Triathlon de Montreal - TriathlonOlympic


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Montreal, Quebec
Canada
Esprit Triathlon
13C / 55F
Precipitation
Total Time = 3h 01m 39s
Overall Rank = 339/384
Age Group = Women 40-44
Age Group Rank = 15/19
Pre-race routine:

My race was scheduled at 10:30 but woke up at 5:45 in order to arrive on site early and get a decent parking and transition spot. I showered, packed my gear and had breakfast (1 cranberry-orange breakfast pita, 1 tablespoon raw almond butter, 1 banana, two cups coffee). We left the hotel at 7:15 and got to the site at 7:45.

I ate 4 Newton fig bars at 9:00 and a packet of sports beans at 10:15. I sipped on a water bottle from the time I arrived until I left the transition area for my swim start scheduled at 10:30.



Event warmup:

Went for a 15 minute run at 9:45 and did some dynamic warm up moves (knee high, butt kicks, carioca, leg swings). Headed back to the transition area at approximately 10:05, went to the port-a-potty for the last time, put my wetsuit on and proceeded to the swim start where I did dynamic and static arm and shoulder stretches.


Swim
  • 30m 49s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 03s / 100 meters
Comments:

Everything went fine except that I had to stop to pee about 300m from the swim finish. My bladder was making me feel very uncomfortable and I couldn't relieve myself without stopping. I lost about 45 seconds thinking about stopping and actually stopping.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, I didn't have much of a choice as far as the peepee issue goes.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

Things went wrong on T1.

1) The wetsuit got stuck on both my wrists and heels despite the loads of Body Glide I had smeared myself with.

2) Tried to put my bike helmet on but there was something wrong with plastic thing that thightens the back of it; spent a bit of time trying to correct this problem because my fingers were cold. I finally got to put my helmet on properly.

3) I had to put a long sleeve jersey on after wiping the excess water off myself but didn't realize I had my bike helmet on already, darn! Removed the helmet, put the long sleeve on, put the helmet back on... again!

The chip timing company (Sportstats) included both T1 and T2 times in the bike portion so I have no idea as to how much time it took me to get on the bike course.
What would you do differently?:

Everything!
Bike
  • 1h 28m 48s
  • 40 kms
  • 27.03 km/hr
Comments:

The real time is 1:20:21 for the bike portion, average speed of 29.9 km/h. I don't think this was too too bad considering the conditions in which we were riding. I was being cautious throughout, it wasn't raining at the time I was riding except for a couple of drizzle episodes. The race track was very wet, it was cold and the winds made it a little colder. My feet and legs were getting numb because of the cold.

Nutrition on the bike was good, I sipped on 20 ounces of HEED/Gatorade from my aerodrink bottle and had a Hammer gel with water at the beginning of the last lap of the bike course.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, I was pleased with the bike segment under these crappy weather conditions.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Things were a little better during T2. I had to run slowly with my bike to the transition area though because my feet and legs were cold and numb. I removed my jersey and struggled a little while putting my running socks on because my feet were wet and my towel was soaked with rain.

T2 time was included in the bike portion.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 1h 02m 3s
  • 10 kms
  • 06m 12s  min/km
Comments:

What else can I say, Mother Nature wasn't on our side at all during the run. I used the first 5k to recover my legs from the bike and to warm up, I was cold and shivering a little.

At the 4k mark, it began to rain very hard. At that time and for some unknown reason (I suspect a bad case of PMS on this one...), I just wanted to stop for a minute and cry. I have no idea what prevented me from doing it but I was able to put the focus back on completing this event.

I had a packet of sports beans at the 5 km mark, walked through every aid station for water.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

My partner was waiting for me with a blanket at the finish line. I was soooo cold, I was shivering and crying after I was done and I had no control over that. We walked around the site for a bit and went to the car to get dry clothes. I wanted to take a hot shower but there was I line up so I decided to dry myself off and change instead. I stretched while waiting for my post-race meal. When we got back to the hotel, I soaked in a warm bath with eucalyptus oil and had a glass of red; my partner also gave me a nice, long foot massage afterwards and we dined on chicken and ribs.



What limited your ability to perform faster:

The weather conditions and PMS definitely did but overall I was mentally and physically prepared for this race and I didn't let those conditions stand in the way of finishing it.

Event comments:

I didn't have a time goal for my first Olympic distance race but was hoping to finish somewhere around 3:15. My finish time was better than I anticipated although I was a bit disappointed with my T1 time and thought I had a faster run. I am also taking into consideration the weather factor and a bad case of PMS, which slowed me down considerably on the bike and run respectively. I am overall pleased with my race and next year will be another story altogether. I plan on doing two Olympic distance races before my half-ironman and will be better prepared. I have committed myself to 1) clean eating, 2) become a better and faster runner in 2008 and 3) loose the extra weight to help acheive #2.

The course was great, flat and fast, no current in the basin. I wish we would have raced under dry and warmer weather, I would have done much better if it were the case.

As far as the organization goes, I have to give them 2/5. It all started last week when I received the parking pass I ordered at the time I registered online. The website indicated that it would be good for both the Friday and Saturday of the race, yet my pass showed as being good for September 15 only. I tried several times to contact the organizers through the email address provided on the website, my correspondance would bounce back saying the address was invalid. Tried to call them, I was redirected to a message indicating that their voice mail had not been set up... I waited for a couple of days before trying the whole process again, to no avail. I finally got a hold of them a few days later and was informed that they were having problems with the City of Montreal getting the same parking pass deal they had over the past few years; I was informed that the pass would be honored on the Friday nonetheless. The website was not updated with this information at all.

When I arrived on the site last Friday to pick up my race kit, I decided to double check with the folks who were selling the parking passes and informed them of the situation. I was able to trade my pass for another one good for both Friday and Saturday. Several people who have purchased the pass online also have received the Saturday only pass and took the organization's word that it would be honored on Friday as well. Well that caused some grief for quite a few participants because the city's parking authority officers took advantage of the situation and were there waiting like vultures to distribute parking tickets (the "special" pass was going for $10 for the two days). The officers were not accomodating at all and my partner and I witnessed a lot of verbal fights between car owners and "eggplants" (that's what parking officers are called in
Montreal, "aubergines" in French). I put the blame on both the organization and the parking authorities on that one.

The other concern I had was with the race meeting that was held on Friday and Saturday just before the swim start. There was a considerable number of athletes attending yet no PA system or megaphone was used. I couldn't hear a thing of what was being said and I wasn't the only one who was concerned with that.

Last thing... Foil/thermal blankets would have been an awesome thing to have at the finish line.





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Last updated: 2007-05-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:49 | 1500 meters | 02m 03s / 100meters
Age Group: 12/19
Overall: 259/384
Performance: Good
Suit: Definitely wetsuit legal!
Course: The 1.5 Km swim was in the Olympic Rowing Basin. The basin is a 2 Km long, 100 metre wide and 3 metres deep swimming pool, without current. The course was 1 lap of 1500 m, a down-and-back swim.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 19C / 66F Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:28:48 | 40 kms | 27.03 km/hr
Age Group: 12/19
Overall: 326/384
Performance: Good
The poor placement for the bike time is due to the inclusion of my poor T1 and OK T2 times.
Wind: Headwind with gusts
Course: 9 counter-clockwise laps of the Gilles-Villeneuve F1 race circuit, flat and fast.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:02:03 | 10 kms | 06m 12s  min/km
Age Group: 18/19
Overall: 354/384
Performance: Below average
Course: 2 laps of the Olympic rowing basin.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 3