I didn’t wear a watch this race, as I usually do. I really had no idea what my times were throughout the race. I did this on purpose, so I could really just tune in and listen to my body. At this point I still don’t have my exact split times either, b/c they have yet to be posted on the web (or if they have, I can’t find them). All I know is my finish time is approximately 2:48 and some change.
Pre-race: I had a bowl of cereal before I left for the race. I also sipped on some Gatorade on my way there and ate a ½ a pack of Clif Shot Bloks on the way and ½ right before race start.
Swim: Long Island Sound, Seaside Park, Bridgeport
Wore the wetsuit. The tide was ‘on its way in’….which meant a good deal of aqua jogging at the start and finish and during the second loop of the course. Besides the lack of depth, the water was fantastically smooth. I think my swim went okay, besides the jogging through the water part, which slowed me down a bit.
T1: Longer than my usual times for 2 reasons: 1) Had to factor in wetsuit removal time. 2) Put socks on to avoid blisters on the run.
Bike: This was a 5 loop course, completely flat. I really disliked this course, mostly due to congestion. Due to the 5 loops, there was major mixing of fast & slow, experienced & inexperienced riders. This made it very difficult to follow the USAT rules (no drafting, passing on left only, 30 second pass, etc) and I’m surprised I didn’t see any wrecks. I ended up getting a penalty on the first loop. I was so pissed! I went into one of the corners with ~ half a dozen people. One of the ‘slow’ guys did not hold his line and ended up cutting in front of me. Another ‘fast’ guy cut to the ‘slow’ guy’s left and then there was me with nowhere to go except pass the ‘slow’ guy on the right or slam on my brakes. I went with the former, which successfully got me a penalty--my first ever. I was not proud. At the same time, I felt that this course would have been better for an ITU race, where drafting is legal. I’m also not sure I’m a fan of the completely flat course. I tend to be able to shut people out on the hills and this course did not offer that opportunity. Anyway…on the bike I drank more than half a bottle of Gatorade, had a gel, and ate half a pack of Clif bloks.
T2: Pretty fast, I think (Again, no timing available yet). Just switched shoes, grabbed my hat, race belt, and a gel and I was off.
Run: I thought it was just a standard out-and-back course until I noticed on one of the last laps of the bike that there were 2 turnarounds. This psyched me out a bit, mainly because I had envisioned it differently in my head. Nonetheless, I got through it okay. I have no idea what my pace was. It felt slow, but history has taught me that triathlon runs may seem very slow, but then you get your time and are blown away by the pace you ran. So, time will tell. By this time it had heated up quite a bit, so I did a combination of drinking water and pouring it over my head. I also had a gel about ½ way through the run.
Overall, I was pretty satisfied with my time and am anxious to see my splits and how I did in the division. I’m not sure if I’d do this race again, mostly because I wasn’t in love with the course—congestion on the bike, lack of depth on the swim, etc. The swag was pretty good though.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Nutmeg Sprint Triathlon-- August 11th, Warren, CT
Well, since we're still slacking on getting an In Transit out, I figured the least I could do is give a race report here...
This was a sprint tri (.5mile/9miles/5k).
The race was about a 1.5 hour drive, so I left at 4:45 to get there. Surprisingly, I was pretty awake. I ate a bowl of cereal before leaving home and a couple Clif Shot Bloks on the ride there. Luckily, I was able to carpool with my friend Allison, who happens to be a fellow member of the Shoreline Sharks (my multisport team).
Got there, picked up my packet, racked my bike and set everything up. It was kind of chilly, in the 50s. I decided to go sans wetsuit (I didn't even bring it with me). The field was split in regard to wetsuit use, about 50/50. The water was much warmer than the air temp, so as soon as I stepped in to warm up I was relieved. I think I would have been too warm if I would have worn it and I probably would have added on at least a minute getting it off. I was happy with my decision.
Swim: The half mile lake swim went well. I made it out of the water in 17:59. A little slower than my usual, but not by much.
