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Pat Griskus Triathlon Series - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Middlebury, Connecticut
United States
Pat Griskus Triathlon Series
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 27m 43s
Overall Rank = 370/397
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 6/10
Pre-race routine:

Strawberry and banana smoothie on the way to the race.
Event warmup:

I would have loved to have been able to warmup...or even relax. I somehow managed to mess up the starting time, so we arrived at about 6:55 for a race that started at 7:00, not 8:00. After a lot of stress and near tears, I decided to do whatever I had to to run it. Brian took all of my stuff, including my bike, to set up my transition for me, a race volunteer ran to get my packet and a marker, and I booked it to the beach in time to hear the tail end of the pre-race announcements. I was still shaking from stress by the time we were ready to wade into the water.
Swim
  • 30m 43s
  • 1760 yards
  • 01m 45s / 100 yards
Comments:

I spent a lot of this segment berating myself for messing up the start time and and I just didn't want to be swimming. My head wasn't in it at all.
What would you do differently?:

It would have been nice to have had a few minutes before the race to relax and get in race mode, but I just didn't have the time. This was my mistake. I ended up adding about two minutes to my best Olympic swim in this race, and if I had been better able to focus, I would have benefitted from paying attention to my stroke, to the buoys, to the other swimmers, and to my surroundings in general.
Transition 1
  • 01m 23s
Comments:

Where did Brian put my stuff??? I ran into transition looking around like an idiot, and finally saw Brian near the exit waving and yelling at me. I didn't know where anything was. It's not that he didn't do a good job, I was just freaking out and still upset. I'm not sure what I was even talking about, but I got in my shoes, stuck my number on my helmet after another spectator told me what it was for, and then headed out at a run.
What would you do differently?:

Actually, given the circumstances, this was an outstanding transition for me. I can't even believe it was as good as it was.
Bike
  • 1h 43m 46s
  • 25 miles
  • 14.46 mile/hr
Comments:

I was not up to giving what this bike course required from me. I thought several times about quitting part way through, but I just couldn't bring myself to accept that kind of shame. I lost a ton of time on this course...I was just so tired from climbing basically the whole time. There were no flat portions where I could spin and make up any time at all. I also had a few mechanical difficulties that ruined my mood...I had been struggling to get my bike computer working, and it was fine the night before. I would have tested it the morning of the race if I had had time, but I didn't and it wouldn't work. I stupidly reached down to fumble with it during the race, and I almost snapped the entire unit off of my fork because it caught in my wheel spokes. It dangled the rest of the race, and I think it bent my spoke. It also threw my brakes off so that my front right brake pad rubbed against my wheel the whole race. As though I needed anything making those hills any more difficult...
What would you do differently?:

I'm not even sure what I could have done. This was just a terrible performance on the bike. I wish I even had an idea of what could make me a better cyclist at this point.
Transition 2
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

I was pretty surprised about how good this transition was, too. I should have eaten something but I was too stressed out. I wanted to stop the race after the bike ride because I couldn't imagine a six mile run after that bike nonsense. I almost waltzed through this transition as far as changing shoes went, and I just leaned my bike up against whatever I could find because I wasn't even sure where I had gotten it originally. I didn't know where to go to get out of transition, so a couple of people yelled at me. Brian couldn't find my race belt, so he just laid out my number and opened a few safety pins, so I ran out of the transition area and walked a few feet to pin it on.
What would you do differently?:

Again, I'm not sure what else I could have done that would have made a difference given the circumstances. I regretted not eating anything, though.
Run
  • 1h 10m 23s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 11m 21s  min/mile
Comments:

I mean, we all knew I'm a bad runner. The hill pissed me off, but it wasn't so bad. I walked some of it, but I thought this was actually a pretty good performance for me. I kept my heart rate down, and I kept my pace going without needing to walk too much. It was almost comfortable.
What would you do differently?:

I already knew I needed to work on this.
Post race
Warm down:

I actually started crying when I saw the turnaround cone and made that left to head to the finish line. I ran across the mat, asked the volunteer if he could take off my timing chip so I didn't need to lean down, and then I ran into Brian's arms still crying. I stretched out, ate a hot dog, and then we went home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My starting time mistake threw off my whole mood. I had been hoping to do really well compared to my last Olympic race because I had trained this race, but my heart wasn't in it and the course was harder than I was prepared for.




Last updated: 2010-06-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:43 | 1760 yards | 01m 45s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/10
Overall: 151/397
Performance: Average
Suit: Two piece tri suit
Course: Roughly octagonal lake swim, single loop
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:23
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:43:46 | 25 miles | 14.46 mile/hr
Age Group: 6/10
Overall: 371/397
Performance: Bad
Wind: None
Course: This course was an absolute monster. I had thought going into it that it couldn't be that bad, but I really honestly can't recommend this one for first-timers or beginners. I'm kind of glad we didn't get around to pre-riding it last weekend because I would have stayed home on race day. At some points, my cadence was just so low that I hopped off to walk uphill because I couldn't keep my bike upright at such a low speed.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Bad
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:30
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:10:23 | 06.2 miles | 11m 21s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/10
Overall: 388/397
Performance: Average
163 average with 182 max
Course: Two laps on a nice, shady course in a residential area with one pretty frustrating hill.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2010-06-20 10:56 AM

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Regular
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Fort Bragg, NC
Subject: Pat Griskus Triathlon Series - Olympic Distance


2010-06-20 12:34 PM
in reply to: #2932557

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Pro
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Nutmeg State
Subject: RE: Pat Griskus Triathlon Series - Olympic Distance
Good job on a wicked hard course.  That's one of the nastiest bike courses I've ever ridden on and doing the hill twice on the run is tough.  Way to get it out and get through the near miss with the starting time.
2010-06-20 12:36 PM
in reply to: #2932557

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Subject: RE: Pat Griskus Triathlon Series - Olympic Distance

You persisted. You finished. And THAT made this race well worth doing for you. Learned lots.Totally thrown off to start & not knowing what to expect on the course- huge obstacles..but what comes thru in the RR so much is the state of mind...a set up for an "off" race. It is actually quite remarable that you did finish. I hope you pamper yourself today- and acknowledge what you DID learn and DID accomplish..and hope your next race makes you smile. Congratulations.

2010-06-21 9:10 PM
in reply to: #2932557

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Veteran
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Orange, CT
Subject: RE: Pat Griskus Triathlon Series - Olympic Distance
Congrats on pushing through. Rough way to start a race that's tough to start with ! You should be incredibly proud of yourself for getting to the finish line. A lot of obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is beating yourself up. I don't think the course needed any help! Be kind to you - your doing everything you can

Way to TUFF IT OUT !!! 
2010-06-22 11:25 AM
in reply to: #2932557

Member
175
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Westchester County
Subject: RE: Pat Griskus Triathlon Series - Olympic Distance
It sounds like you lived through the recurring nightmare of being late to a final exam or your wedding.  Congratulations on your perseverence and finishing a very difficult course.  That bike is a monster, especially if you don't know what is coming with the never ending hills so great job finishing that.  The second climb up the hill on the run is pretty wicked too.

The nicest thing that I have found about that race is the volunteers and the race director are great.  Very helpful and very nice. 
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