IronGirl Columbia Triathlon Race Report!
Triathlon - Sprint (.62 mi swim, 17.5 mi bike, 3.3 mi run)
Total Time = 2h 2m 57s
Overall Rank = 312/1249
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 50/203
Pre-race routine:
Up bright and early, had my usual breakfast of coffee and granola, drove to the race where my bike was already set up. Set up transition area and decided to head over to the start to check out the swim course and watch the pros start (my wave didn't start for another hour after that).
Event warmup:
The plan was to watch the pros and then head back to the transition area, warm up a bit, drink my Accelerade, and then head back to the start (which wasn't exactly close, maybe a 10 minute walk). But then they announced that they were closing the transition area in 10 minutes (I was way by the start when I heard that!) So change of plans, I walked really fast back to transition, got my car keys, ran to the car to get another bag, ran back to the transition area, grabbed the stuff that I was going to need for the swim, and then headed back to the start! Too bad I did all this warming up an hour before my swim wave! :) Headed back to the start to watch the other waves.
So I was standing near the shore watching the swimmers when this one older woman starts yelling from the water "I need help, I need help" and there were a bunch of us standing there but all of us kind of froze. I thought she was just going to need help getting onto shore but that she could make it to the shore (it was close) but no, she meant IMMEDIATELY! So one of the other spectators jumped in the water and got her up. She just looked totally exhausted. I felt bad that I had just frozen and not helped. But at least she was okay, that was really surprising.
Swim Ranking –
Age Group: 121/203
Overall: 764/1249
Ave Pace: 2:11 min/100 yards
Swim Comments:
Started off fine and was able to draft a bit but then I kept swimming RIGHT, I kept doing that the entire time. So I would keep running into people or people would keep running into me. Finally I settled down a bit and I was doing fine and then I realized that no one was around me! Ugh! So no drafting opportunities really. I don't know if I was really that slow or if I was just way off to the right since I kept swimming right. Based on the age group rank it looks like I was really SLOW! Wow, I guess I know what I need to work on! :)
What would you do differently?:
More open water swims! Figure out why I keep pulling right.
T1 Comments:
Good fast transition, much faster than if I had been wearing a wetsuit! 4th place in my age group for this transition time!!!
What would you do differently?:
Nothing!
Biking Ranking –
Age Group: 43/203
Overall: 309/1249
Ave Pace: 16.48 mi/hr
Bike Course:
Course had some good hills but all my training on Jerome Jay really helped, they were WAY EASIER than Jerome Jay so it really didn't seem too bad. I really pushed like crazy on the bike, I figured why not really try to go as fast as I can, isn't that the point? :) I did some standing climbs, just like I've been practicing when I'm out with Jeff, that seems to help keep my heart rate down on the hills a little so I can recover quicker.
Bike Comments:
At one point I'm cruising along and I hear a click and then I hear myself running over something! I was a little concerned about a flat and then someone said to me, you just lost something off your bike, something black and plastic. So I start looking down trying to figure out what it was. We come to a hill and I'm changing gears and still trying to figure out what I had lost and I dropped my chain. So I pulled over, put my chain back on and took off again. I look down again and I start going through in my head all the things I should have on my bike and I realize that I lost my left aerobar arm rest! It was too late to go back at that point so I just said forget it and kept going. I caught the girl that told me and I told her what it was and thanked her. The pin had come out of it completely. So all my aero position riding from there on out was with my left arm on my handlebars! It was pretty funny.
Then I saw someone crash when going around one of the corners, she had taken it too wide and didn't realize that there were cars waiting in a line to go the other direction! Luckily she didn't collide with the car so it was okay. Definitely an eventful ride!
What would you do differently?:
Fix my aerobar armrest! Not freak out and drop my chain! Other than that, nothing, my deraillers worked perfectly and everything else went pretty well!
T2 Comments:
Pretty good transition, was debating wearing my visor but since it was mainly overcast I decided against it. Took longer than my first transition b/c I put socks on.
