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Philadelphia Women's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
CGI Racing
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 39m 35s
Overall Rank = 166/723
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 37/97
Pre-race routine:

Went up to Philly on Saturday afternoon for packet pickup. Checked into a hotel near the airport, chilled at the pool for a while, ate a suprisingly good dinner at the hotel lounge (crabcake sandwich, a few glasses of beer, cheesecake for dessert.. yum!) and went to bed around 9:30. Woke up at 4:30, ate a Snickers Marathon bar at 5:00 AM then headed to the race site with Steve and the dog. Got to the TA at 6:00 when it opened, got everything set up, ate another Marathon bar at 7:00. Not the best choice of breakfast for it's nutritional value, but we had them in the pantry at home and I want to experiment with different breakfast choices to see what my stomach can handle. They seemed to be an a'ok breakfast :) My wave started at 8:04 and I had a gel around 7:45. I've been having issues at the end of my 2ish hour races with dizziness at the finish line and running out of gas. I wanted to make sure I took enough in pre-race so that wouldn't happen.
Event warmup:

Swam for a bit to make sure my new goggles wouldn't leak. They worked just fine so I decided to use them for the race instead of my old ones that fogged up the last time.
Swim
  • 14m 55s
  • 700 yards
  • 02m 08s / 100 yards
Comments:

Compared to the last time, this was an awesome swim. I didn't freak out when the horn went off. I remained calm and swam the majority of the distance using freestyle. My time was slow, but I deliberately took it easy in the water in an attempt to prevent another gasping for air backstroke fest in the water :) It worked and I actually passed some red caps instead of seeing the pack move further and further away from me.
What would you do differently?:

Push myself!!
Transition 1
  • 01m 58s
Comments:

T1 went a lot better this time. I was able to run from the swim exit to my bike. I didn't have blister issues like my first tri so I went without socks. I had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off. I had some issues getting my left foot clipped in at the start.
What would you do differently?:

Just move faster, but overall I was pleased with this transition.
Bike
  • 57m 28s
  • 17 miles
  • 17.75 mile/hr
Comments:

Here's where I really need to improve. I don't run into the danger of going too hard on the bike yet because the confidence just isn't there. I brake / coast for pretty much everything.... turns, slight downhills, road surface changes.. you name it. I also got a helmet sticker stuck on my tire and rode with a "click.. click.. click..." for about 5 miles until it finally fell off. I probably annoyed the heck out of the people around me :)

I did better this time and had a higher MPH average, but this course was fairly flat and didn't have the two turn around points like the Philly sprint.
What would you do differently?:

Work on the bike to gain confidence and really be able to push to my fitness limit. The only time I have ever been able to push that hard has been on my heavy mountain bike. It's a vicious cycle though because I know I need more time in the saddle, but I'm terrified of going out on the roads (same problems with braking / coasting) and bike paths aren't much better. I dislike it so I don't do it. I LOVE to ride in race situations. I need to find a place to ride where I can push, practice bike handling skills, and overcome my biking fears. Maybe more time on the trainer would help, but I don't think my problems have to do with fitness... it's my timid bike riding that's the main problem.
Transition 2
  • 01m 15s
Comments:

This went well. I had no problems racking the bike. I probably could have gotten my shoes on faster, but overall I was pleased with T2 :)
What would you do differently?:

Be faster.. there's always room for improvement!
Run
  • 24m 1s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 07m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

I rocked this run. The course was nice and flat so that helped out with my time :) I PRed the 5k distance by 20 seconds. I was so close to breaking into my 23:XX goal. Passed 6 or 7 people in my AG on the run, but got passed by 3 people. The discipline I'm spending the most time training for is improving.. imagine that ;) My left shoe did rub on the side of my foot and caused a hot spot. I'll put some vaseline there next time to prevent problems.
What would you do differently?:

Break into 23:XX.
Post race
Warm down:

Found Steve and the dog, ate an awesome post-race brunch provided by Panera bread. Checked the race results, packed up my stuff, and headed back to the hotel. I felt A LOT better crossing the line this time and didn't have that dizzy / pass out feeling that I felt after my half marathon and first tri. I was tired, but not scary lightheaded tired :)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Bike confidence.

