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SOBE Mossman - TriathlonSprint


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Norwalk, CT
United States
trifitness
77F / 25C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 16m 58s
Overall Rank = 122/430
Age Group = F50-54
Age Group Rank = 1/4
Pre-race routine:

I had done a little pre-race scouting of the advanced entry list. The woman who trashed me last year wasn't doing the race this year. So I was curious as to whether I had any real competition this year. One woman aged up this year had done the race last year. Her time last year was 2 minutes faster then my time. She had done the run 5 minutes faster then me. I knew I was going to have to smoke her on the swim and bike to have any chance.

Got up at 3:50. Ate a Clif bar while loading up the car. I drank my Juice Plus shake in the car on the way up.

It's annoying to arrive shortly after registration is scheduled to open and they're not ready. Lines form and then my whole pre-race set up and warmup sequence goes all to hell. It didn't really bug me that much. My only aggravation was waiting my girlfriend to come back so I could get her to hold the chuck on the pump to do her tires. The valves are too short!

I set up my transition area, but did not go out and do a warm up on the bike. I decided I would wear the wetsuit since the water was kind of choppy.
Event warmup:

Swam to the start.
Swim
  • 14m 1s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 35s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was in the last wave which was everyone over the age of 45, male and female. This is one race I really hate being in the last wave! It's also a reminder of why I like being in a wave with just women. Men kick and swim over people harder then women. My mask got kicked a little out of place so I had to adjust that before going on. Once I got through the early chaos I was able to get into my routine more.

Even though the buoys were on my right, and I breathe left I was still doing a good job of staying on course. I just picked my head up about every 10 strokes to make sure I was not swimming to Rhode Island. :-)

I suck at drafting on the swim. I never seem to find a spot where I'm comfortable on someone's feet. Either I feel like I'm too close and keep hitting them which I don't like doing, or I'm too far away to get any benefit. Most of the time I end out swimming around the person.

As I got to the last buoy I found myself in a sea of yellow caps from the previous wave. I work my way through them, because I know I don't want to be behind people who have had a 5 minute head start. The tide was coming in so it was easy to crank it up for the last 200 yards or so.

My swim time was a little over 2 minutes faster then year on this same course.
What would you do differently?:

Not much I'd change. If I want to be in the midst of the action, I have to deal with the bumping and kicking.
Transition 1
  • 01m 26s
Comments:

It was easy to spot the rack because there was a sidewalk right in front of it. So as soon as saw the sidewalk I knew where I was. The wetsuit came off okay, but I was having trouble getting my socks on. It was very humid, and I don't think I did a very good job of drying my feet. I put my glasses on and they fogged up.

While I'm doing this I'm keeping a look out for my competition. So far so good, I'm on my way out of T1, and she hasn't shown up yet.
What would you do differently?:

Use a different pair of socks.
Bike
  • 35m 21s
  • 12.4 miles
  • 21.05 mile/hr
Comments:

This is a horrible course for someone who is a fast cyclist and in the last wave. It crowded, and even though it's a USAT sanctioned race a lot of people have no clue about staying to the right. I was constantly have to work my way around slower cyclists, and tell them to move to the right.

As usual I was having my little "sorties" with some of the guys. I'd pass them going up hill, and they'd pass me going down hill. One woman passed me early on, but I think she was on her second loop and she one of the top women overall. She was the only woman to pass me. I got annoyed with this one guy because after he had passed me, I waited and then went to repass him. Just as I was getting next to him, he accelerated so that I couldn't pass. I wasn't going to waste any more energy so I let him go. I'm not sure which one of us was wrong there. I'm not sure if by definition I had overtaken him, and he needed to let me go through, or if I had not completed my pass completely.

I never could get my glasses to clear so I ended out takeing them off and hanging them on my skin suit. This particular skinsuit doesn't have a rear pocket. This was another one of those days that make me glad I had Lasik.

On my second loop I see a woman in bright pink. I'm getting excited because at first I thought it was the woman from my age group that I was trying to smoke. However this woman had a different number, and the top was different.

One scary thing that happened on my second loop made me lose my cool with one of the volunteers directing traffic. This course has one real hill in it. You make a right turn, you go up this short but some what steep hill, and make a hard left at the top. I took the hill hard, and passed a number of people. I'm almost cresting the top of the hill, and I have good momentum. I see the vlounteer at the top signaling a car to come through. At the same time he's waving me through. I'm watching this and thinking "WTF?" I yell "Jesus Christ! Make the car stop!" I ended out slowing down and letting the car go. I was upset at myself for losing my cool there and using my Savior's name in vain like that. The next volunteer I see says "watch out for oncoming cars." I'm thinking to myself "Duh, no s**t." But I managed to not say anything more, and focus on the rest of the ride. It was misting so the roads were actually wet which made the cornering tough.

