Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed (Page 23)

Fantastic race report on Tybee, Chris! Congrats!! Some friends of mine from Columbus competed there. One of them mentioned that the current changed directions about 15 minutes before the start of the race and you all wound up swimming against the current? Ugh. Way to hang in there!!

Edited by marriedthepoolguy 2015-06-12 11:46 AM

Sunday is my first triathlon of the season, what I guess you would consider my B race. I discovered late last night a local bike shop was giving participants the opportunity to borrow a road bike for the race. There were three left and I just happened to fall at the very start of the height recommendation for a Specialized Ruby Elite. So I reserved it. I just have to provide my own pedals which the shop will have to take off my bike and throw on the road bike.

The only bike I have and what I race is a Giant Escape hybrid. We do pretty well together and the bike is my strongest leg. Looks like they will take the time to fit you when you pick it up (and I would run the other way if that wasn't the case). I believe I can pick up the bike later this afternoon or tomorrow morning so I will have time to take it for a few quick rides to get a feel for it before race time.

Questions - what are going to be my biggest differences? Things I should be mindful of?

In addition I am somewhat apprehensive as there is a good chance we will be racing in wet and rainy conditions. It's been rainy with a chance of storms the last two days and that is the case for the next few days as well. The coarse is relatively flat with one small downhill as you come in to loop a second time or to head to T2. As much as I would just love to attack and see what that bike can do, the weather will most likely restrain me a bit.

But man oh man. I have had several people tell me a road bike makes a huge difference. One friend upped her average speed by 4 mph just by switching bikes. I would love for that to be my case as well!

Advice greatly appreciated!

Carolyn

Carolyn, my road bike speed versus mountain bike speed is probably about 4mph faster, too. Good luck on the race! I think it's fantastic they're loaning out bikes. It might be hard to give this one up, which, I'm sure, is their hope

Small field today that allowed me to take second in my age group. Full report to follow

Moses Lake For the Health of It Olympic Triathlon
3:55:16.3

So, my first Olympic triathlon is on the books! It was a beautiful, sunny day, and not too hot; mid-70s. I was really surprised by the lake; it was actually quite nice, and had I known about this little park area when I lived there, I probably would have gone there for swimming during the hot summer months! It was not at all like where I lived on the other side of the lake.

The swim started with everyone standing waist-deep on the beach. Since there were only 68 of us, they started everyone in a single wave. Right off, I caught my rhythm; it was very zen-like, just like the swimming I'd been practicing back home. Everyone else quickly passed me until it was just me and a male swimmer, but I didn't care. I didn't try to push myself or anything because this was my first Olympic, and I wanted to see if I could do it, more than anything!

I really enjoyed the swim. The water was great, and it was really peaceful. I came out of the water last, and then ran to transition. My bike was really easy to find. Ha ha ha! I was in and out and on the road. I rode the entire route alone, except for when other competitors passed me going the other way. I was surprised by the hilliness of the route; I didn't remember the area being that hilly. And windy! And I almost got hit by an inattentive driver, but fortunately, his window was down so he heard me scream and hit his brakes.

I really enjoyed the bike ride. I'd put some bite-sized oatmeal raisin cookies in my bento bag and ate a half dozen or so as I rode. I made sure to hydrate, as well, so when I got back to the transition area, I was in good shape, except for having to make a blue room stop before heading out on my run. I was really enjoying the run, too! I was surprised how well I was doing, even though I was dead last, by far, and I was pretty sore. But still running! I had plenty of time and knew I would make it well within the four-hour cut-off window. The local high school cheerleaders were stationed in small groups along the route and would cheer for us whenever we ran by, which was really cool.

And then I got to where the turn-around point should have been, but there was no one there. I knew I had to be close to it, but there were no signs, no water station as promised, no people, nothing. And I was out of water. I saw a group of people in the distance and kept running, thinking that must be it--and knowing how notoriously distances are off in these races--but then I could see cars on the bridge just behind them and knew it had to be too far. On the other hand, without my glasses, I wasn't really sure how far I'd gone. I finally stopped and started shouting "where's the turnaround? where's the water station?" turning around in circles, looking for anyone who might know or any signs I might have missed. Finally, two faces peered over the edge of the parking lot above me and pointed back in the direction in which I'd come. They'd already packed up the turnaround signs and water station!

