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MTCC Garden City Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Frenchtown, Montana
United States
Montana Campus Contact
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 09m 12s
Overall Rank = 95/101
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 11/13
Pre-race routine:

Stayed at the EconoLodge in Missoula and got a good nights sleep once the fire alarm from someone's burnt popcorn was shut off. I had just fallen asleep when it went off, but I got back to sleep pretty quick after listening to it go off for about 10 minutes. Woke in the morning, dressed, did some light stretching, and made myself a cup of oolong tea. I mixed my electrolyte drink, filled my bottles and got the last few things packed up. Gary carried everything to the car (I have an awesome husband! ), and I went down to the breakfast area and made a waffle with peanut butter and syrup. Then we headed to Frenchtown.
Event warmup:

Arrived early to the transition area, and picked an end spot near the bike exit. Set up transition, got body marked, and chatted with tri folks. I got to meet Heidi(shoeless) and her daughter Carrie. It's always so much fun meeting bt'ers in person, and Heidi has been on every challenge team I've been on, so it was extra fun meeting her! At about 8:45am I put on my wetsuit and went down to the pond for a warm up swim. The water felt great, but it was pretty chilly waiting for the gun to go off.
Swim
  • 34m 17s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 05s / 100 yards
Comments:

A fog bank rolled across the pond making sighting the buoy impossible, so we all just headed in the direction we were told it was when the gun went off. After swimming awhile I noticed everyone veering left, and sure enough the buoy was over to the left about 50 yards that added a little to the swim :) After rounding the first buoy sighting got much easier. I got hit in the head a couple times, swam over some, drank a few mouthfuls of pond water, and inhaled some once, but the great thing was I took it all in stride, stayed with my stroke, didn't have to tread water or flip on my back the entire swim. I think I'm getting used to these open water tri swims :) It was really a great swim for me, I felt relaxed and focused the whole time, now I just need to work on my speed.
What would you do differently?:

Try to draft more, I'm not very good at finding and sticking with feet.
Transition 1
  • 02m 35s
Comments:

I was feeling so good during the swim I forgot to start thinking about what I was going to do when I got out of the water near the end of the swim. I did this at Whitefish and it worked great, but this time I forgot. So, I totally forgot to strip my wetsuit down to my waist and remove my cap and goggles while running to transition. I got to transition, realized my mistake, and then fumbled around feeling stupid for forgeting. I got it off pretty fast though, put my shoes, glasses, and helmet on and was off.
What would you do differently?:

Not forget to take my wetsuit, cap and goggle off while running to transition
Bike
  • 1h 26m 39s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 17.21 mile/hr
Comments:

I didn't want to push it too much on the bike, because I knew I had 24 miles to go and a 6.2 mile run afterwards, so I settled into a pretty comfortable pace and EVERYONE passed me. I definitely have alot of work to do on my biking, but this is the thing I love most about triathlons, I learn what areas I need to improve on and then get to focus on those in training. Oh, and I peed on the bike, yay me! I really needed to go and realized there were no port a potties on this course so... seemed like the best place to do it, I rinsed off with my water bottle, and it all seemed to work out pretty well :)
What would you do differently?:

Push harder on the bike, and work on pushing harder on my training rides. I really need to get over my recreational biking background and become a racer ;)
Transition 2
  • 01m 51s
Comments:

When I got to transition someone else had racked their bike in my slot, so it took me a few seconds to try to figure out what to do with my bike. I just leaned it against the bike rack, but then it was in front of all my running gear so I had to reach around it to grab my stuff. I also had a little trouble getting my amphipod belt on. I usually only use a race belt in tris and it's light so I just put it on while running. The amphipod belt was not very easy to put on while running because of the water bottles, so as I left transition with my hat and belt I ended up having to walk to get it on.
What would you do differently?:

Not have someone use my bike slot :). Just take the extra second and put my belt on in transition.
Run
  • 1h 03m 50s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 10m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

The run started out feeling pretty good, but after the first mile my achilles/calves in both legs tightened up and were really painful, my left foot went numb also, and I hadn't had that happen since last winter. The only thing I could think might have caused it was the gravel surface, because when I used to have trouble with this alot I was running on gravel or snowy surfaces. My cardio felt really good and I could have pushed harder, but my legs just wouldn't let me.
What would you do differently?:

I'm not really sure what I could have done about this, maybe tried walking a bit because if I could have gotten the pain to go away I could have pushed harder and made up for the little bit of walking time.
Post race
Warm down:

Was greeted by Gary and Heidi at the finish. It was great to see them and have them cheering me on! Then I walked it out a little, and changed my clothes to wait for the awards/raffle. I won a really nice pair of TYR Nest Pro goggles at the raffle!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Painful calves, and I need to work on my biking speed.

Event comments:

I really enjoyed this race even with the difficulties. I loved the swim, learned lots on transitions and the bike, and made it through the run with no knee pain anyway. The people were great, Gary was an awesome support and photographer, Heidi cheered me on every time she passed me, and I look forward to doing this one again next year!!!!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2007-11-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:17 | 1640 yards | 02m 05s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/13
Overall: 0/101
Performance: Good
Suit: xterra vortex
Course: Two counterclockwise triangles with a short sprint around the pier in between.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:35
Performance:
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:26:39 | 24.85 miles | 17.21 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/13
Overall: 0/101
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: two loops on a flat paved road
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:51
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:03:50 | 06.2 miles | 10m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/13
Overall: 0/101
Performance: Below average
Course: Out and back on gravel path and paved bike path
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2008-09-08 10:58 PM

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Master
2005
2000
Silverton, Oregon
Subject: MTCC Garden City Triathlon


2008-09-09 12:14 AM
in reply to: #1660305

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Expert
1202
1000100100
Montana
Subject: RE: MTCC Garden City Triathlon
Isn't it strange how we can look back on such a challenging experience and say, "That was fun!"

You summed it up perfectly when you said, "...this is the thing I love most about triathlons, I learn what areas I need to improve on and then get to focus on those in training."

Oh, and congratulations on joining the yellow-sock brigade!

Hey, I'm on the very far left in your swim start photo! (Wearing my own green cap.)

Edited by Shoeless 2008-09-09 12:15 AM
2008-09-10 10:10 AM
in reply to: #1660305

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Elite
3913
20001000500100100100100
far northern CA
Subject: RE: MTCC Garden City Triathlon
Love your race report!  It sounds like you had a great time!  Congrats on a great time.  Busting the 3 hour mark is going to be easy next year!
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