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Steelman Triathlon - Olympic Distance - Triathlon


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Quakertown, Pennsylvania
United States
Steelman Triathlon
90F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 11m 17s
Overall Rank = 149/215
Age Group = F30-34
Age Group Rank = 10/13
Pre-race routine:

Got there obscenely early (parked at 3:44) because Jeff was volunteering. Watched the meteor shower a bit, set up transition, ate a Clif bar and a banana, had a Vitamin Water. Tried to relax, since I was on my feet for so long.
Event warmup:

Stretched around 5:30. Ran 15 minutes around 6:15. Got in for a very short swim just before the swim warmup closed at 6:45.
Swim
  • 27m 2s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 48s / 100 meters
Comments:

This felt very good. I was able to get out in front of the wave early without having to sprint, and basically put the pack behind me (except for one person who got out far ahead) after passing two or three buoys. By the turn-around, I was already dodging the back half of the wave in front of me. I had a bit of difficulty navigating once I made the first turn because we were headed into the sun and the glare was intense, but I tried to keep near other swimmers and eventually found my line. Only once was I significantly off-course, and another swimmer in my wave caught me. After swimming together (really crashing into one another - I had someone on my other side and couldn't avoid her) for a minute, I kicked in a sprint to pull ahead (a very short one, because she pulled up quickly and I never saw her again). The rest of the swim was pretty good. I felt smooth and was keeping a great tempo. I'm not usually good at swimming fast in open water, but this was definitely my best effort at it.

80 degree water meant wetsuits were optional - advantage me.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Just sight better, but conditions made that difficult today.
Transition 1
  • 03m 18s
Comments:

Decent T1 - definitely an improvement over last time. I struggled a bit getting my bike shoes on, though, because I forgot to leave the straps open and couldn't slide them on. Other than that things went pretty smoothly.
What would you do differently?:

Make sure my shoes are open!
Bike
  • 1h 25m 9s
  • 24.6 miles
  • 17.33 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike course started out with a killer hill. It was really rough to get up on cold legs, and I was pretty gassed by the time I turned onto the highway. I did pretty well once I was onto the loop, though. The hills were bigger than I expected, but were comparable to what I have done on training rides, so I handled them well. I got up some great speed on descents, too. The only thing I did poorly was navigate the turn-arounds - I had to slow to nearly a stop in order to turn comfortably, which killed my momentum. Other than that, I did really well and felt good about it.
What would you do differently?:

Get comfortable with sharp turns on my bike. My bike handling in general could use a bit of work. Also, I completely forgot about nutrition for the first hour and had to shove a whole bunch of Shot Bloks in my mouth at once to try and compensate. I was so worried about staying hydrated that I forgot about taking in calories.
Transition 2
  • 01m 41s
Comments:

Got through this fairly quickly. When I racked my bike, I squished my finger between it and the rack, which slowed me down a little. Shoes went on easily and I remembered my nutrition, but I forgot my watch and had to run back for it.
What would you do differently?:

Remember my watch! This isn't the first time this has happened.
Run
  • 1h 14m 9s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 11m 58s  min/mile
Comments:

It was extremely hot, so I didn't put much pressure on myself. I tried to run as much as I could, but didn't beat myself up about walking, especially on hills during the second half of the race. I brought a water bottle with electrolytes plus some Clif Shot Bloks, and also made sure to drink plenty of the cold water (my bottle was steaming hot) from the aid stations. I also doused myself in water repeatedly, took advantage of the guy spraying us down with a hose on the course, and put ice down my back twice. The ice was a huge help - I felt my running improve significantly when I had it. My last mile was pretty solid - I was able to run almost all of it. Since my warm-up run took me through the finish chute, I was completely prepared for the finish and was able to not only keep running, but speed up a bit toward the end. As I turned for the finish, another woman came up alongside me. I sped up, so she sped up. Then I said, "So we're sprinting this? Let's go!" and sprinted into the finish just past her. (I hope she found that fun and not obnoxious - I meant it as fun). I had no idea who she was and never even got a look at her, but turns out she was in my age group and I beat her by a second! Let's hear it for last-minute sprints!
What would you do differently?:

Until I get faster, not much. This is basically how I've been running in the heat, but a little slower because I was tired from the other legs. The only other thing I could do to improve is to lay off the other legs a bit, but I'm not ready to do that right now.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, ate some fruit, hydrated. I sat and chatted with a few women for a bit. Got results and then tried to stick around for awards, but I was too overheated and uncomfortable, so we skipped out early.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Heat was the killer today. Yesterday was in the 90s with a 110 degree heat index and super-high humidity. Today was a bit better with the humidity, but still hot and icky. The heat took a toll on everyone.

Event comments:

This was a really nice, well-organized race (as the 39-page athlete note attests). There were tons of volunteers who were very enthusiastic. There were plenty of water stations on the run course and they did not skimp on water, Gatorade or ice - a very welcome thing on such a devastatingly hot day.




Last updated: 2016-07-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:27:02 | 1500 meters | 01m 48s / 100meters
Age Group: 2/13
Overall: 30/215
Performance: Good
Suit: Zoot tri top and shorts
Course: Sort of a square course with the bottom left quadrant missing. Beautiful flat lake.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:18
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:25:09 | 24.6 miles | 17.33 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/13
Overall: 169/215
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Up a short, steep hill from marina to 563, two loops of somewhat hilly course on 563, then back down the hill to the marina.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering:
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:41
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:14:09 | 06.2 miles | 11m 58s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/13
Overall: 185/215
Performance: Bad
Course: Two loops of a paved trail through woods - mostly shaded, but lots of convective heat on an extremely hot day.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2016-08-14 8:54 PM

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Subject: Steelman Triathlon - Olympic Distance
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