Best of the US
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Best of the US - TriathlonOlympic
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Swim
Comments: THe swim started off very good. Surprisingly with the field their I thought I would be much further back... At the first buoy I was in third and felt very comfortable. But immediately after that buoy started to get a little sluggish, so I backed off some and used people passing as a new draft. Happy with swim. What would you do differently?: I definitely felt my swimming was in good shape, but I think more long OWS is what I need to do more of to compete at this level. Transition 1
Comments: The speedsuit is more difficult to get off than the wetsuit, so a minor struggle around the ankles. Getting on the bike was fine, except I took too long to get in shoes because of the immediate hill out of T1 What would you do differently?: GEt in shoes quicker. Bike
Comments: The bike was interesting. Right out of transition it seemed like others were just blowing by me. I didn't let this effect me, but was wishing I was faster on the bike. Everyone looked so powerful and comfortable prancing up the hills, as I lugged up them in my small chain ring. However, after about 6 miles out on the course and all the really "fast" had gone by, I found myself in the mix with a bunch of others. They would gap me, then I would re-catch. The kind of "cat & mouse" game would go on for a while. The nice thing was no one sat on anyone's wheel (drafting in this event would certainly be frowned upon from all competitors). At the turn around, which no one was allowed to preview because of private property, I started to feel stronger. I focused on consistency: cadence, effort, confidence, etc... With this tactic in place I started to pass a couple of people, and gain on some others. At one point on the bike, Joe Welsh (Jr. National Champ from '08) passed me and his dad yelled "12th, 2:50 back". I was dumbfounded...I was in 13th!!! Wow!!! That psyched me up. I ended up passing Joe, but some others passed me right before the final descent, which worked in my favor. I was able to sit back and coast into T2 feeling great! What would you do differently?: THis season has been somewhat of a disappointment on the bike. I certainly didn't commit as many hours to the saddle as I should have, but this is part of the balance. However, in order for me to compete at this level again, I can't forego 2-3' on the bike. Transition 2
Comments: Because T2 was positioned 2 miles from the start, athletes were required to check in their running appareal the day before. Unfortunately flying into T2 I forgot where our rack was. Not a huge mistake, but I spent 2-3" looking in the rack before mine for my sneakers thinking my stuff had been moved. Still managed to have the 3rd fastest T2. What would you do differently?: Given more attention to T2 set-up the day before. Simply forgot where I was racked Run
Comments: I felt really good on the first 3 miles... There were two in front of me that passed me quick out of transition, but then only gained on me slighty during this time...until the hill(s). I did a counting method to get me over both hills and avoided looking to see where the top was. I felt strong coming over the first one as I mentally and physically prepared approaching it. On the second hill, which was definitely more difficult I kept my feet moving and actually passed someone going up (couldn't believe it myself :-). Coming down the descent of Vista De Lago, and back out on Marquitte my RIGHT hammie cramped... I didn't care, I told myself to keep running, but it definitely slowed me some and with only 1.5mi to go I wasn't bailing now! I fought thru it for about 1 min and regained my form, but was forced to ease it up someone coming back up the hill on the out & back. At this point there was the guy fromo VA only 50yds back and I didn't want him to be me... Once I crested the final hill I went hard. I opened up my stride and just went for the finish. What would you do differently?: I would drink more fluids and take in more nutrition. For some reason I was in the moment and forgetting the nutrition. Post race
Warm down: Massage... Fruit Juice and lots of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies :-) What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of bike training Event comments: Disappointed with lack of nutrition on the run course. They only served water...yet they had Hammer & Clif Bar as sponsors... Last updated: 2009-09-29 12:00 AM
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2009-09-30 7:25 AM |
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2009-09-30 5:00 PM in reply to: #2433626 |
2009-09-30 5:07 PM in reply to: #2433626 |
General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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United States
Orange County Triathlon
85F / 29C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 13/32
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Arrived to race by riding my bike from the Hotel to T1/Swim Start. Got there early than I needed and had some time to stand around and chat with other competitors from across the country - was a relaxed pre-race routine. The temps were a little chilly considering the heat we all knew was coming. Maybe in the high 60's, but no sun at 5:30am.
I was able to ride to the start from the hotel, so I used that as the bike warm-up. I wasn't able to jog much because the T2 is two miles from the swim start. I did swim in my new speed suit for 10' minutes. THe water was so much warmer than the air at the time, we all stayed in the 81 degree water right up to the start.