Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon - Triathlon


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Ellicott City, Maryland
United States
UCF Races
Total Time = 2h 41m 37s
Overall Rank = 875/1142
Age Group = Athena 39-under
Age Group Rank = 25/42
Pre-race routine:

4 am wakeup call, 5 am arrival. Parked far away because we didn't want to deal with chaos of limited parking. So we had about a 20 min hike with all our gear to transition. Bagel with peanut butter, coffee, water for breakfast, and a banana on the way there. Lots of family and friends out and about.
Event warmup:

Long stretching from head to toe, noise-canceling headphones.
Swim
  • 34m 1s
  • 998 meters
  • 03m 25s / 100 meters
Comments:

Plan was to mix up my strokes between free, breast and side. Did not do a single stroke of free. Was oddly intimidated to try, probably because I don't have confidence in it. Time was better than expected, especially since I breaststroked 95% of it.
What would you do differently?:

Get more confidence in free, finish TI training. One day would love to be able to use free exclusively.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

Transition was pretty far away from swim exit. Had to walk a few feet to get head straight before running to rack area. Baby powdered, rolled socks were key. It felt like it was right speed, but won't know for sure as transition times were unconfirmed and unranked (problem with timing company).
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Bike
  • 1h 11m 17s
  • 16 miles
  • 13.47 mile/hr
Comments:

My cadence meter has been broken so I've just been going by feel. I am really fast downhill, but still learning how to shift effectively from down to up. I'd trained on this course 3 or 4 times before race day and my performance was like clockwork, totally as expected.
What would you do differently?:

Fix cadence meter, more time in saddle.
Transition 2
  • 02m
Comments:

Seemed to go really smoothly, as expected, at a good pace. I did eat 2 gels when I should have started running first and then eat them, but whatever. Time is estimate, I think all participants were given 2:00 for T2.
What would you do differently?:

Eat gel after starting run, not while in T2
Run
  • 50m 22s
  • 3.42 miles
  • 14m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

Good God I am a slow runner. I had trained on this course at least once a month coming into race and I knew a few of those hills would be deadly. I knew I would probably make up more time if I walked up them while putting some ass into it. That strategy worked and I felt better for push at end. Last half mile I picked up pace as much as I could (not much). Lost 100 places in the overall between bike and run so clearly this is where I need to improve most. Time was about as expected despite walking. I ate more gels than planned but learned from last time to bring them with me, so it was fine.
What would you do differently?:

Practice running more. Need to integrate speed workouts. Want to get into low 13s.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around post race area, got professionally stretched out. Loved that man, whoever he was.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training

Event comments:

Very few surprises on this race. Everything went exactly as planned and expected. Mental prep worked. I performed exactly to my training - shocker. Excited about my potential for improvement...no problem getting through race. I feel like this is my baseline to compare future training against. Great camraderie, volunteers, support. I enjoyed this one much more than my first. Lack of timing in transitions was a problem. But overall this was run very well, especially given the leadership transition mid-year.




Last updated: 2014-06-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:01 | 998 meters | 03m 25s / 100meters
Age Group: 27/42
Overall: 843/1142
Performance: Good
Suit: PI Elite Trisuit
Course: Lake swim, no current, no goose poop! (pleasant surprise).
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance:
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:11:17 | 16 miles | 13.47 mile/hr
Age Group: 21/42
Overall: 765/1142
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Pretty hilly
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:50:22 | 03.42 miles | 14m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 25/42
Overall: 875/1142
Performance: Average
Course: Hilly, doesn't flatten out until mile 3
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] 4