Situations like that upset me because of the incident a few years ago when a cop waved a car through an intersection during a race, and one of the triathletes was struck and killed. It was a horrible mistake that probably happened because the cop underestimated the cyclist's speed.

I make my way through the crowd as I come back in. On the second loop things thin out for a bit, and then they jam up again near the bike finish. You get the people who are finishing their first loop, and those finishing the second loop. At my stage of the race, anyone still on their first loop is real slow. Also there are cars coming in to go to the beach. Thank goodness is was crummy day so the beach traffic wasn't horribe. I work my way through the traffic (cars and bikes), and at the same time work to get my feet out of the shoes and on sitting on top.


What would you do differently?:

Be more aggressive on the straight aways, and corner better.
Transition 2
  • 00m 47s
Comments:

There weren't a lot of bikes in my part of the transition area. That's always a good sign. More important, no sign of my competition. I got rid of the glasses as I was putting on my shoes. I grabbed my hat and number. The only good thing about being in the last wave was that our racks were right by the bike/run exit.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It was a good transition. Maybe one of these days I try learning the flying dismount, but I'm not sure it saves me that much time. I'm usually ahead or behind in my gae group by minutes, not seconds.
Run
  • 25m 23s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

I had no idea how far ahead I was in relation to this 50 year old woman who did the run last year in under 20 minutes. All I knew was I need to run as fast I could. I was getting passed by a lot guys and women who I had passed on the bike. I'd hear the footsteps behind me, and I kept saying to myself. "Don't look back! Just keep going." I can tell from a person's breathing and foot fall whether it's male or female. So I'd hear the female breath coming up on me, and as she passed I'd be relieved to see it wasn't the bright pink top coming by.

I was glad the sun was not out because it was very humid. They used tiny cups at the water stations so it was hard to get a lot of water. That was okay because usually with normal cups I end out only drinking 1/2 and dumping the rest on my head. This race I put less on my head.

They had no mile markers on the course so I had no sense of distance. One of the annoying things with this run is you go near the finish line. You can hear the crowd, and the race announcer calling out names. So close, but still several miles to go.

What drives me crazy being in the last wave on the bike I can actually enjoy on the run. That is the ability to pass people on the run. I rag on myself about my running, and tell people I suck at running, but in reality I'm not really as horrible as I make it sound. I grouse a bit knowing that it does cost me in important races such as NYC last week, and the Nationals last year. However in races like that I'm comparing myself to women who can run 7:20 miles in their 50s. I ran those kind of times briefly in my 30s. In my 50s I have bum feet and should be happy with my 8:30s. In a smaller race like this I can enjoy passing other runners.

The finish line isn't far now, and I'm not hearing female footsteps coming up on me. I pick it up just a little bit knowing that I have accomplished my goal, but not wanting to take any chances. As it turns out I beat her by 3 minutes despite the fact her run was 5 minutes faster then mine.
What would you do differently?:

Be reincarnated as a greyhound. :-) Seriously continue to work on speed and lengthen my long runs.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around for a little bit, and stuff my face.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The wet road and crowded bike course hurt. I'd love to do this race being in the first wave so I could have a less crowded course, but it's not going to happen. The old people go last. :-)




Last updated: 2005-05-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:01 | 880 yards | 01m 35s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/4
Overall: 136/430
Performance: Good
Suit: Ironman Stealth full
Course: Clockwise rectangle with most of the swim running parallel with the shore.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:26
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
00:35:21 | 12.4 miles | 21.05 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/4
Overall: 71/430
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: 2 6.2 mile loops through Norwalk.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:47
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:25:23 | 03.1 miles | 08m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/4
Overall: 247/430
Performance: Good
Course: Flat loop around the park.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2005-07-18 12:10 PM

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Expert
936
50010010010010025
Westchester County NY
Subject: SOBE Mossman


2005-07-18 1:42 PM
in reply to: #201136

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Elite
2706
2000500100100
Hurst, Texas
Subject: RE: SOBE Mossman
Wow!!  you are incredibly fast!  Congrats on a great race, and GO LANCERS!!
2005-07-19 9:55 AM
in reply to: #201136

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Elite
2796
2000500100100252525
Texas
Subject: RE: SOBE Mossman
Ditto. Wow. Just...wow. Great Race!!!
2005-07-19 12:30 PM
in reply to: #201136

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Champion
7704
50002000500100100
Williamston, Michigan
Subject: RE: SOBE Mossman
Nice race Polly..as always you are an inspiration.  Super fast and congrats on yet another win -SMO
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