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EnduraSport Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Quakertown, Pennsylvania
United States
Genesis Adventures
72F / 22C
Precipitation
Total Time = 5h 45m 49s
Overall Rank = 42/86
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 4/5
Pre-race routine:

I signed up for this race a bit last minute (11 days prior) as I had not been doing much swim or bike training. But I decided to go for it anyways, since it would be the only free weekend I had to do a HIM this season and I wanted to get at least one tri in. My training was a month of returning to swimming and biking, on top of my huge running base. I figured that as long as I was able to make it to T2, I would finish without any issues. So, I got in 2 bricks, one of them after a ride of approximately the same distance as the race just 6 days prior. A short 5-day taper and then it was time to race!

Starting a few days out from the race I began tracking the weather forecasts as Hanna was projected to sweep up the coast, passing through on race day. My last check the night before had 90% chance of rain all day with thunder storms, and winds picking up through the day. Hmmm… this could be interesting, a wet rainy bike with the potential for some winds. I packed up, making sure to take dry clothes, raincoat, and towel for after the race. Race morning arrived and I set out at 4am for the 2 hour drive. Roads were already wet from overnight rain, but the weather didn’t look too bad. I spent the better part of an hour touring the country roads of western New Jersey (wrong turns) and didn’t make it to the race site until nearly 7am! Checked in, snagged a spot right by the bike out/in – not sure why there were still open spots there – and had transition set up in a couple minutes. Then I just hung out watching the weather and waiting for the race to begin.

Eventually they got everyone down by the water for a pre-race chat. After that was over, I spotted Josh (GrnFlshIPA). We said “Hi” and wished eachother luck as we made our way into the water just a few minutes before the start. The national anthem was played and after some hesitation we were off!
Event warmup:

Sitting on a soggy picnic table watching people splash in the lake. I figured the first 1/3 of the swim would be my warm up.
Swim
  • 41m
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

I had taken a more aggressive spot in the pack than I usually would. With <90 people racing, I figured it would thin out fairly quickly on the swim and I was hoping to find a good pair of feet to draft off of. Well, turns out this was a bad idea. Were we playing water polo or doing a tri? I was taking blows left and right! Took an arm on my head, a foot in my chest, hands scrabbling all over. For the entire swim I kept running into the same people – they guy who was zig-zagging all over and kept cutting me off, the girl who couldn’t sight and kept slamming into my side. After what seemed like too long I was finally back at the shore and running up to T1. Next time, watch out people, I’ll be hitting back!

What would you do differently?:

Not take 6 months off? And fight back. Maybe take a water polo class?
Transition 1
  • 02m 5s
Comments:

Took my time in T1 to make sure I grabbed everything. Probably took a bit more time than necessary, but no biggie.
What would you do differently?:

Tri shoes and flying mount?
Bike
  • 3h 12m 39s
  • 56.7 miles
  • 17.66 mile/hr
Comments:

Then I was headed out of the marina and up to the main road for the 3 loops of the course. I had planned to take the first loop at a slightly conservative pace since I hadn’t previewed the course. Race reports from last year had indicated that the bike was “hilly” and challenging, so I thought I might be in for a long day having trained on fairly flat roads. As it turned out, the short pitch leaving the part was the steepest section, and I doubt it was no more than 8% for <0.2 miles. As I got further around the first loop I began to realize that “hilly” meant not flat. There was some climbing, but most was 3-5%, with one or two sections at maybe 6%. It was so mild that I rode almost the entire first loop and most of the second and third loops in my big ring. And I always ride the small ring in training!!

Heading out for the second loop the weather was still cooperating. There had been a couple showers during the first loop, but just enough to get the road wet and spots on my glasses. About a quarter of the way into the second loop I began to get lapped by the fast dudes. Dang! They were really booking! But really, would it kill them to pass me with more than 3” between our handlebars? Or say “left”?

There were a bunch of guys that I saw a lot of. They would pass me on the flatter sections, then I would drop them as I flew up the hills. I’ve never been great at hills, but I guess coming from CA I’ve dealt with steeper, longer, tougher climbs than what tends to be out here? I dunno, I found it odd that I kept zipping past these guys, dropping them with complete ease. But it was a nice confidence booster!

