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Catfish Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Harrisburg City Island, Pennsylvania
United States
Tricat Sports
65F / 18C
Total Time = 1h 35m 38s
Overall Rank = 109/178
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 6/11
Pre-race routine:

Eggo waffle with PB for breakfast along with some iced tea. Loaded up the car and headed to Harrisburg within my desired departure time. Got a parking spot in the area I like, started heading over to registration without all my stuff, got partway there and a volunteer mentioned I might as well take my bike along. "Ah, the walking is a good warm-up!" I replied, satisfied until the next comment came from a fellow racer: "Yeah, but if you take your bike now you get a better spot in transition." Very true words! I turned around, went back and grabbed my stuff, put said stuff in transition while I went to registration (see comment at the end about lax transition rules).

Bubble gum pink swim cap, ugh. Pink is not my favorite color! I set up my spot, chatted with the 'neighbors', chatted with two of my hockey teammates who I didn't know were doing the race. Grabbed my bubble gum cap, goggles and a gel and started heading toward the other end of the island with E (DH) and my buddy LT. Got flack from LT about the pink cap ;) and good luck wishes from her, E, and JD who showed up late.


Event warmup:

The walk to the other end of City Island! Oh, and maybe waving my arms around and rolling my shoulders to prep for the swim.
Swim
  • 18m 43s
  • 1408 yards
  • 01m 20s / 100 yards
Comments:

Waded out about chest deep trying to figure out a good starting spot not in the way of the 'fishes' but not in the back, either. Thought it was a good spot until the word "GO!" was yelled and I found myself stuck behind numerous ladies doing the breaststroke and backstroke. Hmm, not quite how I wanted to start! I semi-patiently waited for them to start doing freestyle or moving faster but it didn't happen so I turned right and arced way out around them. Sure it cost time but it got me in clean water.

I was far enough from the shore (intentionally) to stay in deeper water so I could swim. Others were walking, but not too many. My plan worked well until I went under the second bridge and came upon a little sandbar with shallow water around it. It broke up my rhythm navigating through the shallows and I lightly kicked a rock but I soon found deeper water again, only to have it quickly turn shallow the rest of the way to the swim exit. The rocks and bottom were close enough that I couldn't take a full, normal stroke without hitting, so I kinda float-paddled the rest of the way.

24/54 women
What would you do differently?:

Pick a better starting position farther out and not behind people, but not the front row, either.
Transition 1
  • 01m 21s
Comments:

Ran up the ramp to find my cheering section yelling and taking pics. I threw my lovely pink bubble gum cap at LT who was snapping pics with her phone. She got a nice pic of it mid-flight! Ran to my spot, put sunglasses and helmet on, wiped my feet with my hand (forgot my little towel at home) to remove gravel and little stones, put my race belt with my number on, grabbed Rico and headed out. For some reason I was having trouble getting my right foot clipped in, so I eventually took off with my shoe half-arsed on top of the pedal and got locked in down the road a bit.

35/178 OA, 24/54 women, 2/11 AG
What would you do differently?:

Get into my pedals faster. Struggled for some reason.
Bike
  • 44m 4s
  • 14.5 miles
  • 19.74 mile/hr
Comments:

I realized at some point on the bike that I'm lucky this isn't a USAT race - I threw my swim cap at LT, which is surely an abandonment or littering or some sort of penalty. Thankfully I don't think such rules apply at this race.

Had a goal for myself to hit 20 mph average on the bike. Didn't make that goal, and I had no one to blame but myself. Real reason: I didn't check my watch to gauge my speed and was using feel and the environment to determine my effort. Other contributing factors: I was in the 3rd of 3 waves, so I was passing a fair amount of folks and was only passed once in the first half of the race by a very fast looking woman, so it seemed I was going fast. I should've known by the relative comfort level of my breathing and legs that I wasn't pushing hard enough. I told myself I felt more comfortable because I was riding more and in better shape than previous years.

Throughout the entire bike I kept passing people and not checking my watch. Hit a fair-sized pothole and feared flying off or flatting, neither of which happened, thankfully. The road was really bad at the highway interchange, with many holes and cracks. With maybe 1/4 of the bike left, I got passed by a guy who I eventually re-passed.

Only drank 2x, I think, of my Infinit solution, once at the turnaround and another time during the return. Tried to thank all the cops manning the intersections and the few volunteers that were out there, too.

I guess I let up on the speed too much coming off the bridge to go back into the parking lot and transition area because I got passed by a handful of guys here. I had also stopped pedaling in order to get my feet out of my shoes. In hindsight I'm thinking I should do that up on the bridge before making the turn to the lot. Saw LT, JD and E cheering me on up on the bridge.