T1: It was at least 1/8 mile from the beach to the transition area. I was able to pass a ton of people in transition. A lot of people were walking to transition b/c they were too worried about their precious tootsies and the little rocks they had to run over to get to transition. I was in race mode, so the rocks didn't bother me a bit. My time was 1:50.
Bike: It was a short 9 mile loop around the lake. Flat for the first 5 miles, then a hill at 5 & at 7 miles. Pretty tough hills. Non eventful bike, pretty happy with my time of 30:36. I have to say my bike times seem so slow to me ever since I moved to CT. But, I have to remember it is much hillier here than TX, so I can't really compare averages on flats to averages on hilly courses.
T2: Quick in & out. 42 seconds.
Run: This run was a b*tch for the first 1.7 miles! It was basically straight uphill. The turnaround was at the 1.7 mark and then it was a flying downhill from there. I ended up with a 27:20 time for an 8:47 pace. I was pretty satisfied with that, except for the fact that I lost an age group win the last half mile when a chick flew by me going at a 7 something pace. I knew I wouldn't be able to hang with her, but I pushed as hard as I could. She beat me by 38 seconds. Nonetheless, I ended up with a 2nd in AG placement. I was pretty satisfied.
Race nutrition: I had a GU on the bike with water. I also had water once on the run and did the 'dump water over my head' trick, which really helped b/c it had warmed up quite a bit by the time the run portion came up.
Overall, it was a challenging course and a fun race. Plus, we got wicking shirts! Woot!
This was a sprint tri (.5mile/9miles/5k).
The race was about a 1.5 hour drive, so I left at 4:45 to get there. Surprisingly, I was pretty awake. I ate a bowl of cereal before leaving home and a couple Clif Shot Bloks on the ride there. Luckily, I was able to carpool with my friend Allison, who happens to be a fellow member of the Shoreline Sharks (my multisport team).
Got there, picked up my packet, racked my bike and set everything up. It was kind of chilly, in the 50s. I decided to go sans wetsuit (I didn't even bring it with me). The field was split in regard to wetsuit use, about 50/50. The water was much warmer than the air temp, so as soon as I stepped in to warm up I was relieved. I think I would have been too warm if I would have worn it and I probably would have added on at least a minute getting it off. I was happy with my decision.
Swim: The half mile lake swim went well. I made it out of the water in 17:59. A little slower than my usual, but not by much.
T1: It was at least 1/8 mile from the beach to the transition area. I was able to pass a ton of people in transition. A lot of people were walking to transition b/c they were too worried about their precious tootsies and the little rocks they had to run over to get to transition. I was in race mode, so the rocks didn't bother me a bit. My time was 1:50.
Bike: It was a short 9 mile loop around the lake. Flat for the first 5 miles, then a hill at 5 & at 7 miles. Pretty tough hills. Non eventful bike, pretty happy with my time of 30:36. I have to say my bike times seem so slow to me ever since I moved to CT. But, I have to remember it is much hillier here than TX, so I can't really compare averages on flats to averages on hilly courses.
T2: Quick in & out. 42 seconds.
Run: This run was a b*tch for the first 1.7 miles! It was basically straight uphill. The turnaround was at the 1.7 mark and then it was a flying downhill from there. I ended up with a 27:20 time for an 8:47 pace. I was pretty satisfied with that, except for the fact that I lost an age group win the last half mile when a chick flew by me going at a 7 something pace. I knew I wouldn't be able to hang with her, but I pushed as hard as I could. She beat me by 38 seconds. Nonetheless, I ended up with a 2nd in AG placement. I was pretty satisfied.
Race nutrition: I had a GU on the bike with water. I also had water once on the run and did the 'dump water over my head' trick, which really helped b/c it had warmed up quite a bit by the time the run portion came up.
Overall, it was a challenging course and a fun race. Plus, we got wicking shirts! Woot!
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