidestroke and backstroke but got it done!
What would you do differently?:

Trained a little more prior to the race - knew I could do the distance but had not done it enough to keep from getting winded. Maybe take advantage of an open water swim practice somewhere.

Get a wetsuit so that I have one in the event this is wetsuit legal again next year.
Transition 1
  • 05m 18s
Comments:

Used my asthma inhaler since I was winded from the swim. I put my bike shoes on (had rolled my socks so they went on fairly easily) - put my asthma inhaler and two bags of sports beans into my shorts pockets. Put on my Ryan's Quest shirt, pat knee strap on left knee, put on my helmet (buckled) and sunglasses and then had to make my way all the way from one end of transition to the other and up over the berm to get started on my bike. By the time I got there, I had horrible cramping in my legs.
What would you do differently?:

try to run a little with my bike and at least practice walking/running longer distances in my bike shoes in the hopes to avoid the cramping. Drink some gatorade as I was making my way to the bike start line - taped the sports beans to my handlebar
Bike
  • 55m 2s
  • 11.5 miles
  • 12.54 mile/hr
Comments:

Got clipped in easily and started pedaling but legs were seriously hurting and I already started with the "what the heck am I thinking" thought and doubting that I would be able to finish this. Kept going though. Drank some water gatorade and ate some sports beans on Hughes Drive despite having a hard time getting the package open and felt a bit better. Still mentally struggled on and off through the entire bike ride though. Not sure what was going on in my head but really had to find the motivation to keep going. Remembering that I am out here to raise money to help find a cure for Ryan was enough to keep me from quitting on the bike. Had some good moments and some bad moments. Very pleased with slipping my feet out of my shoes while still riding so that I was able to run into transition without my shoes on.

Really struggled with this bike ride although I did pass a few people but also got passed by others. If it weren't for Ryan of Ryan's Quest, I don't know that I would have finished.
What would you do differently?:

Not struggle mentally. Make sure my seat is tightened so that it did not tilt up when I hit a bump. I might have to raise my seat up a bit too - but I truly hope I have a new bike in time for next year's race that really fits me.
Transition 2
  • 04m 38s
Comments:

I cannot believe how far my rack was from the bike dismount - yup as far as you can possibly get before leaving transition for the run. Could not catch my breath - think I had a panic attack but was so glad to see Mike and Bruce at my rack waiting for me to cheer me on. If it weren't for them, I probably would not have gone out on the run. The transition itself was not bad considering I was trying to just calm down and relax before heading out on the run.

Put on my running shoes, turned on my HRM footpod, grabbed my water bottle which had a bag of sports beans and chapstick in the pocket. Put on my white Nike hat and sunglasses - kissed my husband and headed out.
What would you do differently?:

Avoid having a panic attack...maybe run or jog my bike back to the rack.

I knew I was going to start the run portion walking to stretch out my legs and I did.
Run
  • 54m 47s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 17m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

I knew that I was going to have to walk most if not all of this run since I had still been having horrible pains in my lower legs when I run that decreases after about a mile. I drank some water and ate another bag of sports beans. Within a couple minutes of starting, I met Kate who also was walking. It was a wonderful experience to have someone else who was not able to really run the 5k. She and I had a similar walking pace and ended up walking the course together - encouraging each other and using my HRM info to get us to move faster when needed to keep our pace up. It was amazing having my sons and all our friends from Scouts at the run turnaround. It gave me a huge boost to get hugs and kisses from my boys. It was even a nicer surprise to come across Mike and Bruce who were headed down to walk back with me to the finish line. They were surprised to find they had to struggle to keep up with Kate and me. I was a little disheartened to have the olympic runners pass me and finish before me but there was little I could have done to prevent that this year.

Kate and I decided to jog down the finish chute and I am so glad to have her pictured next to me as we crossed the finish line. I am not sure I would have finished if it were not for the company.
What would you do differently?:

Tried to run a bit more once my legs loosened up but I honestly wanted to finish the run portion with Kate and did not know that she would have been able to run the last mile or so. I would not necessarily change this experience but know for next year that I could probably run the last mile or so next time.

Need to recalibrate my HRM since it read 3.64 miles when the race was actually only 3.11 but not sure where they started the distance measurement on the course.

Definitely make sure I have my water and chapstick again.
Post race
Warm down:

Had a picture taken with Mike and then we walked up to transition to change out of my sneakers and put on my crocs but wish that I had brought my teva flip flops instead. Had blisters on my big toe and little toe on my right foot. We decided to pack up our stuff and bring it out to the car before getting some food.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not training enough for the triathlon...while I was physically in better shape than last year, I did not spend enough time following my training plan. I am also about 15 pounds heavier this year than last and need to lose that weight!

As for the swim, I had not practiced in the danskin tri outfit with a sports bra underneath and think that it acted a bit like a parachute during the swim. The tradeoff to the one piece trisuit is that it does not drag but makes it VERY hard to go to the bathroom especially once I am wet from the swim or sweat.

Need to practice more bricks which I had done last year but not this year.

Event comments:

Overall, I am glad that I found it in myself to finish the triathlon and have to keep reminding myself of that accomplishment despite not meeting my goals for this year of running or beating my time from last year.

There's always next year. HR was still a bit high even a couple of hours after finishing. I am pretty sure that using my inhaler a couple of times did alter my heart rate a bit.




Last updated: 2009-02-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:15:45 | 547 meters | 02m 53s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/88
Overall: 992/1128
Performance: Average
max HR 214 avg 169 (holy crap!) WAY TOO HIGH FOR ME! No wonder I got winded and felt a bit disoriented when I got out of the water!!!!! Wonder when exactly it spiked so high though.
Suit: Danskin tri suit with sports bra underneath
Course: diagonal out and left turn to boat ramp. LOTS of lifeguards and rescue divers out on the lake. Some with binoculars watching swimmers. Felt very safe.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:18
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:55:02 | 11.5 miles | 12.54 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/88
Overall: 1090/1128
Performance: Below average
avg hr 162, max 174 still high but not as bad as on the swim
Wind: Some
Course: same loop as last year - pretty flat with some small hills
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:38
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:54:47 | 03.11 miles | 17m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/88
Overall: 1116/1128
Performance: Below average
mile 1 - avg hr 150, max 156 mile 2 - avg hr 147, max 154 mile 3 - avg hr 151 max 158 finish - avg hr 151 max 166
Course: path through the park out the east picnic area and back - some shady spots
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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] 5