I was so thirsty and angry, I started crying and turned around and headed back. I figured I'd gone about a quarter mile or so too far (so double that since I had to go back!), so I was now about two miles from the next water station. I passed a group of cheerleaders about ten minutes later and yelled at them that the water station had closed and I had no water and that I'd gone too far, and bless their souls! They called ahead and had someone drive out to meet me with water. I was so grateful! It gave me the energy to pick up my pace again, and I made it to the next water station, where I was able to fill my water bottle and continue to the finish line.

In the end, I figure I probably added ten minutes to my time by running too far and then dealing with water because they left early. I was having a really great experience and really happy, and then to suddenly find out they'd forgotten about me and left me out there without direction or water--and yes, they did know I was still on the route--made me really sad. And when I reached the finish line, they were giving out really cool gifts to the sprint finishers. They'd already handed everything out to the Olympic finishers, so once again, they'd forgotten about me. I just felt pretty sad by the whole experience, even though I know I shouldn't. I accomplished my primary goal, which was finishing my first Olympic, and I also accomplished my secondary goal, which was finishing under the four-hour cut-off. But, still. So, I just collected my third place medal for finishing third place in my age group of three and left. I'm still thinking over what I want to say to the race organizers in an email. I can understand people making mistakes, but the people at the turnaround water station knew I was on the route, and they left, anyway. On the other hand, when others found out, they went above and beyond to help me out, and that was really nice. I really need to make sure they get thanked for having done that.

Oh, and, my boss and my friends all said I have to go to the National Championship in Milwaukee this August, so train tickets are already purchased. Looks like I'm going!

Edited by burner2 2015-06-14 6:25 AM

Well, I didn't quite reach my goal of getting under 54:00 for my 10K this morning, but I still had a pretty decent race. The only real negative was that I relied on my brother for transportation. He was late picking me up, then we were even further behind after stopping to pick up a couple other family members that were running the 5K. By the time I got to the 10K starting line, they announced 10 minutes before the race started! I rushed to get stretched out and had no time to warm up. It was very frustrating,

There was one particular person in the race I had a run-in with a few years ago and I was looking for some potential pay back. I didn't get it. He was maybe 10 seconds ahead of me crossing the start line, but he had stretched that to 45 seconds in the first mile. I was never able to close the gap and he ended up beating me by 1:09. I say it should only be 0:59, but since they only record the gun time and not the net time it shows as 1:09 in the results.

I really had to try to reel my competitive side in. Every time I looked up and saw him, I had to fight the urge to want to crank up the pace to close the gap. I kept telling myself to just run my own race. I was averaging right around 8:34 per mile for the first 4 miles. Just after mile 4, the course turns up a tough hill. It must have really hit me hard because my pace for mile 5 dropped to 9:12 according to my Garmin. That might be a little misleading since I did almost completely stop to gulp down two cups of water at the aid station.

Once I got to around the mile 5 mark, I knew I had to go. I pushed my pace and dropped it down to about 8:18 for the final 1.2 miles. True to my training, I ran the last mile as my fastest. But that hill just after the mile 4 mark really took it's toll on my time. Still, considering I shaved over 4 1/2 minutes off my time from last year, I have to be pretty pleased overall with my improvement. I guess I have the goal of getting under 54 as motivation for training for this race next year. Of course, by then I'll probably be targeting something closer to 52.

Cass
Congrats on Nationals, and I am glad to hear that you are going

Sorry about your race this weekend. That sucks. I would complain to the RD. Most people working the races are volunteers, and probably don't come with a letter of recommendation. We only get to race because of their generosity. I would try to get next years registration covered. But I am pretty tolerant.