Run Ranking –
Age Group: 53/203
Overall: 310/1249
Ave Pace: 9:24 min/mi
Run Comments:
Run went pretty well, every time I saw someone in my age group I kept trying to pass them. At the end I really sprinted in because there were two people in my age group right in front of me and I finished right in front of them! Normally I'm just trying to get through my races but today I felt like I could really push and be competitive, it was fun! I had NOTHING left at the end, my whole body was exhausted, muscularly and cardio-vascularly. It was nice to know that I had given my all. Oh, and my new Zoot tri top worked spectacularly!!!! No riding up, no chafing, very comfortable!
What would you do differently?:
Eat one gel, I never took the time to do that, I probably should have, I think it would have helped. Since I pushed on the bike I didn't have as much left for the run, usually I do much better in the run than the bike!
Warm down:
Drank lots of water, found the food this time (last time I raced a CTA race at Centennial I could not find the food), ate a bagel and a popsicle and then headed down to cheer on people coming in. It was cool because a mom and daughter pair came through, the mom was 57, the daughter 28, they looked like they had a lot of fun.
What limited your ability to perform faster:
Climbing muscles! My weakest event is still the bike, I need to keep getting out there and climbing Jerome Jay, and I need to start lifting weights again, I think all of that will help. Cardio vascularly I was okay, though by the end of the run I was really starting to breathe hard!
Event comments:
I was a little bummed that my dad decided to stay home and not come to the race with me, it would have been fun to have him there to hang out with. Oh well. I ended up really enjoying the race anyway, loved the fact that it was all women, everyone was very encouraging and helped each other out. One of the run drink stations was manned with "macho men" - they were in crazy costumes and stuff, it was funny. Lots of cool giveaways too, race metal had a pink band and the metal itself was the pink irongirl flower, a keychain with the irongirl logo on it, water bottle, energy bars, gels, etc. And the race shirt was nice, fits perfectly, you can tell it is designed for women. I can't wait for my next tri!
Triathlon - Sprint (.62 mi swim, 17.5 mi bike, 3.3 mi run)
Total Time = 2h 2m 57s
Overall Rank = 312/1249
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 50/203
Pre-race routine:
Up bright and early, had my usual breakfast of coffee and granola, drove to the race where my bike was already set up. Set up transition area and decided to head over to the start to check out the swim course and watch the pros start (my wave didn't start for another hour after that).
Event warmup:
The plan was to watch the pros and then head back to the transition area, warm up a bit, drink my Accelerade, and then head back to the start (which wasn't exactly close, maybe a 10 minute walk). But then they announced that they were closing the transition area in 10 minutes (I was way by the start when I heard that!) So change of plans, I walked really fast back to transition, got my car keys, ran to the car to get another bag, ran back to the transition area, grabbed the stuff that I was going to need for the swim, and then headed back to the start! Too bad I did all this warming up an hour before my swim wave! :) Headed back to the start to watch the other waves.
So I was standing near the shore watching the swimmers when this one older woman starts yelling from the water "I need help, I need help" and there were a bunch of us standing there but all of us kind of froze. I thought she was just going to need help getting onto shore but that she could make it to the shore (it was close) but no, she meant IMMEDIATELY! So one of the other spectators jumped in the water and got her up. She just looked totally exhausted. I felt bad that I had just frozen and not helped. But at least she was okay, that was really surprising.
Swim Ranking –
Age Group: 121/203
Overall: 764/1249
Ave Pace: 2:11 min/100 yards
Swim Comments:
Started off fine and was able to draft a bit but then I kept swimming RIGHT, I kept doing that the entire time. So I would keep running into people or people would keep running into me. Finally I settled down a bit and I was doing fine and then I realized that no one was around me! Ugh! So no drafting opportunities really. I don't know if I was really that slow or if I was just way off to the right since I kept swimming right. Based on the age group rank it looks like I was really SLOW! Wow, I guess I know what I need to work on! :)
What would you do differently?:
More open water swims! Figure out why I keep pulling right.
T1 Comments:
Good fast transition, much faster than if I had been wearing a wetsuit! 4th place in my age group for this transition time!!!
