Race Result

Racer:	Fabrice Guillaume
Race:	Colonial Beach Triathlon
Date:	Sunday, July 15, 2007
Location:	Colonial Beach, VA
Race Type:	Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group:	Male 30 - 34
Time:	2:10:18
Overall Place:	62 / 304
Age Group Place:	14 / 34
Comment:	My first OLY Tri.

Race Report:

My very first Olympic Distance Triathlon :)

It was great to be there with my family (wife+kids+mother).
It was also very nice meeting some of the RATS (Kevin Shaw that really rocked on the race, Tom that I had met at the swimming clinics from Luna, Jeff)
Kevin, it was great chatting with you and your family. Too fun we ran into each other the day before same time/same place and even same hotel...

Overall results:
Time was 2:10:18.40.
Finish place was 62/304 Overall, 14/34 AG

I woke up at 5:30 am. The hotel where I stayed was just 10m away from the Transition. So no need to get up too early.
I had a fruit juice and cereal bar .
I just wish I had some coffee too but that's life... :)

RACE:
SWIM: 1 km
==========
Time: 16:09
Rank: 20 AG / 99 Gender / 125 Overall

This is my weak point so no high expectation here.
My objectives were to:
- swim under 18:00
- start easier and finish stronger
I was happy as I think I met both objectives although the first one may simply be to the distance of the swim. I am not 100% sure it was 1000m (some people finished in around 11mn).

I swam the 1000m at a regular pace. This time I controlled my swim in the sense I did no have to stop to catch my breath. I started easy then pushed harder. I felt comfortable at the pace I was swimming.
The only difficulty I had was the last 3rd of the race where the current was making us draft and I had to adjust my trajectory a lot of times.
I passed a few folks and I got passed by many many (including people from following waves...).
Overall I an happy. Yes I suck at swimming but I managed to meet both my objectives. I will keep working on my swimming to progress (it's been less than 1 year that I started swimming).

T1:
===
Time: 1:58
One nice thing before the Transition area was a mini pool where we could get rid of the sand stuck in the feet.
I managed to take out my long sleeves suit without too much pb. I could work on taking it quicker though.
Put the shoes on, then helmet, then run out of transition, then put sun glasses while riding.

BIKE: 40 km (25 miles)
===========
Time: 1:06:42
Rank: 15 AG / 55 Gender / 58 Overall

I kept pretty much the same speed/cadence during the whole bike segment. The course had a few big hills but I think I handled them decently as I had enough power to keep pushing after each.
I alternated between my water (in front between bars) and sport drink in my bottle. I used 1 gel and 2 endurolytes after half of the bike distance was covered.
I did not have any pb.
I just know I need to put more miles in my trainings to get faster.
But I was happy with my overall time and cadence.
I reached my goal of going faster than 20.5 mph. Avg Seed: 22.3 mph

T2:
===
Time: 1:17
I took out helmet but my glasses fell. Had to go get them.
The Transition rack was quite a mess. Some people had put their stuff on top of mine. I had some hard time to rack my bike in this jungle of things laying down but I meventually made it.
I took out my bike shoes, put the other shoes, then grabbed my cap+race belt+gel and I headed out of transition.
I could have done T2 a little bit faster but that was not too bad.

Run: 10km
=========
Time: 44:10
Rank: 17 AG / 71 Overall
I was surprised to feel pretty good right out of T2.
So I pushed on the first mile.
I saw my family at the start and end of the race and that gave me a lot of energy. I also say Kevin and Jeff and I shouted Go RATS. :)
I controlled the race from mile 2 to mile 5 and I pushed the last mile finishing with a final 200m sprint.
The race was beautiful though, on the Potomac shore all the way. There were a lot of people shouting at the end, it was a great source of motivation.
I enjoyed it a lot.
I could have probably run a little bit faster if I just pushed myself more.
But since this was my first OLY tri, I did not really put any pressure and I juts wanted to finish it with a steady pace all the way (without any break down).
My overall pace was 7:22 / mile.

Race evaluation:
Good Triathlon Race.
I'll do it again.
I just wish there were some things to eat and coffee drink in the morning and more things to eat in the post race activities.

One unfortunate thing is that I forgot my wet suit over there. My family was asking me to get out quickly to tkae the kids to the beach. I did not pay too much attention to what I was taking with me. And since the Transition was still a mess around me, I did not notice my wetsuit was still on the ground.
I called yesterday and this morning. All they have are 2 wetsuits but not mine.
So someone probably took it.... Too bad, it was just new (coming from France/ Brand: TriBord). If nobody claims any of the 2 wetsuits, I'll see if the American Legion can send me one of them as they are the same size but I doubt both wet suits will remain unclaimed.... We'll see.
Anyway, that's life.

I am still very happy of this race. It was a good experience for me and I am looking forward to my next OLY Tri (Luray).