Nate

Pound the Sound http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

My wife suggested this race as she thought some of her friends may be doing it but they bailed. It wasn't part of any series and was being put on by an organization that primarily does runs in the area.

We camped out the night before and this turned out to be a disaster. Got there late on Friday. Setup in the dark and the kids didn't want to sleep. It was also hot and buggy. Finally to sleep around midnight and woke up every hour or so. Birds got me up at 5 for good. The morning was nice and I started to go through my routine as best I could. It started getting hot early and I was drinking a lot. The race start was at 9.

Biked to the start and got my TA ready. Stretch and short swim warm up. I to start in the first wave, as usual.

Positioned my self to the far left of the swim start. I decided to go off with the gun instead of hanging out for a few second. I started with the q4 stroke at a nice comfortable pace but swung to much to the right. Resighted but kept finding myself a little to the right of target. Switched to just breathing on the rightHit the turn and had trouble finding the next marker and followed the group for a bit. On the second turn a helicopter started to circle and kicked up the waves. Got a mouth full of water everytime I breathed to the right. Started to breath bilaterally and to the left. Pretty happy with the swim. Never felt like I was pushing but kept a good steady pace. Looking back to last year (first OWS this year) this was the fastest of my open water swims. I kept my tri top on and I felt a little like it was weighing me done a bit

Moved slowly thru TA. The guy I went in a second before beat me out. Drank some

Tough bike. I passed one, and got passed by three. Tried to go with the people as they passed me but they were stronger cyclist. The first was in the first two miles. there were lots of turns and he navigated better than me. There was a 4 mile stretch of strong head wind were the second guy got me I pushed after he passed me, kept me from wilting a little. At the turn around there was a tailwind for 4 miles. Pace went from 17.5 mph to 22.5. Maxed at 25.9. Finished in the neighborhood were the third guy got me. No one in my age group passed me. Finished a whole areo bottle per my plan. I was very pleased with my bike. Average pace just a hair under last years best

Moved slowly thru TA again. Drank more in TA, and had a GU.

Started on the run at 7:30 but faded fast. Tried to hold a 8 minute pace, but that quickly went out the window. Walked thru the water stations at 1 and 2 miles. No shade whatsoever. My friend said the heat index was 105. Passed one person who was run walking an I was passed by 3 or maybe 4. I lost the will to push myself. This was my second slowest run today.

All in All I am happy with my race. I had a good swim and bike, and a disappointing run. I finished in the top third and 2nd in my age group. It was a small field and I had hoped that finding some small races this year would help me get to the podium. Only four in my age group and one DNF. The guy in third is in a local tri group and beat me by three minutes last year at next months race and knocked me off the podium. I was happy to beat him as it added some validation to my performance.

After the race I socialized with a new tri group in my area that is forming.

great job Randy. Wish I could run negative.

Nate

I think not having time to warm up affected my performance. If I don't get my lungs warmed up and primed for the race, then I can have trouble during the race. I feel like I'm out of breath early in the race and just never seem to get it back. For the first 4 miles, I was right on pace for 53:20, which was slightly faster than my best training effort and on target for what I was hoping for. But I hit that big hill right at the start of mile 5 and it just killed me. I thought I did a decent job of taking advantage of the downhill on the other side (passing someone that passed me as I slowed to a walk at the aid station at the top). But after getting to the bottom there was another uphill.

Like I said, once I got to the point where I was within 1.5 miles of the finish I knew I had to let loose. I tried to power up that hill a little, but knew my real increase in effort would come after I got to the top. I made the effort to push my pace beyond my comfort zone and it showed, running the last full mile about 15 seconds faster than my average over the first 4 and then increasing that pace slightly more over the last 0.2.

I honestly don't know how much more I could have pushed my pace earlier in the race. Maybe if I had been able to warm up I would have been more willing to try that, but based on how hard I was breathing even early on I don't think I could have done much more. I know I was really huffing and puffing over that last 1.2. That's only my 2nd race at the 10K distance, so I have to feel pretty happy about the results and my improvement from last year. Next year, I'll have to work more hills into my training runs.

