Smithfield, North Carolina United States FS Series Sunny
Total Time = 1h 33m 9s Overall Rank = 226/339 Age Group = 50 - 55 Age Group Rank = 11/25
Pre-race routine:
Drove to Smithfield; about 1 hr 15 min.
Event warmup:
Ate a Waffle Stinger and Coffee. Met up with a few teammates.
Swim
06m 26s
250 yards
02m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:
I seeded myself about right for my current fitness level. I got passed once by a faster swimmer and I passed a couple of slower simmers. We had full lanes with plenty of room to pass.
What would you do differently?:
Train more. I've only been in the pool a couple of times in the past two years.
Transition 1
01m 29s
Comments:
I did not wear socks so my feet were sticking to my shoes and couldn't get them on. I forgot my sunglasses as I was preoccupied making sure my Garmin and bike computer were on correctly.
What would you do differently?:
I just need to get back into the groove.
Bike
49m 57s
14 miles
16.82 mile/hr
Comments:
I've lost a lot of bike fitness over the past two years. I struggled some with the headwind. The traffic was quite scary. Cars were afraid to pass cyclist, so they crawled at 5 or 10 mph making it difficult for the cyclist coming from behind.
What would you do differently?:
Nothing really to do differently other than to get my bike fitness back.
Transition 2
01m 45s
Comments:
Racked bike, changed shoes, took a drink of water, remembered my sunglasses and run belt, and changed my Garmin from bike to run. I was just a bit slow and fumbly, but mainly because I have not raced in so long.
What would you do differently?:
Get back into the groove!
Run
33m 29s
3.1 miles
10m 48s min/mile
Comments:
This was my biggest disappointment. I can call it below average based on my past ability, but in truth it is average for my current fitness level. I think the 10+ extra pounds I've gained is to blame as well.
What would you do differently?:
Lose 10 pounds and train harder. Need to get my old running self back!
Post race
Warm down:
Hung out with teammates. Had about 7 team members there but couldn't get everyone together at the same time for full group photo. We even got participation medals!
What limited your ability to perform faster:
A two year hiatus of doing nothing but sitting on the couch after work drinking wine and gaining several pounds.
Event comments:
This is a good little race and was well organized this year. Great course for beginners or for those returning to racing after time off.
“Too bad there’s not anything like this for triathletes.” There are a million books and articles on how to train. One of the toughest parts of triathlon training is how to fit them into everyday life.
United States
FS Series
Sunny
Overall Rank = 226/339
Age Group = 50 - 55
Age Group Rank = 11/25
Drove to Smithfield; about 1 hr 15 min.
Ate a Waffle Stinger and Coffee. Met up with a few teammates.