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Benaroya Research Institute Triathlon at SEAFAIR - TriathlonSprint


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Seattle, Washington
United States
Beneroya Research Institute and SeaFair
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 51m 24s
Overall Rank = 1042/1250
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 85/100
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at around 4:30. Ate some peaches and threw everything in the car. I like to show up at races early so I can get a good parking spot. I got there about 15 min. before the transition area opened so I sat in my car and listened to Opeth for a bit.

When they opened the transition area, I headed down with all my gear. I did not have to walk too far since I got a great parking spot. This race does not have the best parking situation since everyone has to find spots on the street. I found my rack and set my stuff down. I was really early so I decided to chill out by the lake until more people started to show up . As I was sitting there, I noticed Ann (stampinann) standing on the shore so I talked to her for awhile. Eventually I headed back over to my stuff and set up my transition area and put on my wetsuit. By that time people had been using the portapottys and my rack was inconvieniently placed right next to them. I tried to hurry with my stuff because the smell was really starting to get to me. I headed back over to Ann's transition area where a Seattle Times (I think) reporter came up and interviewed us for a story she was doing about women in triathlon. After talking to her about our various backgrounds, it was time for the prerace meeting so we headed down to the beach.
Event warmup:

I decided not to warm up because I was leaving in wave 7 and I didn't think a warmup would help me after standing on the beach for a half hour.
Swim
  • 14m 9s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 35s / 100 yards
Comments:

I tried to start on to the outside of the group. Last year I really got beat up so I wanted to aviod having that happen again. I knew that there were a lot of good swimmers in my age group. When the horn sounded I was again surrounded by women kicking and flailing their arms. I could not get into a good space for the first 10 seconds or so of the race. Finally I found some fast feet to follow and I stayed close behind until we rounded the first buoy. I started to run into people from the earlier waves. It was sometimes hard to get around them because they were swimming sideways or doing breaststroke. The water was also a little bit choppy and I swallowed water a couple of times. I was still pretty close to the front of the pack of purple caps but I got blocked in by two slower swimmers and pretty much had to tread water until I could get around them. By then I totally lost any groove I had left. I swam straight in for the finish but about 50 meters from the end I ran into the thickest milfoil mess that I have ever experienced. It was like a giant nasty hair ball grabbing me everywhere. I could barely pull my arms through it, it was that thick. I thought it was bad last year but this was worse. It was really disgusting and although I was trying my hardest to swim my way out of it as quickly as possible, I kept getting pulled back. Finally I found my way out of the lake forest and to the finish.
What would you do differently?:

I need to be more aggressive at the start. I am too slow starting off and I think that is why I am always surrounded by slower swimmers. The milfoil was a problem but there is nothing I can really do about that. I was pleased that they changed the course from clockwise to counterclockwise this year because last year the sun was in my eyes during the entire swim. Overall, I am dissappointed in this swim. I never found a good rhythm and did not feel as strong as I did during my OW swim practices earlier in the week.
Transition 1
  • 05m 24s
Comments:

After a discouraging swim, I took my time getting ready.
What would you do differently?:

I should work on getting my transition times down. Perhaps more swim/bike bricks would help.
Bike
  • 52m 37s
  • 12 miles
  • 13.68 mile/hr
Comments:

I love this bike course because we ride across the I-90 express lanes. The sky was completely clear and the view of Mt. Rainier was amazing. I could even see Mt. Baker off in the distance to the North. I was passed a lot. I passed a couple of people which surprised me a bit. I saw a lot of drafting going on. Blocking. And agressive behavior. Since this was a USAT sanctioned event I thought there would be officials out on the course but I did not see any. Just one cop on the bridge who was reading a sports magazine. I don't know what it is about this race but it elicits a lot of competitiveness from its participants. I have never raced one as "hard core" as this one.

I thought I would do well on the bike this year becuase I have been training on my bike a lot more and I have done this course many times now. I actually ended up going about 2 min. slower this year. Very discouraging. I am getting really frustrated about this in fact. I felt good and it seemed like I was going fairly fast. I guess I need to work on this more.
What would you do differently?:

I guess I am not training enough. I thought I would have done better.
Transition 2
  • 01m 9s
Comments:

I still don't have clipless pedals so no shoe change needed. I actually have pedals and shoes but I got them a week before this race so I decided not to use them.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 38m 5s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 12m 17s  min/mile
Comments:

I never realized how much noise some people (meaning men) make when they are working out/racing. I don't go to a gym or anything so maybe I am sheltered but there was a lot of loud grunting, snorting, burping and even farting going on. Basically my strategy was to find someone going about my pace and follow them. I was following a girl who apparently was having cramps in her legs. Her and I tag teamed a couple of times but then I made it my goal to not let her pass me again. It kept me going strong for the rest of the race.

I was satisfied with my run. I still need a lot of work but I ran for a lot longer than I thought I would. I have really been slacking on my run training.
What would you do differently?:

Train more but for my lack of training, I think I did alright. I ran a little over 3 min. faster than last year.
Post race
Warm down:

I walked around the expo a bit. Had a bagel, orange slice, half banana, and a Jamba Juice sample. They had a lot of food freebies at the expo so I spent some time sampling.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Milfoil and not enough training.

Event comments:

The swim course at this race is not good. They really need to do something about the milfoil. Otherwise it is a good race and the bike and run courses have beautiful views of Mt. Rainier. The goody bag was decent and the t-shirt was good. The post race food was not that great but it was pretty standard for races of this size. Overall I think I will do this race again next year if only to prove to myself that I do not suck as much as I think I do on the bike and run. I was about 3 min faster overall than last year.




Last updated: 2006-06-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:09 | 880 yards | 01m 35s / 100yards
Age Group: 11/100
Overall: 202/1250
Performance: Below average
Place 59th overall out of the women.
Suit: ironman sleeveless
Course: A counter clockwise triangle around Andrews Bay. Lots of milfoil.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 05:24
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:52:37 | 12 miles | 13.68 mile/hr
Age Group: 90/100
Overall: 1165/1250
Performance:
Wind: Some
Course: North on Lake Washington Blvd. then across the I-90 express lanes and back. Mostly flat with one short steepish hill.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:09
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:38:05 | 03.1 miles | 12m 17s  min/mile
Age Group: 92/100
Overall: 1179/1250
Performance: Average
Course: A loop around Seward Park and a long hill climb towards the end on the Upper Loop.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2006-07-19 2:37 PM

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Expert
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Issaquah, WA,
Subject: Benaroya Research Institute Triathlon at SEAFAIR


2006-07-19 9:30 PM
in reply to: #487361

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Veteran
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Seattle, WA
Subject: RE: Benaroya Research Institute Triathlon at SEAFAIR
Great race report. I know what you mean on the milfoil. At one point I had a bunch of it stuck in the wrist strap of my HRM. Congrats on the time improvement over last year.
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