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Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Ellicott City, Maryland
United States
Columbia Triathlon Association
Total Time = 2h 45m 24s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Some good loot at packet pickup this year - a nice transition bag and visor. The t-shirt felt cheaper than last year's though.

Woke up at 4:40 and drove to park. No issues with parking.

Goal was to keep swim & bike paces about the same as last year and cut 4-5 minutes off the run.
Swim
  • 22m 55s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 24s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was strange. I felt like it was a solid swim, but I was a full minute slower than last year. No issues with sighting & swam straight. I had a nagging feeling last year's swim was short, so maybe it really was. But others beat their swim times so I don't know. Certainly the course this year was hugging the shoreline more than last year (which led to more seaweed than usual).

2011: 21:52
2012: 22:55
Transition 1
  • 03m 31s
Comments:

Bad T1.

While stripping my wetsuit off, my goggles got knocked off too. I thought they were still in my wetsuit sleeve, but then I realized they were gone. By the time I realized it, I was 30 yards past where I must have dropped them. Not running back at that point. So the goggles were lost for good (I looked after the race but they were long gone).

Then I ran to my area and squirted my water bottle on my feet to wash the grass off. Oddly, Gatorade came out of my bottle. Weird, I must have messed up filling. Then I tried to put my shoes on and found that they were too small. What the hell? Why don't my shoes fit? And why are they a different color than usual? Oh. So apparently I was at somebody else's T1 station.

Was kind of disoriented at this point, but managed to move over 4 bikes to find my spot. Not sure if this happened because I was overtired or if I just wasn't paying attention. I really do apologize to whoever's T1 station I totally screwed up and wasted their Gatorade.

After all this, I expected my T1 time to be even worse than it was. But I think there is another 30-45 seconds to find in here.

2011: 3:25
2012: 3:31
What would you do differently?:

Just about everything.
Bike
  • 1h 18m 41s
  • 25.48 miles
  • 19.43 mile/hr
Comments:

Good solid ride. Went hard but not too hard. Had a couple folks on tribikes that I kept leapfroggong - they would blow past me on the downhills, and I would pass them back on the climbs. One day I need to figure out if this means if I am working the uphills too hard or if my aerodynamic position is just awful (or both). Or maybe I need to upgrade from my road bike.

Due to a bunch of reasons, I really haven't been able ride outside much this year. So I wasn't expecting a big improvement over last year.

2011: 1:18:53
2012: 1:18:41
Transition 2
  • 01m 25s
Comments:

No issues here. Realistically I am not going to get much faster here just due to the distance to run (and that downhill that I am always worried I will fall down with my post-bike wobbly knees).

2011: 1:44
2012: 1:25

Run
  • 58m 54s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

So the run leg is always my achilles heel. But I have been running a ton over the last year, and getting successively faster. So I was really hoping for significant improvement on the run leg. It just didn't happen.

Immediately off the bike, my legs felt as fresh as they ever have for a run leg. But then my side cramped up about 1.5 miles in and I fought that the rest of the race. I tried water & Gatorade but I don't know if that made if better or worse. I don't know if this was a fitness issue or a nutrition issue. And the heat was really getting to me toward the end - every time I left the shade the sun was tough. Had a couple of hills where I really had to fight the urge to walk.

I gave the run everything I had; I was totally spent at the end. So it's not like I left anything on the table. But I actually slowed down from last year, which was really depressing - was hoping for significant improvement.

2011: 58:32
2012: 58:54
Post race
Warm down:

massage

Event comments:


Was just really disappointed in my time overall. I could think of a dozen reasons for this: heat, nutrition, taking a couple weeks off training for medical reasons, travel, my focus being more on Eagleman this year, etc, etc. But this was my first race where I felt like I took a step backwards. I guess I just need to be putting more into this if I want to keep improving.

Total time:
2010: 2:44:26
2011: 2:45:26

As always, a fantastic event. I had a good time visiting old friends even though my performance was disappointing.




Last updated: 2011-11-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:22:55 | 1640 yards | 01m 24s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Suit: DeSoto full sleeve
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:31
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:18:41 | 25.48 miles | 19.43 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:25
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:58:54 | 06.21 miles | 09m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

{postbutton}
2012-05-21 2:50 PM

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Regular
93
252525
Malvern, PA
Subject: Columbia Triathlon


2012-05-22 5:56 AM
in reply to: #4221136

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Master
2563
20005002525
University Park, MD
Subject: RE: Columbia Triathlon

That's a fantastic T1 story. Though perhaps not for the person whose Gatorade was unexpectedly repurposed.

Too bad that the run didn't reflect all the work you've put in. Perhaps the sticky feet were to blame?

Re: hills and bikes. Last year I had your experience. I was on my roadie, and I'd pass loads of people on the ups and they'd zoom past on the downs. This year I was on a tri bike, and it was a little different. Still passing on the ups, and still getting passed more on the downs, but much less so than last year.

2012-05-22 7:32 AM
in reply to: #4221136

User image

Regular
93
252525
Malvern, PA
Subject: RE: Columbia Triathlon

I probably need to break down and buy the tri bike.  I have a buddy that swears it helps save his legs for the run (I am skeptical).  It's just tough to justify the $$.  I really should have gotten in on the $1000 off Cervelo deal earlier this year.

I really do feel bad for the guy whose transition area I messed up after he had probably laid it out so neatly.

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