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Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
Philadelphia Triathlon, LLC
87F / 31C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 48m 52s
Overall Rank = 611/1335
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 72/133
Pre-race routine:

Can you call it "routine" if it's my first time?
This was my very first race, so I think I might have overdone it with the pre-race prep.

Woke up early, packed the car. Ate a bagel w/ cream cheese on the way to the race. Ate a banana about 30 min before my start.
Set up my transition area, and tried to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I knew it was supposed to be a hot day ahead.
Event warmup:

They opened up the swim course about 30 min before the race. I got in and did maybe 300m warm up. I really wanted to do a little running to warm up, but they closed the transition area, so I couldn't go out, and it was way too crowded inside.
So instead I spent maybe 15 minutes stretching. I think I wasn't properly warmed up when I started.
Swim
  • 19m 41s
  • 900 meters
  • 02m 11s / 100 meters
Comments:

The water temp was probably more like 82-83, but I think the officials fudged it a little so they could eliminate wetsuits.

For the swim, this was my strong suit, but I swore up and down that I'd take it easy off the gun to not burn myself out.
So we start swimming, it's not as crowded as I was expecting. There were a few bumps, and on one stroke I accidentally punched a guy in the ass. Sorry.

After a bit the bumping got less and less, so I did a little breaststroke and looked back, and much to my surprise, I had pulled way ahead, to the front 25% of the group.

From there, I just tried to keep going. Pull-pull, breath, repeat.
I had started off a little too strong and had to backstroke a bit to get my breathing in line. But by about 400m I was feeling ok.
The course was surprisingly easy to spot, and I never fell off track.
What would you do differently?:

More OWS practice. Try to take it out a little slower. Warm up better.
Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with my swim results.
Transition 1
  • 03m 13s
Comments:

This went really well. I don't know if my time reflects it, but I felt like I blew through this. Yes, I stopped to put on socks and a shirt, and take a hit of gatorade, but that was quick. The transition area was pretty big, so the run up to the bike and out to the road seemed like miles!
I was up on the bike and clipped in pretty quick.
What would you do differently?:

Buy a tri-top so I don't have to mess with putting on a shirt. (Save maybe 30 seconds.)

Otherwise, I think it went really well.
Bike
  • 52m 10s
  • 15 miles
  • 17.25 mile/hr
Comments:

Based on my training, I think the bike was my strongest event.
I felt really good on the bike, and *thought* I held a pretty aggressive pace.
I ate one gel about 15 min into the ride, as I had planned.
Being that I've never raced before, I kept thinking that I couldn't go all-out, and needed to save some legs for the run. But in general, the bike part was kind of fun. I enjoyed the ride and the route.
What would you do differently?:

I think I might have had maybe 5% more to give on the bike. But I didn't know how much to hold back to save for the run. Don't know if I *could* do it differently in a different race.
Transition 2
  • 02m 30s
Comments:

This was super quick. Probably the most time was spent getting back to my transition area. The chute into T2 was crowded, and I kept having to call 'passing left' *in transition!* to go around people.
Helmet off, shoes and race belt on, went super quick.
The run out of T2 was also pretty far, probably a 1/4 mi.
What would you do differently?:

I grabbed a cup of water from a volunteer on the way out; drank half and then because it was so hot I poured the other half on my head. I got a lovely salt-water rush down my face that got in my eyes and mouth. What a dumb idea! I had to try and wipe my eyes with my shirt, which was restricted by my race belt. Oy.
Run
  • 31m 12s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

The run is my worst event, so I was nervous about completing this well.
The course was simple, out and back on the road. Up front there was a little shade from some trees, but that didn't last. It was HOT, and to add a minor issue, the road was slanted about 5 degrees, which was awkward.
BUT, I ran the whole course. Didn't stop to walk at all.

I've never had a problem transitioning from bike to run, and this was no different. Though I felt ~slow~ to start. I think this is just the difference in relative speed from bike to run, that it *felt* slow.
My run pace in training is 9.5 - 1- min/mile. So I was super happy that my race pace was 10 min/mi. That was very good for me, and I'm proud of the run.

What would you do differently?:

I think I didn't have enough calories in me towards the end. I should have taken another gel at the end of the bike, or in T2. Or even at the first water stop when they were offering. By the time I realized this, it was too late. But I was still very happy with my overall performance.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, ate some lunch from the food tent. Got a massage.
At home I stretched a bit more and took a couple advil.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

In the end, not enough calories had a small impact. Otherwise I think I did well within my expectations.

Event comments:

The course, the volunteers, and everything about organizing the race was top notch. I would do this again.

I only had one minor qualm, considering how much the race cost, and the huge sponsors involved, there was ZERO swag/freebies/giveaways. Not even so much as a power-gel in the race bag. You got an event t-shirt and that was it.
Even the vendors at the expo were stingy and weren't giving anything away. Heck, there were barely any 'deals' at the expo either. Just retail price stuff. That was kind of dissapointing.

The race itself though was top notch.




Last updated: 2010-05-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:19:41 | 900 meters | 02m 11s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/133
Overall: 442/1335
Performance: Good
Suit: no
Course: It was out, under a bridge, swim, come back through the bridge and done. In-water start.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 84F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:13
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:52:10 | 15 miles | 17.25 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/133
Overall: 570/1335
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: The course was mildly hilly, but nothing steep or overly long.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:30
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:31:12 | 03.11 miles | 10m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/133
Overall: 899/1335
Performance:
Course: Simple out and back on the road.
Keeping cool Drinking
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2010-06-29 1:49 PM

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Subject: Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Sprint Distance


2010-06-29 3:10 PM
in reply to: #2951110

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Subject: RE: Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Sprint Distance
Congratulations! Great job, particularly for your first tri! Your swim sounds exactly like the swim in my first tri - I was top 25% of my wave, but went out too fast and then spent a little while struggling to catch my breath. With a little experience you will find that gets better (probably even by your next race). Nice job not walking - sometimes I find it very difficult to convince myself to keep running (and too many times I have stopped to walk).
2010-06-29 3:14 PM
in reply to: #2951356

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Subject: RE: Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Sprint Distance
Let me add - I completely agree re: the lack of swag in the bag. At least last year we got a nice REI reusable bag - didn't even get that this year.

The one thing I was psyched about - I had to sell out the owner of my daughter's daycare in order to get a chance to spin the Philadelphia Insurance wheel, but I spun and won a sweet blue seventy triathlon bag.
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