Event comments:

This was a very organized, spectator friendly race. Plently of volunteers and drink stations. The course was well marked. The only thing I didn't like was a spot on the bike course where we went over a bridge with some metal parts with ridges. I didn't see anyone have problems with it on my first loop because the course wasn't as crowded, but there were 5 people on the side of the bridge during the second loop. I'll bet they had problems when their tires hit that metal part. I didn't have any problems because I was uber cautious (of course!!) when I crossed over it :)

This was my 2nd tri and I tried to go through it with a "push it" mentality instead of a "just get through it" mentality like I had during my first race. Hopefully I'll continue to improve!




Last updated: 2008-03-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:55 | 700 yards | 02m 08s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/97
Overall: 273/723
Performance: Good
Suit: Blue Seventy Full
Course: rectangular - a little up stream, then across, back downstream, then a turn toward the finish.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 78F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:58
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:57:28 | 17 miles | 17.75 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/97
Overall: 318/723
Performance: Below average
Wind: Some
Course: Two flat, scenic loops. It was a really nice course.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:15
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:24:01 | 03.11 miles | 07m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/97
Overall: 79/723
Performance: Good
Course: Flat out and back along the river.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2008-07-14 8:51 AM

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Master
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Olney, MD
Subject: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon


2008-07-14 9:08 AM
in reply to: #1527243

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Expert
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WA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon

traci, what a GREAT race you had.  if only i were talented like you, just jumping into tris and kicking butt the way you do! 

biking can be hard to improve, i know, for some reason it takes sooooo much energy for me to get out the door to bike, and there are not a lot of places i feel comfortable biking yet around here - because i don't get out to bike to find them!  it *is* such a vicious cycle like you say, but hopefully with time you'll approach non-bike-timidity.  you have so much natural speed to work with!  

keep up the great work, i'm more excited for your races than i am for mine

2008-07-14 10:03 AM
in reply to: #1527243

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Extreme Veteran
335
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Toledo, Ohio
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
Great job!!! Awesome run! Hey, you're really good at thisSmile
2008-07-14 10:26 AM
in reply to: #1527243

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Veteran
165
1002525
Williamstown NJ
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
Great Race, you had a perfect day for racing in Philly yesterday.
2008-07-14 11:53 AM
in reply to: #1527243

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Extreme Veteran
422
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New York, NY
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
nice job and great run! I definitely needed to borrow some of your run mojo.

You commented on my report that you went off in the swim wave right behind mine. You probably caught up to me in the swim...!
2008-07-14 12:16 PM
in reply to: #1527243

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Elite
3913
20001000500100100100100
far northern CA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
Holy crap!  That was an awesome run!  You did great!  Congrats!!!!


2008-07-14 12:50 PM
in reply to: #1527243

Veteran
691
500100252525
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
I'm jealous! You are a natural! And I've got news for you-your swim time was farrrrr from slow! We had a lot of fun. It's great not having so much testosterone around for a change. People actually said, "excuse me in the swim". Unheard of! Hope to see you at more races.
Rhonda from Rhonda's Rookies
2008-07-14 12:51 PM
in reply to: #1527243

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Veteran
269
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Media, PA
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
Awesome race Traci! Excellent report as well.  I have to agree with you about the bike... it's certainly not the fitness. Just more saddle time and exposure to riding on the road will get the confidence you are looking for. Really good run time, you will hit your sub 24 in the next race so just keep training hard and racing harder   You're a rockstar!
2008-07-14 1:00 PM
in reply to: #1527243

Iron Donkey
38643
50005000500050005000500050002000100050010025
, Wisconsin
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon

C'mon - you KNOW you wanted to bring back those childhood memories of clipping a playing card on the back tire and making it sound like you were a super-fast racing car! ;

Overall, a very good job!  Way to go, vball!

2008-07-14 1:16 PM
in reply to: #1528339

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Master
1678
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Olney, MD
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
1stTimeTri - 2008-07-14 2:00 PM

C'mon - you KNOW you wanted to bring back those childhood memories of clipping a playing card on the back tire and making it sound like you were a super-fast racing car! ;

Overall, a very good job!  Way to go, vball!

hahaha... that's EXACTLY what it sounded like. How annoying!

And thank you!!  

 

2008-07-14 2:11 PM
in reply to: #1527243

Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
Sounds like you had a good race! I hear you on the bike thing - I think it takes A LOT of getting used to for most people.


2008-07-14 5:11 PM
in reply to: #1528685

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Sensei
Sin City
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
Good race!  You still had a pretty good pace on the bike!  Well done.
2008-07-14 10:00 PM
in reply to: #1527243

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Extreme Veteran
555
5002525
Subject: RE: Philadelphia Women's Triathlon
Great race! a 5k PR during a tri? that's pretty awesome!
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