This was my 5th race in 4 straight weekends! 4 sprints and 1 Olympic throughout them all. I actually did this one really for two reasons - I was hoping to wear my wetsuit for the first time in a race, as well as get my third USAT sanctioned race under my belt. Definitely glad I did the race though. Very good course, and aside from the heat - great day to race!
1:28:49. 54th / 596 Overall. 5/25 M25-29. 47/416 M. Even though there was only one pro, there were tons of people at this race, so I felt pretty good about how I placed.
Swim: (16:00, 162nd OA). Still not happy with my swim times. I feel like I've been making progress in the pool, but still have trouble during the race. Particularly since I felt like I had a good rhythm and pretty good form this race. I thought my time would be better. Very congested start, I was battling with people for most of the first half of the swim. The water was incredibly warm - about 87 degrees! I think between the rough start, and trying to push a little too hard, I was more winded than I wanted to be coming out of the water.
T1: (1:24). Pretty much on par with past T1's. Not great, but I know why I haven't improved on these. Need to practice!!
Bike: (48:24, 24.2mph, 19th OA). Once again, I was happy with the bike time! I was only passed once and I ended up passing tons of people. I felt a little winded at first - probably because of the swim, but once I got going (maybe around mile 3) I felt fine. The legs felt pretty good for the most part. I felt a little twinge in my knees on a couple of the "hills" on the course. Basically it was very flat and fast, and a loop so as not to have to deal with those annoying out and back courses!
T2: (1:04). Wow, what a difference the sock thing makes! I decided against them this time. No socks, plus the speed laces took between 30 and 45 seconds off of this transition!
Run: (22:00, 7:06/mi, 123rd OA). Not too bad I guess. I'd still like to be able to drop at least 30-45 seconds off of this time, for this distance. But, the heat was absolutely oppressive! I broke one of my own rules and tried to take on water at the fist station. I should have known! I ended up inhaling half the damn cup, so I started coughing and choking while trying to get back to pace. From now on - either I bring the Fuel Belt, or I do without!!! Good run course though. Flat for the most part, and the only bad stretches were the first and last .5 mile. The were over grass and the heat and humidity all seemed to culminate right at those parts!
In the end, I was happy with the race. Probably my last one until the half ironman in October!
Definitely need to re-focus on distance for the next month, month and a half. I also plan to really concentrate on the swim. I feel confident enough on the bike to do the HIM right now, and with just a few longer run sessions, I'm not too worried about the run. Gotta get better on the swim!!!
This was my 5th race in 4 straight weekends! 4 sprints and 1 Olympic throughout them all. I actually did this one really for two reasons - I was hoping to wear my wetsuit for the first time in a race, as well as get my third USAT sanctioned race under my belt. Definitely glad I did the race though. Very good course, and aside from the heat - great day to race!
1:28:49. 54th / 596 Overall. 5/25 M25-29. 47/416 M. Even though there was only one pro, there were tons of people at this race, so I felt pretty good about how I placed.
Swim: (16:00, 162nd OA). Still not happy with my swim times. I feel like I've been making progress in the pool, but still have trouble during the race. Particularly since I felt like I had a good rhythm and pretty good form this race. I thought my time would be better. Very congested start, I was battling with people for most of the first half of the swim. The water was incredibly warm - about 87 degrees! I think between the rough start, and trying to push a little too hard, I was more winded than I wanted to be coming out of the water.
T1: (1:24). Pretty much on par with past T1's. Not great, but I know why I haven't improved on these. Need to practice!!
Bike: (48:24, 24.2mph, 19th OA). Once again, I was happy with the bike time! I was only passed once and I ended up passing tons of people. I felt a little winded at first - probably because of the swim, but once I got going (maybe around mile 3) I felt fine. The legs felt pretty good for the most part. I felt a little twinge in my knees on a couple of the "hills" on the course. Basically it was very flat and fast, and a loop so as not to have to deal with those annoying out and back courses!
T2: (1:04). Wow, what a difference the sock thing makes! I decided against them this time. No socks, plus the speed laces took between 30 and 45 seconds off of this transition!
Run: (22:00, 7:06/mi, 123rd OA). Not too bad I guess. I'd still like to be able to drop at least 30-45 seconds off of this time, for this distance. But, the heat was absolutely oppressive! I broke one of my own rules and tried to take on water at the fist station. I should have known! I ended up inhaling half the damn cup, so I started coughing and choking while trying to get back to pace. From now on - either I bring the Fuel Belt, or I do without!!! Good run course though. Flat for the most part, and the only bad stretches were the first and last .5 mile. The were over grass and the heat and humidity all seemed to culminate right at those parts!
In the end, I was happy with the race. Probably my last one until the half ironman in October!
Definitely need to re-focus on distance for the next month, month and a half. I also plan to really concentrate on the swim. I feel confident enough on the bike to do the HIM right now, and with just a few longer run sessions, I'm not too worried about the run. Gotta get better on the swim!!!