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Nation's Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C.
United States
70F / 21C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 40m 53s
Overall Rank = 1087/4391
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 172/496
Pre-race routine:

Woke up early due to non-race stress issues. Eventually got up, took a shower and had oatmeal grabbed a banana, and drove to race site. Got to site at 5:20 (much earlier than intended, basically due to a combination of the fact that I could not sleep and I had built some cushion time into the drive just in case).

Went to transition. At this point, it was raining, and moving from slight to moderate rain to light to moderate. The event announcer repeatedly claimed that "we are in the last band of rain right here, and it should be ending soon", but the rain kept coming.

Did not take my stuff out of the bag until the last minute because I wanted to preserve the possibility of keeping it dry.

Met up with a colleague and his wife who were doing the race as well.
Event warmup:

Some movement and stretching. But we were forced out of transition at about 7:20 and I did not start until about 8:10, and we were packed in in the corrals so I did not get much dynamic warm-up.
Swim
  • 31m 9s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 53s / 100 yards
Comments:

Lost my earplugs before the start. (Had them stored in the sleeve of my wetsuit. Note to self, store them somewhere else and bring a spare pair next time.)

As a result of losing the earplugs, I got swimmer's vertigo before I hit the 300m buoy. Had a hard time telling which way was up and felt very dizzy. felt like I was in s washing machine. Kept on going, and eventually found a guy that I just drafted off of for 90% of the remaining swim. I am sure that he was pissed off at me by the end because about every 10-15 strokes, one of us would touch the other -- either me with my hand against his arm or him kicking me. But based on the vertigo, drafting was the only way I was going to get through it.
What would you do differently?:

Not lose the only pair of earplugs I have, and BRING A SPARE PAIR OF EARPLUGS. Also, it would be good to do more swim practicing. The only practice within the previous 2 months was the 2.5 mile swim around the island in the beginning of August. Need to get in the pool/water more.
Transition 1
  • 05m 11s
Comments:

My transition are was not as well organized as I would have liked it -- because of the rain and the interest in trying to keep my stuff dry.

Also, because of how many people there were in the race and how transition had to be set up, the distance from the water to T1 was like a quarter mile.
What would you do differently?:

Practice T1 more. I need to get the precise order of steps in place by rote.
Bike
  • 1h 07m 22s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 22.13 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike felt great. Just got on new (to me) Felt TT bike, and it flew. Loved it. Felt like I was just flying.

Only problems were:

1. Bike chain came off after cresting a hill and shifting the front ring. Had to stop and put it back on.

2. The course was incredible crowded. In 2009, I had thought the course was crowded and there were less than 3000 participants. This time, there were 5000 participants (7000 had signed up, but 2000 were no shows, I assume because of the overcrowding or because of the weather). At one point, the USAT official came up and clearly thought that I had entered 3 bike lengths of the guy in front of me. (He demonstrably was looking at his watch.) It caused me to sprint to pass the next three guys, who were riding in a pack in any event. The USAT official nodded, indicating that I had passed within 15 seconds and not incurred an infraction. But it was incredible how many people there were out there, and how crowded the course was.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Had a great bike.
Transition 2
  • 02m 22s
Comments:

Felt good in transition. Remembered to first take helmet off, which, because it is so comfortable, I can forget.

Put my watch and Road ID on as i was running out of T2. felt smooth.
What would you do differently?:

reset my GPS watch before the race. It still had the last workout on it, and I did not realize it until I looked at it to determine distance, and it said that I had gone 10.5 miles when I knew that I had only gone about 1. (Last run was 9.6 miles, but I had forgotten the precise distance.)
Run
  • 54m 52s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

Run felt relatively good, but not great (until I used the portopotty at mile 3.5). Was on cruise control - steady state running that I felt like I could do all day. Picked up the pace for the last third of a mile, sprinting into the finish line (well, sprinting for me; most runners would call it abmling or shuffling).
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

lack of sleep, earplugs, more swim practice, practice in T1




Last updated: 2009-10-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:09 | 1640 yards | 01m 53s / 100yards
Age Group: 1504/496
Overall: 0/4391
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Good
Waves: Below average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 05:11
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:07:22 | 24.85 miles | 22.13 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/496
Overall: 447/4391
Performance:
Wind: Some
Course: Around DC and out Clara Barton parkway, same as last year. Course was very slick because of the rain. Made for some real obstacles, including one huge deep puddle at one point on Clara Barton.
Road:  Wet Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:22
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:54:52 | 06.21 miles | 08m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/496
Overall: 2322/4391
Performance:
Course: Relatively flat course through DC and out around Hains Point.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2010-09-13 11:23 AM

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Extreme Veteran
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Subject: Nation's Triathlon


2010-09-13 11:44 AM
in reply to: #3095337

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Champion
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marietta
Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon
man just reading about the vertigo makes me sick.  awesome bike and overall race!!!
2010-09-13 11:45 AM
in reply to: #3095337

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Master
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Tosa, WI
Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon
Nice bike split in Rainy weather, hard to push that hard on wet roads. 

Nice Race considering the weather, the over crowding, and the fact you had to run to Virginia for transitions!

 
2010-09-13 12:17 PM
in reply to: #3095389

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Champion
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Charlottesville, Virginia
Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon
Great job man, next year definitely need to get together for some races, maybe one a bit less crowded ; )
2010-09-13 12:36 PM
in reply to: #3095337

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Extreme Veteran
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Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon
great job dealing with the vertigo in OW, that sounds horrible, also great job dealing with the crowded bike course.  did you get the thermal blankets at the finish? I was so happy to see them, I was freezing. 
2010-09-13 1:13 PM
in reply to: #3095337

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Master
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Guelph, Ontario
Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon

Great race William. I'm amazed you could continue with the vertigo. I fell like heaving when that happens to me.



2010-09-13 3:25 PM
in reply to: #3095727

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Regular
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Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon

Congratulations, great race and report.  RE: Drafting in the river.  Don't worry one bit.  It is a big river and if the other guy was annoyed, he could have moved off to the side or sped up to drop you.  You've got to run your own race...and in this case that meant improvising to overcome vertigo. 

2010-09-13 3:28 PM
in reply to: #3095337

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Master
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Horseheads, NY
Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon
Great race William!  Great swim considering the vertigo and the about of training you did for it.

Glad to see the new bike treated you so nicely!!

Congratulations!
2010-09-13 4:35 PM
in reply to: #3095337

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Extreme Veteran
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Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon
William,  amazing effort with the vertigo...I don't know how you did that.  I have the same issue and can not imagine swimming that long with it.  With that and the crowded, rainy conditions, this is one for the books on overcoming adversity.  Congrats!
2010-09-14 12:52 PM
in reply to: #3095337

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Champion
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Verona WI--Ironman Bike Country!
Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon
For a guy who suffered from vertigo, 300 yards in you had a great swim, bike and run!!  You will be holy he$$ on the course when you don't lose those ear plugs!
2010-09-14 1:30 PM
in reply to: #3095337

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Expert
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia
Subject: RE: Nation's Triathlon
I can't believe you made it through the swim like that.  I've had that problem in practice swims and I have to get out of the water.  And what an awesome bike split.  Great job in the rain and navigating around ALL of those people!



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