Interesting side note, despite being a small race (174 ran the 5k, 81 ran the 10K, 67 ran the half), the race is graced by the presence of two prominent names in the running world. Bill Rodgers, former Olympian and multiple Boston Marathon winner. I don't see her name in the results, but the event was supposed to be attended by Katherine Switzer. Switzer is the woman that famously became the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon (1967) as a numbered entry. There is an iconic picture of the race director attempting to (unsuccessfully) grab Switzer to pull her off the course.

Thanks, Nate! Congrats on your finish. I'd be happy with 2nd in my age group in any event.

Forgot to mention. I used the "Freestyle" mode on my TOMTOM GPS watch to track distance during my swim. I think it was pretty accurate.





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Good luck to anyone that's racing this weekend!

I'm heading north for the weekend again and it appears that the weather might cooperate better this time around. Planning on getting a solid brick run in tomorrow and solo run Sunday along with some "easy" open water swims in the inland lake. Will try swimming again without the wetsuit to see if I can handle a "chilly" swim. If not, I'll get in the wetsuit and practice taking it off faster....

Next race is a "Dive and Dash" Thursday night. Probably have to wear the wetsuit for the race unless the temp has gone up some. The race is different as it takes 45 seconds off your final time if you swam without a wetsuit. I'm hoping to swim without but, will likely still have to wear it this month. It's a 750m swim followed by a 5k run. Should be fun to see how the swim goes and running right away. I normally come out of the water rather "dizzy". Will work on that a little this weekend too. Any tips on how to come out of the water not dizzy/loopy? Have a great weekend ya'll!

Scott

Me, too. It never fails that coming out of the water during a race I lose my balance and do a header back into the water a couple of times. Unfortunately, this isn't something I can practice during my OWS because the lake I swim at has no beach; I climb a ladder up onto the dock. I don't have any balance issues there. (I usually also practice my transition, running to the end of the dock and back, and then out of my wetsuit and into my cycling gear.) I haven't been able to figure out how to practice the beach-to-feet transition, unless I find another place to swim. I've heard if you kick harder during the last hundred yards or so it helps, but that just gives me leg cramps.

Good luck on Thursday's race!

Try wearing earplugs during your swim. I don't always unless the water is cool then it seems to help. I also take over the counter motion pills from time to time before an OWS just to help with the nauseous feeling.

You know what is sad? I had a Sprint and my first Olympic back to back the last two weekend and those were my only races on the calendar for the summer! I think I need to rectify this but I'm feeling a might defeated after the Olympic.

OH! Here's a question for more experienced racers. The race distance for my Oly was on their site as being a 40k which translates to like 24.86 miles. As I crossed the dismount I noticed my bike computer logged 27.6 miles. My friend independently asked me about the mileage as well and confirmed with another racer that all our mileage was around 27.5. A quick email to the RD said they had the bike distance set at 25.6 miles.

Even in my sprint race the week before we discovered a discrepancy in the mph calculation. The distance covered was correct but the calculations were off. The RD said they would "look into it" but not sure that will result in much.

So the question - is this a pretty common thing?

Training is going well for me.  I'm off night shift and 1/2 way into my second taper week, race on Sunday.  Doing short speed work mostly and watching my weight/diet. I had the bike shop put an 11-28 cassette on due to the canyons (hills) where I'm going.  A couple of days later a gear cable broke on a ride and back to the shop.  Better now than race day, lol.

Then in four weeks I signed up for an Olympic about an hour from the house.  Several people from town are going so it should be interesting!

I've put the full distance tri I was looking at on hold till next year so I'll probably do another half in the fall.  Too much stuff on the calendar for the full plus my daughter is starting college in the fall.  That will be enough drama enough!  Hmmm, many I should sign up for the full!!

Good luck with your Olympic this weekend.  Love those hills!!

Edited by HelmoAlkou 2015-06-24 7:57 PM