Deer Creek Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Mt. Sterling, Ohio
United States
HFP Racing
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 31m 2s
Overall Rank = 42/159
Age Group = M 25 - 29
Age Group Rank = 10/14
Pre-race routine:

Woke up around 3:30a and met JGibbs around 4:15a for the hour and half trek up to Mt. Sterling. It rained the entire way up, including huge bolts of lightning and tremendous downpours. We weren't sure if this thing was going to go on or not. But when we got there around 6a it started to clear up, and we picked up our numbers and laid our transition area out. Got a great spot since we were there so early. Other than that we just took it all in b/c it was the first Triathlon for both of us. Pretty cool, eh? We've been friends since Middle School, ran in high school together, and still hang out all these years. It was great to have someone to experience it with and to talk about it with afterwards.
Event warmup:

Went for a 10 minute jog to loosen up the legs and get a sweat going. Put on the wetsuit and headed down to the beach. Holy crap it was intimidating to get down there with everyone! Jumped in the water to get the feeling of the temperature. Tried to swim some 25yards and back. Not very successful. Looks like it's going to be a baptism by fire for this OWS!!! Giddy Up.
Swim
  • 32m 6s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 08s / 100 meters
Comments:

Horn goes off and JGibbs and I are in the back of our wave and we try to start swimming. Kept bumping into people and couldn't really catch my breath. The first 750 meter lap I thought I was going to die! I freaked out like everyone has done in their first race. (or so I have been told) I stopped a lot and breaststroked until I felt comfortable again. At this point in the race I was thinking "I should just be a Duathlete! C'mon you can rock the run and the bike is enjoyable, unlike this in which you're drinking half the lake!" :) But when things began to thin out on the second lap I felt really good. I was just doing my regular stroke like I was in the pool at the Y. Breathing wasn't a factor and my sighting was great. I was able to see the bouys the entire time when I took a breath so that made it a lot more relaxing. Felt wayyy to strong at the end, like I could possible do another half a loop or something (but I didn't thank goodness!). Rounded the last bouy and began to jog out of the water.

Thank you Lord! I am done with the swim!

Swim time includes the hike up the hill.
What would you do differently?:

Get over my fear of OWS. Practice out there more and try to relax when others are around me. I hope this will come in due time.
Transition 1
  • 02m 34s
Comments:

Got out of the water and onto the beach, and then began the climb to the transition area. It was a good 100 yards up a hill. Not just a hill, but a HILL!! :) Once I got there my wetsuit was down to my waist and I removed it pretty easy. I wasn't too concerned with Transition times this race, seeing as it was my first. But not too bad. My Garmin crapped out on me, so it wasn't working. Put on my shoes and finished my Powerade and took off. Once I crossed the Mounting Line I had a little trouble finding my pedals, but it didn't cost me too much time. There was a backup anyways in getting out of the parking lot and onto the course.
What would you do differently?:

Just work on Transition more when having my wetsuit on. Lay things out a little better. At least now I have an idea of what to do.
Bike
  • 1h 11m 52s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.75 mile/hr
Comments:

Once we got onto the roads I saw that my Garmin wasn't working (of course) and I had no idea how fast I was going. I decided to keep resistance at the amount I'm used to on my weekend rides and shift gears if it got harder/easier. Kept cadence above 90 to see where I was.

I immediately took a PowerGel and water and just sat in aerobar position pounding it out. I only passed about 10 people, and was passed by about the same amount of people. Of course these were guys with the NICE bikes, unlike my good 'ol Trek 1000 :) Oh, and now I know what a disc wheel sounds like when it passes you. Amazing. It was like the guy wasn't even trying and he flew by me like I was standing still. (don't worry, I caught him in the run like I did everyone else who passed me :)

Anyways, first lap was uneventful until I hit the two hills at the end. Put it in granny gear and climbed up slowly with my cadence at 90+ still. Once I started the second lap I never passed anyon else, nor was anyone behind me. I must've put a lot of ground between me and anyone else behind. The group ahead of me were too strong of bikers for me to catch. I tried to stay close so I could strike in the run. Again up the two hills in granny gear and towards the transition area. 2 down, 1 to go...

