 |
 |
 |
|
Race Result
| Racer: |
Tim Strobeck |
| Race: |
Columbia Triathlon |
| Date: |
Sunday, May 17, 2009 |
| Location: |
Ellicott City, MD |
| Race Type: |
Triathlon - International Distance |
| Age Group: |
Male 25 - 29 |
| Time: |
2:31:03 |
| Overall Place: |
176 / 1569 |
| Age Group Place: |
10 / 66 |
| Comment: |
Holy Hills Batman |
Race Report:
This was my first Columbia Triathlon, so I was pretty excited about taking on the challenge considering everything I've read about how difficult the course is. I pre-rode the bike portion the previous Sunday and didn't think the bike course was too bad, challenging but not outside of my abilities. This is only my 3rd Olympic-distance triathlon ever, and my first since last July, so nerves were probably the worst I've experienced thus far.
Swimming
00:21:34 | 1640.42 yards | 01m 19s / 100yards
Age Group: 10/66
Overall: 89/1569
Once I entered the water, did a quick 50m sprint to get water in my wetsuit and the pre-race jitters were gone. Swim went well except for the start. I eyed down the results from last year and figured that probably the top 1/4th of the wave would be just as fast or faster than me, so I started right behind the front line out by the buoy. Big mistake. I spent the first 3-4 minutes trying to navigate through the churn (Tarzan swim) and finally pulled ahead. I was already hitting yellow caps by the first orange buoy and continued on pretty strong. Shoulders were getting a little tired near the end, but overall my breathing was good, pace was good and came out of the water feeling refreshed.
T1
03:00
This is just a guestimate since they lumped T1 and the bike together (mechanical failure of the timing system due to the weather)
Biking
01:17:37 | 25.48 miles | 19.70 mile/hr
Age Group: 16/66
Overall: 261/1569
Bike was tough, but I started out relatively easy because my calves and hamstrings were cramping. Once the legs loosened up, I attacked the hills, got into a good rhythm and hit some 30+ downhills. I got passed by only 3 or 4 on the bike, but since I was on a roadie and they were on tri-bikes, I wasn't all that disappointed. I saw a bunch of mechanical failures / flats on the side of the road, plus a guy who it looked like he wrecked going around the first round-about (volunteers were already on the scene, less than a minute later the ambulance went flying by). Cars made it dicey in some spots, but overall a really good effort for me considering my lack of bike training in the last month due to a lower back injury.
T2
01:35
My rack was literally the first one on the right when you came into transition from the dismount area, so getting in and out was quick and painless. Grabbed a gel, but forgot my race belt. Got about .25 into the run and realized I didn't have it. Probably my only mistake on the day.
Running
00:47:18 | 06.21 miles | 07m 37s min/mile
Age Group: 17/66
Overall: 278/1569
I saw the run profile before the race, but I just ran a 10k the weekend before with 200+ feet of climbing, so I figured I'd be ok with this. Right away a big windey climb caught me off guard. Hills weren't that bad until we entered the neighborhood and hit two back-to-back tough climbs. Muscled through them, legs felt tired but I still kept pace. Entered mile 5 and got my 2nd wind, it was mostly downhill to the finish which made me happy. I pushed myself as hard as my legs could hold and crossed the finish line with a smile (not only that, Chrissie Wellington put my finishers medal around my neck, SWEET). My wife, brother and Mom were there at the finish line waiting for me to snap some photos.
Splits: 7:39, 7:21, 7:54, 7:54, 7:26, 7:29, 1:33
Overall I was really happy with my performance, PR'd by over 9 minutes from my last Oly! Stretch goal was 2:30:XX, so I only missed it by 00:00:03 which I'm not complaining about. Great race, volunteers and local community were awesome!!! The only thing I'd change is for the love of God please put the post-race food at the BOTTOM of the hill =)
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|