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Festival of Flowers Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Ninety Six, South Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
Total Time = 2h 13m 40s
Overall Rank = 19/140
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 4/40
Pre-race routine:

Drove 90 minutes to the race. Two pieces of toast, coffee, and a little gel. Setup, the usual.
Event warmup:

Short ride (5 minutes) then short swim (5 minutes).
Swim
  • 31m 6s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 54s / 100 yards
Comments:

Well, another crappy swim is in the books. I would dearly like to know how long this course is. I always have my slowest swims of the year on it. I know it's long -- but by how much? Anyway, I've been holding pretty decent splits in the pool lately, and was certainly hoping for better than this. There was a decent amount of chop coming back in, but siting was fine, and I actually felt like I was moving through the water reasonably well. I kept the effort moderate but certainly wasn't loafing. I guess all I can really do is just keep swimming.

What would you do differently?:

No idea, really. I guess swimming is just a mystery to me. One cannot expect to do well losing 5-6 minutes on the swim...
Transition 1
  • 00m 28s
Comments:

Tied for second fastest, so OK I guess. I could have done it faster, but paused for a short brain shutdown. I'm not sure what happened there, but for a moment I forgot what to do!
Bike
  • 59m 57s
  • 24 miles
  • 24.02 mile/hr
Comments:

At the start of the ride, a horrible horrible embarrassing mounting fail. I used too big of a rubber band on the shoe and it wouldn't snap. I worried about this when I put it on (my usual rubber band had disintegrated in the bag), but stupidly convinced myself it was fine. Well, it wasn't and the rubber band ripped the shoe off the pedal. (Yeah, it was a big honking rubber band. Blush.) So I had to stop, grab the shoe, put it on, and go. Some guy said (nicely, not snidely) "I can give you a push". Um, no thanks. I think I have a little redemption to earn, here, and not being pushed is only the beginning.

Anyway, I had a shoe full of grass and mud and whatnot as a result, but it didn't really affect anything. Off I went. I passed a few people (faster swimmers from later waves) early on, then the rain came in earnest. I know that I give up several minutes on the swim to pretty much the rest of the open male athletes, so I didn't really expect to see any of them. I went through the middle of the open females around mile 10 and and a few non-open athletes, but no open males in site. But I felt like I was biking fairly well.

Around mile 18 or so (I didn't ride with a computer), at the big intersection in Ninety-Six, I saw a car approaching and apparently not slowing down, despite the flashing cop lights and the cop in a bright yellow vest signalling the driver to stop. Well, the driver slammed on her brakes at the last minute, but not before I had decided she wasn't stopping and I hit my brakes. The back wheel slid around and for a second or so I entertained the lovely thought that I was going to keep it upright, but gravity and momentum eventually did what they do, and down I went. It is actually fortunate that I was traveling pretty fast at that point -- it eases the impact, but still, I slid a good ways and really tore up my elbow and ankle. I stood up to berate the woman, saw her STILL talking on a cell phone after her seeing me (or not...) slide on the pavement in front of her just-stopped car, and was left speechless. I can just imagine what she was saying. "Oh my goodness, I just about killed someone!" Um, yeah, so maybe get off the f-ing phone now? Then the cop began to lace into her pretty hard. So I left it to him.

I tried to wipe the road out of my arm and lower leg and assessed the bike. The front derailleur was mangled but I was able to bend it so that the chain didn't rub much. The rear derailleur appeared functional, though I quickly learned that I was restricted to the middle rings, which was no big deal for the final part of this ride. So, off I went, and actually rode OK for the remainder of the bike leg. I must have had a gallon of adrenaline coursing through my veins. (Does adrenaline course through veins???) My stomach actually hurt at the end of the ride.
What would you do differently?:

I probably should have left my personal info with the cop. Now I've got to figure out who this woman was and make her pay for my bike repairs. I'm sure that's going to be a barrel of laughs.
Transition 2
  • 00m 30s
Comments:

Two fastest guys went 28s. My 30s was third. So, under the circumstances, I'm going to say 'good'.
Run
  • 41m 40s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

Short version: I felt awful for the first mile, then pretty good for a couple, then the ankle really started to hurt badly.

Out of transition, I was having a hard time getting into a rhythm. There was an open master's guy in front of me, and he really wasn't running that fast, but for some reason I couldn't catch him. Then after about a mile I started feeling good and turned it on. I passed him and a few others, and that good feeling lasted until mile 4 when my ankle was complaining pretty loudly. The legs were tired, but manageable, but I was beginning to have to alter my gait because of the ankle, and I know that's not good. I wasn't wearing a watch, so I'm not sure how much I slowed down at the end, but I felt it. Fortunately I was able to hold off anyone who might have been charging from behind (no one, as it turned out, but in my head, someone was...).

