Iron Girl Columbia Women's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Columbia, Maryland
United States
The Columbia Triathlon Association Inc.
80F / 27C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 02m 30s
Overall Rank = 161/1536
Age Group = 50-55
Age Group Rank = 5/151
Pre-race routine:

Gathered everyone into the car @ 4:00am. Wanted to make sure we had good parking, didn't hit any traffic, and had plenty of time for multiple porta pottie stops. Bagel w/ cream cheese, Odwalla smoothie, banana over the pre-race hours. Thunderstorm passed while waiting for swim stuff. Everyone stuff in transition got soaked since the weatherman was calling for storms until later in the day.
Event warmup:

None.
Swim
  • 20m 43s
  • 1094 yards
  • 01m 53s / 100 yards
Comments:

I managed to start out in front of the pack. This is key and really helped me from the beginning. I never really had to fight for position after the 1st 50 yards or so. Had to revert to combination of freestyle and breastroke about 350 yards into the swim. Something about OWS just makes be more tired than usual. Lead pack of swimmers stayed about 50 yards ahead once we settled into rhythm. I really like the fact that different age groups have different color caps. Makes it easier to see how well I'm doing with respect to rest of the group. Could never catch up. Did manage to do some drafting along one swimmer for awhile but eventually she pulled away. Very good sighting. 10 of 151 in swim.
What would you do differently?:

Must work on longer segments of freestyle only.
Transition 1
  • 03m 14s
Comments:

Think I was a bit flummoxed during transition. Couldn't decide whether to put helmet on first or last. But achieved overall goal which was not to panic. Everything soaking wet from passing thunderstorm. 19 of 151 in transition.
What would you do differently?:

Practice transition the day before - which I did not do.
Bike
  • 1h 04m 47s
  • 17.5 miles
  • 16.21 mile/hr
Comments:

Tackled bike differently from last race. My goal was to keep comfortable cadence and not push too hard. I think I succeeded here. I only used the big ring for some long downhills and resisted the temptation to increase gears when pedaling got a bit easier. Except for hills kept my cadence at 95+. Tried to make sure legs didn't burn (except for hills when had no choice). Pretty bummed at riders on nice bikes just blowing past me on the hills. My circa 1994 Trek needs replacing.

I did keeping worrying about my daughter during the ride though. She was riding a heavy old youth mountain bike with just about the fattest tires one ever sees. I knew the bike route would be a real struggle for her. So my focus was split between my ride and knowing that she was really, really working hard to go half as fast.
What would you do differently?:

Bike calculator not working - make sure works - sensor got turned around. Need a new bike.
Transition 2
  • 01m 45s
Comments:

Couldn't make up my mind whether I wanted a drink or not. Lost a few seconds here. 14 of 151 in transition.
What would you do differently?:

Practice transition the day before.
Run
  • 31m 2s
  • 3.4 miles
  • 09m 08s  min/mile
Comments:

Came off the bike nicely. My legs seemed to be working pretty well. Seemed to keep a nice pace. Did power walk up three hills. Passed a few runners. Didn't press hard as I should have.
What would you do differently?:

Press the run more to make sure I give it all I had.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

I lost track of my placement during bike and run. So I kind of let down a bit on the run and didn't nail transitions. But I was having a really good time and noticing the scenery around me (something I did not do last race). Thought I was back farther than I was. If pushed the bike and run just a teeny bit harder maybe could have caught up to other age groupers in front of me. Less than two minutes separated 2nd through 5th.

Event comments:

Very good race. Well organized. Event location is terrific and family friendly. Had a really good time. So did my girls!




Last updated: 2011-01-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:43 | 1094 yards | 01m 53s / 100yards
Age Group: 10/151
Overall: 0/1536
Performance: Good
Suit: Trisuit
Course: Lake. Pretty mucky water.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:14
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:04:47 | 17.5 miles | 16.21 mile/hr
Age Group: 19/151
Overall: 0/1536
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Rolling hills with some good climbs. Nothing like any race or route I've done before. Quite challenging. 19 of 151 in bike.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 90
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:45
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:31:02 | 03.4 miles | 09m 08s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/151
Overall: 0/1536
Performance: Good
Course: Very nice loop around Centennial Lake. 13 of 151 in run.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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