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Culpeper Sprint - TriathlonSprint


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Culpeper, Virginia
United States
Set-up, Inc.
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 15m 51s
Overall Rank = 199/226
Age Group = athena
Age Group Rank = 12/13
Pre-race routine:

got up at 4:30 and got ready. decided that the rain was done and woke up hubby and baby to come with me. had coke and toast. drove to race site and hustled to pick up my packet. timing turned out to be fine, even though we left 30 min later than I intended. No traffic at 5:30 am on a sunday!
Event warmup:

Got in and swam out to the last buoy and back, making sure to check on sighting. some stretching while waiting.
Swim
  • 16m 17s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 59s / 100 yards
Comments:

I shaved 2+ min off my time from 3 yrs ago. I think I must have done a much better job of breathing and sighting than I have in the past. Either that, or the swim course was short this year. The swim was pretty congested, especially at the turn buoys. I concentrated on trying to move water. And not get grossed out by the abundant plant life near shore.
What would you do differently?:

If I were racing, I could have pushed harder, especially along the back length of the triangle where there was the most room. I also could have started closer to the front. The start was a bit rough.
Transition 1
  • 03m 13s
Comments:

Took my time.
Bike
  • 1h 09m 53s
  • 17 miles
  • 14.60 mile/hr
Comments:

This is a gorgeous ride, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was trying NOT to race, which was pretty hard at the start. But then at 1.5 miles, I couldn't switch out of the big gear on the front. I tried un-clipping my foot and kicking the derailleur but no dice. Then it occurred to me, if it's really broken, I don't want to do the whole race in the hardest gear. So I stopped and manually moved the chain to the middle ring. Sure enough, the cable from the gear shift was broken. Got going again, and just rode. I knew it wasn't going to be a good one because I kept getting passed. Not just passed, but passed by people on hybrid bikes. That never happens to me! But, oh well, I knew I haven't been able to train as much as I want.

The highlight was coming over a hill to see the road stretch out in front, lined with cornflowers in the sun and the mountains in the distance! Beautiful!

3 yrs ago, I did the bike in just under an hour, so this was significantly worse. :( My bike compu said 17 miles this year. Really? I thought it was the same course...
What would you do differently?:

Train more! Do more hills!
Transition 2
  • 02m 50s
Comments:

Again, took my time.
A not-fun part of this race is getting off the bike and then running downhill to transition in the grass. Owie, quads!
Run
  • 43m 36s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 14m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

3.5 min slower than 3 yrs ago, which I dubbed "suckiest run ever." This race was the first time I got a side cramp during a race and it really sucked. I've been getting them recently a lot for some reason, so I was vigilant to not overdo it. I made sure to walk the initial hills. I was cramp-free for about a mile, then sure enough, cramp kicked in. I was walking to try and keep it from getting worse, but it was still hurting, so then I though, I might as well run, if it's going to hurt either way! Managed to do a fair amount of running, especially the last mile. But it wasn't pretty.
What would you do differently?:

Train more.
Post race
Warm down:

Watermelon never tasted so good! Had some oranges too, and then pizza and gatorade. Probably too much pizza. I felt sick all the way home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not being able to train well, as well as myriad other issues (back pain, abdominal pain, never getting enough sleep).

Event comments:

I would have liked the cold drinks at the finish line. In my post-race haze, I couldn't find them. Swim is fine if you don't mind the vegetation; bike is nice and rolling and beautiful; run is HARD. A nice little race.




Last updated: 2010-05-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:17 | 820 yards | 01m 59s / 100yards
Age Group: 9/13
Overall: 127/226
Performance: Good
Suit: zoot + danskin
Course: counterclockwise triangle
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 84F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:13
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:09:53 | 17 miles | 14.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 12/13
Overall: 170/226
Performance: Bad
Wind: None
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Bad Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:50
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:43:36 | 03.11 miles | 14m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 12/13
Overall: 204/226
Performance: Bad
Course: up hill both ways
Keeping cool Good Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2010-08-02 8:03 AM

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Extreme Veteran
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50025
Virginny
Subject: Culpeper Sprint


2010-08-02 9:45 PM
in reply to: #3017761

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Expert
1384
1000100100100252525
Charlottesville, Virginia
Subject: RE: Culpeper Sprint
Congrats on the race, Rebecca.  Nice swim (yep, same as always) and bike really is 17 (or at least my Garmin said it was also).  It is a beautiful bike course and not too tough, but still challenging.  The run is just deadly tough at first.

You asked about the swim.  What I've done the last two years is to be at the end farthest in (deep).  Since I'm 6'5", I can stand there and there aren't many folks out there.  I start one back, and I've just been lucky to be surrounded by people at a similar level I guess as we all seem to cruise along pretty well out there.  Most races I get kicked a bunch... I'm not quite fast enough to be out front though.

So you're signed up for Giant Acorn... that was a nice race last year - great weather too.  Guess we both have some work to do between now and then!
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