Ran into a couple of people who were either just rude or didn’t have their heads screwed on correctly. Had a guy pass on my left, then spit right. Ewwww!! Another came zipping past as we were starting up a “hill”, then he coasts, then drops his speed to much slower than I am and blocking my path. Seriously? You come zipping past me to go slow and block me? Not to mention these guys that went sloooow on the hill would get all bunched together clogging it up, forcing me waaay out into traffic just so I could ride my own race. Grrrr… And to the one guy I saw repeatedly sucking peoples wheels… watch out, one day I will be lurking on a race course with a bundle of sticks looking for you drafters!!

Coming into T2 I knew that my bike time was about what I had predicted. The hills hadn’t been anywhere near as bad as I had been lead to believe, but I started to slow a bit on the last lap.
What would you do differently?:

Not take 6 months off? Not sure what I'd do about the obnoxious guys that sometimes were blocking me.
Transition 2
  • 00m 49s
Comments:

I felt like I probably could have gone faster, but it was <1 min and the 12th fastest T2.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 1h 49m 15s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

Quick T2, and I was off charging up the paved trail. Running along a path lined with trees and shrubs it seemed more humid than on the bike. I quickly began to heat up and was wonder why I was wearing a hat when it was far from sunny out. But then around 3 miles into the run, the rain finally arrived. A nice, light, refreshing rain. Aaaaahhh.

The run was a double out and back, so I would be able to check out who was ahead of me and track my progress as I tried to gain some ground on them. At the first turn around I noted 3 people who might be in my AG ahead of me. The first was a good 3+ miles ahead – not likely I’d catch her. The next was about 2 miles ahead – maaaybe, and the third was a mere 400 yards up. I spent the entire run gradually picking up the pace, to the point where I was blasting past the runners from the olympic distance race! Headed out for the second half of the run with ~56 minutes for the first half. Hmmm… could I get a new PR? By the time I hit the turn around at the far end I had passed one girl in my AG and she was more than 400 yards back and fading while I continued to pick it up. Head back for the final stretch the sky opened up and it began to DUMP on us. And I was loving it! It was absolutely pouring rain and I was barreling up the road past people with a giant smile on my face! All those people who don’t like running in the rain must have thought I was absolutely nuts! Pushed it hard to the end and crossed the line in 5:45:49.
What would you do differently?:

I probably could have started pushing a bit harder earlier. But I'm happy considering this was fast than the half marathon I ran last May.
Post race
Warm down:

Stood around in the pouring rain for 45 minutes eating pizza and cookies while waiting for the award ceremony. Since the top person in my AG got in the top 3 females, we all got bumped up, so I got 3rd in my AG.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training... duh! If I had trained and not slacked off, I think I could do <5:30 on that course. Too bad I won't be back next year.

Event comments:

Interestingly, I just took another look at the results... it looks like my AG was the most competetive. All 5 of us finished under 6:00. The only AG that was faster was F20-24, which only had one person who took the overall female win finishing under 5:00. Even the AGs 30-34 and 35-39 were slower/less competetive! Sheesh!




Last updated: 2008-08-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:41:00 | 2112 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/5
Overall: 42/86
Performance: Average
Suit: none
Course: Triangular 0.6 mi course, 2 loops. Could have used more buoys as sighting was difficult.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:05
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:12:39 | 56.7 miles | 17.66 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/5
Overall: 56/86
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course: 3 loops of ~18 miles each. Rolling"hills" that I don't think were ever more than 6% grade. Pffffft!
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:49
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:49:15 | 13.1 miles | 08m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/5
Overall: 25/86
Performance: Good
Course: Double out and back; 2 uphills and 2 downhills on each segment. I think the rolling course really helped me. I didn't loose much speed going up and then would be flying down past people.
Keeping cool Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2008-09-08 7:07 AM

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Subject: EnduraSport Half


2008-09-09 10:35 AM
in reply to: #1657429

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Expert
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Pittsburgh
Subject: RE: EnduraSport Half

Congratulations on your race!  That swim sounds pretty darn tough!

Awesome run! Cool

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