I didn't realize how bad the ankle was at first, but once I crossed the finish line I looked down and my shoe was soaked in blood. One guy looked at me and said 'dude, medical is that way'. I was more interested in going home. I cleaned it up, wrapped it tightly in an old shirt, and went home. The tight wrapping and drying it out eventually stopped the bleeding. I did go to the Doc-in-the-Box later and they cleaned it up properly and bandaged it. They said that stitches are not an option because the skin is abraded away -- so there's nothing to stitch.

I'm not particularly sore or tired after this race. I could't really leave it all out there today. That's probably a good thing in the end. Keep your eye on the target -- IMWI!
What would you do differently?:

I did the best I could.
Post race
Event comments:

Even though I will probably never be successful at the Olympic distance, I like it and I'll keep doing it, both this race and others.




Last updated: 2012-03-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:06 | 1640 yards | 01m 54s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/40
Overall: 46/140
Performance:
Suit:
Course: Point to point. A slight bit of chop for the second half.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:28
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:59:57 | 24 miles | 24.02 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/40
Overall: 10/140
Performance:
Wind:
Course: Rolling. Rainy.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:30
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:41:40 | 06.21 miles | 06m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/40
Overall: 18/140
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2012-06-10 4:10 PM

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Champion
7595
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Columbia, South Carolina
Subject: Festival of Flowers Triathlon


2012-06-10 4:47 PM
in reply to: #4254137

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New user
1

Columbia
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon

Thanks for the report! Scary moment there in the bike, I'm sure. I considered going up there this weekend, but since I'm a total newbie to tri's I'm sticking to sprints at the moment. Doing Tri the Midlands in 2 weeks.

 

Alex

2012-06-10 5:14 PM
in reply to: #4254165

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Champion
7595
50002000500252525
Columbia, South Carolina
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon
drachtungbaby - 2012-06-10 5:47 PM

Thanks for the report! Scary moment there in the bike, I'm sure. I considered going up there this weekend, but since I'm a total newbie to tri's I'm sticking to sprints at the moment. Doing Tri the Midlands in 2 weeks.

Alex

Thanks!

Tri the Midlands s a good race.  See you there!

2012-06-10 6:23 PM
in reply to: #4254137

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Master
2563
20005002525
University Park, MD
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon
Wow - I didn't expect that you could pack so much action into less than 1:01 for T1-bike-T2. I was admiring the less-than-an-hour bike split, and that was before I read that it included a mount failure, rain, and a crash. Impressed. Good luck on restoring the ankle and the bike.
2012-06-10 6:25 PM
in reply to: #4254137

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Master
3058
200010002525
South Alabama
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon

Wow Michael! Epic race report....you experienced most of my race related fears today.  You have had a tough Spring.  Hopefully, you are getting all of the bumps out of the way before you get to IMWI.  Bet you will be sore tomorrow.

Randy  

2012-06-10 8:41 PM
in reply to: #4254137

Member
149
10025
Hudson Valley Region
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon
You are a true competitor.  I probably would have stopped after almost getting smushed.  Way to finish strong!


2012-06-10 9:56 PM
in reply to: #4254137

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Master
3205
20001000100100
ann arbor, michigan
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon
A botched mount and a crash and you still went under 1:00 on the bike. That is a heroic effort. I am totally impressed. Way to tough it out in spite of some seriously brutal circumstances.
2012-06-10 10:05 PM
in reply to: #4254137

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Expert
2192
2000100252525
Greenville, SC
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon

good race! the intersection in 96 was the most dangerous part of the bike leg IMO, as your experience unfortunately showed to be true.

a lot of people didn't like their times from the swim, and i was definately one of them. felt like i swam closer to 2000m than 1600m ha

2012-06-11 1:31 PM
in reply to: #4254608

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Veteran
327
10010010025
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon

I am glad I wasn't the only one complaining about the swim distance!  I may not have had my best swim ever but I was about 10 seconds/100 yds slower than where I should have been.  Weather may be some of that but it can't explain it all. 

Congrats on overcoming such tough conditions to finish strong.

2012-06-11 2:33 PM
in reply to: #4254137

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Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon

Michael...you're my hero.  I'm with the above...I saw the bike split first, and was pretty impressed, but I knew you had 24+ mph in you.  Then I read the bike mount failure, and figured that's why you weren't closer to 24.5.  Then I read the crash...and holy cow, you still ran 42 after that.

Heal up, and I hope you get the info from that lady.

2012-06-11 6:57 PM
in reply to: #4254137

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Member
43
25
Massachusetts
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon
Michael - glad to hear you're relatively ok after that crash. Would the driver's insurance cover your bike? It should. 


2012-06-13 7:48 PM
in reply to: #4254137

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Champion
19812
50005000500020002000500100100100
MA
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon

You are tough....

Hope you heal up quickly and glad the women that hit you called to make things right.

2012-07-25 9:12 AM
in reply to: #4254137

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Member
247
10010025
Loves Park
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon
Hope you are fully recovered from your crash!
2012-07-25 9:45 AM
in reply to: #4254137

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Pro
4528
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Norwalk, Connecticut
Subject: RE: Festival of Flowers Triathlon

ummmmmm WOW!!!!!

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