Commit to be Fit Giant Eagle Triathlon - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic


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Columbus, Ohio
United States
HFP Racing
61F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 18m 22s
Overall Rank = 109/405
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 10/47
Pre-race routine:

The day before the race was a crazy flurry of activity. Two hour drive to Columbus, OH, check in to the hotel, walk over to the Convention Center for the Expo and packet pickup, then back to the hotel to get our gear and drive to T2 to set up the run bags, then a drive out to the race start for bike check-in and set up T1. Met up with a bunch of Team RWB folks for dinner at 7 (supposed to be there at 6). In bed at 9:30pm. Woke up with the alarm at 3:45am, got dressed in the race garb, made some coffee and ate a quick breakfast of items bought from the hotel the night before. Bagel w/ PB, a banana, a blueberry breakfast bar, and a coconut water. Went downstairs to catch the shuttle from the hotel to the swim start at 4:30am. Got to the race start and did final setup of T1, then went and picked up my chip and went through body marking Ate two gels right when the first Pro wave started, which was roughly 20-25 minutes before my wave.
Event warmup:

Got into the water and swam perhaps 100m. Peed in the wetsuit - ya know, to mark my territory and all.
Swim
  • 20m 47s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 23s / 100 meters
Comments:

Right from the start this swim felt good. I lined up on the beach in about the 2nd or third row back. When we were told to start, I ran into the water, kinda picking a gap between other guys, then dove in and started swimming as soon as the water was knee deep. No dolphin diving. Fingers brushed sand on the first stroke, then I was in deeper water. We were to the first turn buoy FAST. Like, crazy FAST. Made the turn and caught some chop and splash in the mouth/lungs... I just coughed as best I could while continuing to swim and got through it. For the rest of the first lap I mostly found some space to work in and/or pushed past people. I got busted in the chops once by some guy's watch.. that stung a little but only for a minute. At the end of the first lap, I had somebody actually grab my ankle and pull me backward. Unfortunately, the start of my second lap coincided with the start of one of the other waves and I got caught in a massive washing machine. Started doing a fair bit of Tarzan'ing to pick a path through them all and basically didn't play well with others as I forced my way through the crowd. Got through that group just in time to catch the wave in front of that by the time I got to the second turn on the second lap. Had someone swim across my back at a 90-degree angle, which was interesting. Made the turn and tried to pick it up a little to get clear of this second pack, then just cruised to the exit buoy and was out of the water and running to T1. Dropped my goggles and cap as I was running and had to stop and go back for them real quick. Only cost me perhaps 3-5 seconds, but it was still annoying.

This swim course was definitely short... there is just no way that was 1500m, but I swam the same course as everyone else, so it's all good.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, it was a good swim for as crowded as it got at times.
I could also try to avoid dropping my goggles and swim cap on the run to T1.
Transition 1
  • 02m 31s
Comments:

Extra time putting gear into a bag for transport to finish line
What would you do differently?:

Move faster, as always.
Bike
  • 1h 04m 31s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 23.27 mile/hr
Comments:

This was a really nice ride, but not entirely what I expected. Before the race, everyone was talking about how it was "all downhill"... well, it was, but I swear I felt like I was going uphill half the time. I don't know for sure, but it felt like we had some headwinds, too.

The only real hills were in the first 6 miles out of T1, then it was pretty much a straight shot south into downtown Columbus. It was mostly uneventful and I just tried to pay attention to using gears that allowed me to stay close to a cadence of 90 rpm. I apparently need to work on that, because my average was way lower, hehe. Overall, a very solid time, but I think that with doing some actual work on the bike, I can be a lot faster.

Tons of fun on this ride, and once we hit High St it was just simply awesome. FAST. For the first time ever, I pulled my feet out of my shoes while still on the bike and rode to the dismount line with my feet on top. I'd never even practiced it. It went well.
What would you do differently?:

Be in better bike condition going into the race. I'd like to do this ride in one hour, flat.
Transition 2
  • 01m 57s
Comments:

I have no idea where the time went as I had a really short run into my spot, but I guess I did kinda dilly-dally a bit in there. The run out was fairly long, and I was taking it slow.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure... move my butt a little faster??
Run
  • 48m 39s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

What a nice run! Beautiful weather and my legs stayed with me for almost the entire thing.

The last few Oly's I've done, my run has sucked. The leg pain has been horrible and the heat has always had me totally overheated. So, before this race, I decided that if I just held back early, perhaps tried to get my stride down early, and then just cruise at a training pace, I should be able to PR the run... sure, enough, I did.

I made a point of paying close attention to my pace on the Garmin through the first half mile, holding myself back to nearly 9:00/mile pace and tried to make a point of keeping my hips forward and really getting good leg extension behind me to try to stretch the hip flexors. It seemed to work! I'm going to make a point of doing this every time I come off the bike, now. After that first half mile, I settled into a nice run at about 7:45/mile that didn't feel like I was working too hard. The first few miles clicked off pretty easily and it wasn't until about mile 4 that I started to feel the legs getting really tired. It didn't occur to me until just now, but perhaps I should have tried over-emphasizing the leg extension again because maybe things were just getting tight? It seemed like they had aid stations at every kilometer. I only took water a couple of times, Gatorade once. At mile 4 or 5 I dumped one water over my head to cool down a little. Anyway, I didn't do the leg extension thing and they continued to hurt more as the run wore on, and my pace slowly began to drop off. I just did my best to block it out and keep moving along and before I knew it I had passed mile 5 (and my pace had dropped to about 8:30), then I was making the turn onto Neil St which is the last stretch before the finish. Right at mile 6, Robin (sungirl919) and her husband Steve (smuskopf) where there with large American flags for all of us Team RWB people to carry through to the finish. I grabbed the flag from Robin and opened my stride and cruised to the finish at about 7:00/mi holding that flag proud and with a smile on my face.
What would you do differently?:

For as much running as I've done over the last year, and for as little work I do on the other sports, this continues to be where I can pick up the most time and where I think I still need the most work. I think I need to actually start doing speed work now. Knocking 5 1/2 minutes off my run would have given me a Top 5 finish in AG.... however, the fact that I was able to run the whole thing without overheating and/or walking, is a positive step for me.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

A complete lack of training lately.
Mostly just running since March (aside from races), and not even hardly that over the last month.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2013-03-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:47 | 1500 meters | 01m 23s / 100meters
Age Group: 6/47
Overall: 90/405
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex Pro full sleeve
Course: Two loop rectangle. Course was definitely short. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/349905120
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 02:31
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:04:31 | 24.85 miles | 23.27 mile/hr
Age Group: 12/47
Overall: 94/405
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Net downhill point-to-point with a little early climbing. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/349905126
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 79
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:57
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:48:39 | 06.21 miles | 07m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 16/47
Overall: 160/405
Performance: Good
Course: One loop out and back on jogging paths along the banks of the Scioto River. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/349905137
Keeping cool Good 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