General Discussion Race Reports! » The Nation's Triathlon Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

The Nation's Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Washington, Washington, D.C.
United States
TNT productions
77F / 25C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 28m 17s
Overall Rank = /817
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 24/98
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:30 with Desmond. Played until 5:30. Shave/shower/pack car and leave at 6:20 with Rick. He stayed over for a couple days and made the trip from Denver for the race. Breakfast: 1 tea, one peanut butter slathered banana, one Clif and one Naked juice.
Event warmup:

Set up transition. Stretched shoulders and back. Focused on lower back and hamstrings.
Swim
  • 21m 55s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 20s / 100 yards
Comments:

At the start made my way to the "front row." I left the pack with three other guys in the first 25-50 yards. The two to my left swam away after about 150 yards and the guy on my right faded back after about 300 yards. In all, smooth water off the start all the way to the second buoy until I started passing the previous waves. Navigation and passing were fine until the turnaround...at which point, I couldn't see anything. It was the worst glare I've ever been in. Dark blue goggles didn't help...I needed mirrors. I swam up on at least three people who I never even saw. About half way back on the second leg of the swim, I passed one of the two guys who had got away at the start. He was having a harding time than me with navigation...he said he had to tread water twice because he couldn't see. Second in wave and second in age group (M30-34 had two waves.)
What would you do differently?:

Darker goggles. Swim more. I only swam twice in the past month...and one of them was the Annapolis triathlon. I got off to a great start...and had good passing technique but awful navigation for half the race. No drafting...but I wasn't prepared to chase my wave leaders and there was no one else available.
Transition 1
  • 03m 30s
Comments:

A couple hundred yard run from the river to my bike. Felt like it was taking forever in transition. Did not fog my glasses (finally!).
What would you do differently?:

Load Gu onto bike instead of stuffing it into pockets.
Bike
  • 1h 11m 38s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.81 mile/hr
Comments:

I left with 20oz of Gatorade and 20 oz of water. Came back with all of the water and about 5-10% of the Gatorade. Ate two Gu's on bike course. Should have had more to drink. Stayed in aero position for long stretches including around turns...but was passed as if I was not moving by far too many people.
What would you do differently?:

Perhaps invest in a bike computer. Real time data on watts/cadence/mph is the type of thing I think I could react to. Did not climb the hills very well. They were often long slow grades that I should have downshifted once and then spun right over...instead, I found myself slowing to a crawl.

Transition 2
  • 01m 43s
Comments:

Had fun talking with film guy and number 66. 66 and I traded positions on the bike a couple times. We were one rack apart. He was fun...I was telling film guy to get a good look at 66 because he was going to run down the leader.
What would you do differently?:

Could have been more serious and focused...but mostly, nothing. It was a light and fun few minutes before the uglyness of running.
Run
  • 49m 33s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

Really pushed it hard. Instead of trying to find a pace that I could handle for an hour...several times I tried to find the fastest pace that I could maintain for 5 minutes. I did not pass a single person on the run. I was passed by at least 25 or 35 people. In the last mile, coming down Constitution near 12th Street, one of the women Midshipmen passed me. She was like a rocket.

Ended up with best run time I've ever posted...it is even better than the five and six mile training "races" that I've done. Must have been the adrenaline...or the course was shorter than 6.2 miles.
What would you do differently?:

Better training, run more bricks, run more workouts at "race pace" or near race pace.
Post race
Warm down:

Water and a little food. Free rubdown that was awesome and worth the 15 minute wait. Sandwich and cytomax. Then walked back to G'town to leave.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Preparation and lack of sleep in the past two weeks.

Event comments:

Course is built for speed. It is no nonsense swim: out and back. It had long flats or swooping curves for bike and no major hills for run. It was not a difficult course, in fact, it was easy, but it should show correspondingly fast times. (except for the big winds on the bike.) The lack of a shuttle at the end of the race back to the T1 was a big pain...but, that is DC Police for you.




Last updated: 2007-09-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:55 | 1640 yards | 01m 20s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/98
Overall: 0/817
Performance: Average
Suit: Ironman Instinct (Sleeveless and down to ankles)
Course: Upriver from Sequoia in G'town to a turnaround and then straight back downriver toward boathouse. Buoys on left the whole way.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:30
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:11:38 | 24.85 miles | 20.81 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/98
Overall: 0/817
Performance: Average
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: Scenic. Behind Watergate and Lincoln. Around Haines Point. Into downtown. Back around tidal area and up toward Georgetown for turnaround. 2 laps.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:43
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:49:33 | 06.21 miles | 07m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/98
Overall: 0/817
Performance: Good
Course: Fairly flat...a few rolling hills. Either nicely shaded or brutally exposed. First segment on Whitehurst Freeway was tough because there was no shade, hardly anyone around except the four or five guys who passed me in the first mile, no spectators...and legs of lead.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

{postbutton}
2007-09-30 2:13 PM

User image

Regular
304
100100100
Subject: The Nation's Triathlon
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » The Nation's Triathlon Rss Feed