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Quantico Triathlon - Triathlon


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Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia
United States
Marine Corps Marathon
65F / 18C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 02m 7s
Overall Rank = 32/246
Age Group = F30-39
Age Group Rank = 2/38
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 5, ate a cup of oatmeal and a banana and drank a cup of soy milk and coffee. Left the hotel around 5:35 and were parked on the base right near the transition area by 5:55. Dug a horrible plastic hooded pullover jacket out from on top of our spare tire (a freebie from some magazine that we keep in there partly in case we have to change a tire in the rain and partly b/c it keeps the tire iron from rattling against the rim of the spare haha) to put on so I wouldn't get completely soaked in the pouring rain before the race even began, since we only had 1 small umbrella in the car and hadn't thought to bring jackets with us. Walked over to transition to find I was the first one from my rack (organized by race number) to arrive. Set up my stuff by putting my bike and running shoes, socks, visor, and race number belt in a garbage bag so, again, they wouldn't be completely soaked before I put them on. Hit the restroom a few times and before I knew it, they did the opening ceremonies, the race started, and a few minutes later I needed to line up for the time trial start.
Event warmup:

Just walking around and trying to stay somewhat dry in that terrible (yet effective) jacket. Couldn't wait to get in the warmer water of the pool - mid 60s is chilly in the rain in just a tri top and shorts!
Swim
  • 06m 59s
  • 400 meters
  • 01m 45s / 100 meters
Comments:

Actual swim time - results (7:21) include a short run from the pool. Very happy with this swim. Got slowed down a couple times waiting until I had an opportunity to pass slower people in front of me, but for the most part I was able to swim as hard as I wanted/was able.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 1
  • 01m 50s
Comments:

The official results included both transition times in the bike time, oddly, so these times are from my watch. Lost a few seconds having to pull my bike shoes out of the garbage bag, but I'm still glad I had them in there, if only so I wasn't putting wet socks on my wet feet.
What would you do differently?:

Could've saved myself a decent amount of time if I was willing to bike and run without socks, but I'm not, so...
Bike
  • 27m 10s
  • 8.2 miles
  • 17.92 mile/hr
Comments:

The race said this was 9 miles, but my bike computer had it short. Travis was fairly certain it was going to be closer to 8 miles, based on the times he's run there in the past. Anyhow! So, it was raining fairly hard for most of this. The first half of the course was a fairly rough road surface with lots of potholes to watch out for (though most were marked with neon orange spray paint). Also had a long gradual uphill for the first few miles, then a more gradual uphill with a couple short but steep climbs through the housing area. Nothing more challenging than I've been riding, though. Had to be a lot more conservative on the downhill sections than I would've been on dry road, but I tried to push as hard as I could manage when the road surface was smoother and I knew there wouldn't be any tight turns coming up. Passed several people during the bike and was only passed by a couple people. One girl I passed around mile 5 passed me a short while later, and I thought "Oh hell no!" and caught up with her and passed her for good about a mile later. She actually cheered me on as I passed her, which was cool! Drank about 10-12 oz of water throughout the ride...didn't really feel thirsty but knew I should take in some fluid before the run.
What would you do differently?:

Had it not been raining and the road was dry, I definitely would've pushed harder. Just not worth risking a crash. Enjoyed this course but wish it had been longer (well...if it hadn't been pouring, anyway).
Transition 2
  • 01m 11s
Comments:

This was pretty quick. Changed shoes quickly, grabbed my visor and race belt, and ran. Put my visor and number belt on as I ran.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 24m 33s
  • 5 kms
  • 04m 53s  min/km
Comments:

The mile splits tell the story: 8:05, 7:45, 7:31, 1:12

In short, I felt awesome on this run. Quickly shook the bike out of my legs within the first half mile or so, and was very pleased to see the first mile split. The girl (also 32 yrs old) who eventually was the overall female winner passed me just before the 1 mile marker but I knew there was no way I'd be able to catch her, so I let her go. Passed several other women, though, including a few from my age group. There was a short, small downhill after the turnaround point, just before the 2 mile marker, on which my legs just opened up. From that point on they just wanted to FLY and I was feeling good, so I went with it. What a difference temps in the mid 60s make for a tri! Also helped that the course was mostly flat. When I saw my 2nd mile split, I knew I'd be close to PRing the 5K, which was additional motivation to keep pushing hard and see what happened. With about .25 mile to go I passed a 16 year old girl and realized I am TWICE her age. Yikes! Kept pushing hard and came around the last bend and crossed the finish line with a big smile on my face.
What would you do differently?:

I broke my post-HS XC standalone 5K PR, which had stood for almost 5 years. No need to do anything different.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked through the finish area and collected my finisher's coin and food, including a huge slice of watermelon that really hit the spot despite the cool rain. Collected my wet stuff in transition and headed back to the hotel for a hot shower and breakfast #2. Would've liked to have hung around a bit longer and watched/cheered on other finishers, but since they're doing a separate awards ceremony a week from Tuesday, there was no sense waiting around for the official results and awards anyway. They're only giving awards to the top 3 overall and top person in each age group, as it turns out, and I missed out on that by 16 seconds. To a 35-year-old woman, which makes their use of 10-year age groups all the more annoying. But oh well! Still very pleased with my performance regardless.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The rain limited my bike time, but whatever I lost there I likely more than made up for on the run thanks to the cool temperatures, so oh well!

Event comments:

MCM always puts on great events, and this was no exception despite the rain and it being the inaugural year for the race. Wish the swim and bike had been longer and they didn't use 10 year age groups for awards, but otherwise this was a very well executed inaugural race.




Last updated: 2013-06-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:06:59 | 400 meters | 01m 45s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/38
Overall: 33/246
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Snake-style in 25M lanes
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:50
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:27:10 | 08.2 miles | 17.92 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/38
Overall: 38/246
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Big loop within the base
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:11
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:24:33 | 05 kms | 04m 53s  min/km
Age Group: 0/38
Overall: 50/246
Performance: Good
Course: Loop through some old admin areas of the base, along the train tracks, and back
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2013-08-18 2:59 PM

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Extreme Veteran
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Columbia, South Carolina
Subject: Quantico Triathlon


2013-08-19 6:48 AM
in reply to: #4832200

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1159
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Subject: RE: Quantico Triathlon
kudos to all you guys who did this race in the rain - I was there as a volunteer looking like a drowned rat...haha!
2013-08-19 6:53 AM
in reply to: #4832200

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Royal(PITA)
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West Chester, Ohio
Subject: RE: Quantico Triathlon
Awesome work!! Hard to pac the bike on wet roads, I always wind up more conservative in those conditions!
2013-08-19 7:10 AM
in reply to: #4832200

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Veteran
291
100100252525
Chicago
Subject: RE: Quantico Triathlon
Congrats! You took the rain in stride and killed it on the 5k. Congrats on that PR!
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