11/54 women

My Garmin recorded 14 miles, not 14.5 for the bike, which was only a 19.06 mph average, dang!
What would you do differently?:

Ride faster, make myself be uncomfortable. Monitor speed with my watch and not by feel as much. I'm upset with myself for not making my goal, or at least being closer to it.
Transition 2
  • 00m 53s
Comments:

Legs didn't feel quite supportive when I went to dismount, so I took it easy as not to end up in a heap. They weren't weak, just not ready to be standing, I think. Carefully got off the bike and ran it to my spot, threw my sneaks on sockless (I had biked sockless, too), grabbed my hat and took off.

77/178 OA, 17/54 women, 4/11 AG
What would you do differently?:

Smoother, faster dismount.
Run
  • 30m 39s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 09m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

Of course I got passed by sooo many of the people I recall passing on the bike but I tried not to let it get to me. I stayed very focused on where/how I was stepping because the concrete path was more chopped up and holey than I remembered. Either that or my tumble from a few weeks back was still very fresh in my mind and I didn't want a repeat! I didn't walk ANY of the inclines up to the bridges or the park, only walked a tiny bit at the turnaround while I drank water. Ran it in to the finish as strong as I could to the cheers of E, LT and JD but I swear someone was pulling the finish mat farther away as I neared!

Even though this was a pretty decent run for me, it shows running is definitely my weakest discipline. I was fairly proud of my effort up until I looked at the overall results and saw how much my time really sucked. Oh well, I need to remember to compare me to me and not everyone else, but that's tough sometimes. This was my fastest time yet on this course, even the year it was short!

35/54 women
What would you do differently?:

I guess run faster, although at the time I was pleased with my time/effort. Losing some weight might help.
Post race
Warm down:

Stood with my hands on my knees to catch my breath for a bit, then grabbed a water and walked back to find my friends. Snagged 2 pieces of yummy watermelon. Headed back to the car to change out of my wet gear before I got river rot, then went to look at the results to see if it was worth sticking around. Nope, too many fast 40-44 females this year for me to be in any of the top spots.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being old and 'sturdy' and not monitoring my effort on the bike better. Also not picking a good starting spot on the swim.

Event comments:

I like this race because it is fairly close to home and the course is nice along the river. It's very low key, in some ways a little too low key, like transition. Anyone, and I do mean anyone (even multiple family members/friends per racer) is free to go in and out of transition before and after the race, there is no security or people watching or verifying equipment in/out. Yeah, most people are trustworthy but there's always a few bad apples.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2014-06-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:43 | 1408 yards | 01m 20s / 100yards
Age Group: 5/11
Overall: 95/178
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Point to point with the current. Start at the bath house end of City Island and swim to the boat ramp end, going under 2 bridges.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current:
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:21
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:44:04 | 14.5 miles | 19.74 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/11
Overall: 82/178
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course: Out and back, flat and fast.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:53
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:30:39 | 03.1 miles | 09m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/11
Overall: 136/178
Performance: Good
Course: Cross river via metal walking bridge, follow run path by the river out to some park, turn around, come back. Flat except for inclines to get up to/off of bridges/river path
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
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] 3

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2014-07-22 2:29 PM

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Pennsylvania
Subject: Catfish Sprint Triathlon


2014-07-22 5:07 PM
in reply to: #5029175

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Master
6595
50001000500252525
Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Catfish Sprint Triathlon

Great report! Fast women and flying bubble gum!

Nice job adapting on the swim. Glad you didn't crash on the bike. And the run? Welllll, you're improving and you are right about comparing you to you!

2014-07-23 10:41 AM
in reply to: rrrunner

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Member
2098
2000252525
Simsbury, Connecticut
Subject: RE: Catfish Sprint Triathlon
Awesome job! Love the pic of the cap in mid flight!!

And your races sounds like mine too! Great bike.....run......well.....yeah. No matter! You're out there having a great time!

CONGRATS!
2014-07-24 9:43 AM
in reply to: mtnbikerchk

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Royal(PITA)
14270
50005000200020001001002525
West Chester, Ohio
Subject: RE: Catfish Sprint Triathlon

Super speedy swim despite the breast and back stroking ladies around you!  Nice bike split and congrats on a good run!!

You ROCKED this course!!

2014-07-24 12:17 PM
in reply to: QueenZipp

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Member
2689
2000500100252525
Denver, CO
Subject: RE: Catfish Sprint Triathlon

Bubble gum swim cap clearly ≠ bubble-head; super fun pic!

Ah, that whole comparing self to others v. self to self thing.  Such a challenge!!  From an objective point of view, you did a great job overcoming non-fishes, potholes, and bumps on the run.  You even bot a PR on the run!  Overall, you did a GREAT job and look like you were having a blast.  Way to go!!

2014-07-24 1:09 PM
in reply to: QueenZipp

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Master
9705
500020002000500100100
Raleigh, NC area
Subject: RE: Catfish Sprint Triathlon

Great effort!  It sounds like a fun race!  You did really well and should feel good about this.  I see the swim training is really paying off!



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