What would you do differently?:
Nothing!
Biking Ranking –
Age Group: 43/203
Overall: 309/1249
Ave Pace: 16.48 mi/hr
Bike Course:
Course had some good hills but all my training on Jerome Jay really helped, they were WAY EASIER than Jerome Jay so it really didn't seem too bad. I really pushed like crazy on the bike, I figured why not really try to go as fast as I can, isn't that the point? :) I did some standing climbs, just like I've been practicing when I'm out with Jeff, that seems to help keep my heart rate down on the hills a little so I can recover quicker.
Bike Comments:
At one point I'm cruising along and I hear a click and then I hear myself running over something! I was a little concerned about a flat and then someone said to me, you just lost something off your bike, something black and plastic. So I start looking down trying to figure out what it was. We come to a hill and I'm changing gears and still trying to figure out what I had lost and I dropped my chain. So I pulled over, put my chain back on and took off again. I look down again and I start going through in my head all the things I should have on my bike and I realize that I lost my left aerobar arm rest! It was too late to go back at that point so I just said forget it and kept going. I caught the girl that told me and I told her what it was and thanked her. The pin had come out of it completely. So all my aero position riding from there on out was with my left arm on my handlebars! It was pretty funny.
Then I saw someone crash when going around one of the corners, she had taken it too wide and didn't realize that there were cars waiting in a line to go the other direction! Luckily she didn't collide with the car so it was okay. Definitely an eventful ride!
What would you do differently?:
Fix my aerobar armrest! Not freak out and drop my chain! Other than that, nothing, my deraillers worked perfectly and everything else went pretty well!
T2 Comments:
Pretty good transition, was debating wearing my visor but since it was mainly overcast I decided against it. Took longer than my first transition b/c I put socks on.
Run Ranking –
Age Group: 53/203
Overall: 310/1249
Ave Pace: 9:24 min/mi
Run Comments:
Run went pretty well, every time I saw someone in my age group I kept trying to pass them. At the end I really sprinted in because there were two people in my age group right in front of me and I finished right in front of them! Normally I'm just trying to get through my races but today I felt like I could really push and be competitive, it was fun! I had NOTHING left at the end, my whole body was exhausted, muscularly and cardio-vascularly. It was nice to know that I had given my all. Oh, and my new Zoot tri top worked spectacularly!!!! No riding up, no chafing, very comfortable!
What would you do differently?:
Eat one gel, I never took the time to do that, I probably should have, I think it would have helped. Since I pushed on the bike I didn't have as much left for the run, usually I do much better in the run than the bike!
Warm down:
Drank lots of water, found the food this time (last time I raced a CTA race at Centennial I could not find the food), ate a bagel and a popsicle and then headed down to cheer on people coming in. It was cool because a mom and daughter pair came through, the mom was 57, the daughter 28, they looked like they had a lot of fun.
What limited your ability to perform faster:
Climbing muscles! My weakest event is still the bike, I need to keep getting out there and climbing Jerome Jay, and I need to start lifting weights again, I think all of that will help. Cardio vascularly I was okay, though by the end of the run I was really starting to breathe hard!
Event comments:
I was a little bummed that my dad decided to stay home and not come to the race with me, it would have been fun to have him there to hang out with. Oh well. I ended up really enjoying the race anyway, loved the fact that it was all women, everyone was very encouraging and helped each other out. One of the run drink stations was manned with "macho men" - they were in crazy costumes and stuff, it was funny. Lots of cool giveaways too, race metal had a pink band and the metal itself was the pink irongirl flower, a keychain with the irongirl logo on it, water bottle, energy bars, gels, etc. And the race shirt was nice, fits perfectly, you can tell it is designed for women. I can't wait for my next tri!
posted by Liz at
4:59 AM
2 Comments:
I would love to watch you during the swim and see you knocking into everyone!
That is a shame your Dad decided to stay home.
By
Unknown, at 7:04 AM
well, if you'd like, I can swim with you, that way you won't feel slow at all!! (you'll just have to come to Cali for it!!)
By
Claudia , at 7:27 AM
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