- good first race average for me. I can build on that and I think putting in 7+ hours/week in the saddle will help me be a better cyclist.
What would you do differently?:

Get a cyclometer for my bike. I rely on my Garmin too much at times. Tape my gels to my bike on International races. I had my Bento Box with way more than I needed (I wanted to make sure I had anything/everything I could possibly need)
Transition 2
  • 01m 51s
Comments:

Got off right before the dismount line and took a second to make sure my legs worked. I made my way into transition while all the sprint distance people were getting their things togehter. That wasn't very cool. Most of them were just strolling around not even thinking that the International was still going on. I know I wasn't near the last of the poeple too so I can only imagine those who had to come in after me when it got even worse.

Anyways, took my shoes off and put socks and shoes on, grabbed some PowerGels and took off.
What would you do differently?:

Work on riding with my feet on top of my shoes. maybe go sockless eventually?
Run
  • 42m 39s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Slammed a PowerGel as soon as I got out of the Transition area and had a waterstop. My legs were pretty tight for the first two miles so I didn't push too much. I kept a decent pace for the first two and then I started to pick it up.

Let me just say that I love having the running background. It felt great to finally pass some of these people that were crushing me on the bike and swim. I walked through the aid stations to make sure I got gatorade and water at each. Began cramping up around mile 3 but that went away very quickly. Saw JGibbs coming the other way and that just made the entire race! Both gave words of encouragement ("we're doing this!") and high fived as we passed. Around mile 4 I picked it up to just let it go a little more. i wasn't sure of my times since the Garmin was dead and I didn't split each with my Timex watch I had on. I only knew around where I was and figured if I put in a sub 42 10K I could possibly break 2:30:00. I took too much time in transition to do this today, but I kept hitting the last mile pretty hard. Not all out, but enough to pass others and make sure they stayed "passed". :)

After looking at the overall run, I could've pushed a little harder and maybe moved up to 10 or so overall. But first one all considered it wasn't bad. I know where my strength is, and it's the last 6.2 miles in an OLY.

Came back into the Park and hit the parking lot/finish line with a good speed. Finally... 5 months of training and I'm a Triathlete.
What would you do differently?:

Take the run out a little faster than what I did and use the Garmin (if it gets fixed) to see what my pace is like. Learn how to drink on the fly at aid stations.
Post race
Warm down:

Crossed the line and took some gatorade/water. Stretched and cheered everyone else on that was finishing. Waited for JGibbs to finish and then we went to transition to pack our stuff up.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Well I think I could use a lot of swimming help, and practicing more and more in that aspect. Embrace the Lakes :)

It was a great experience, however this is the first of a series of races put on by HFP, and this brings out the hardcore Triathletes around here. I just wish I could've done better in my AG for my first tri. Ah well... more fuel for the race! :)

No complaints or excuses. It was great!

Event comments:

HFP puts on great races, and I would encourage anyone who is looking to do their first triathlon or duathlon to do it with this organization!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2007-01-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:32:06 | 1500 meters | 02m 08s / 100meters
Age Group: 7/14
Overall: 66/159
Performance: Average
Suit: QR Hydro John (Sleeveless)
Course: 2 laps of a 750 meter counter clockwise rectangle. Roughly 350 x 25 meters, with the longer portion swimming parallel to the beach.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Below average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:34
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:11:52 | 24.85 miles | 20.75 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/14
Overall: 65/159
Performance: Good
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: Head out of the State Park and onto country roads for two laps of a 12 mile loop. Pretty open and smooth with some rolling hills. There were two hills that were towards the end of the laps which burned all your momentum up.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 90+
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:51
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:42:39 | 06.21 miles | 06m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/14
Overall: 15/159
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back. Course was all flat with some runs on grass and across the Deer Creek Dam.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4