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Race Result

Racer: Jamie Roberson
Race: Worldgate Sport&Health Spint Tri
Date: Sunday, April 29, 2007
Location: Herndon, VA
Race Type: Triathlon - Sprint
Age Group: Female 40 - 44
Time: 2:04:43
Overall Place: 144 / 146
Age Group Place: 11 / 11
Comment: Prepare, Focus, Push



Race Report:



I just love this race. Once I get over the unpleasantry of a 4 a.m. wakeup, it's a joy to be able to have a short trip to a nearby event on a familiar course. It also helps to be able to see familiar faces (Kevin, Emma, tri-newbie Ian, and very cute guy representing well in his RATS suit, who I later found out was Eugene). And - I broke in my brand! new! RATS tri-suit!

This year I've decided to shift my focus. The first year was about just surviving. The second and third years were about participating. This year I'm concentrating on racing. Of course, I have to define "racing" in a relative way. At my age, size, and skill level, I'm never going to break any tape or stand on a podium. I can, however, aim for consistent improvement over time. After the Homegrown, I realized that I can improve in three ways: prepare, focus, and push, so those became my power words for this race. I also set a goal of finishing in under 2:00 (last year I finished in 2:18).

Swim - goal :08/actual :07:35.66

This is a snake swim in a 50-yard pool. I based my goal of an 8-minute swim on a pace of 1:20 per 50 meters. I beat this goal by about 30 seconds and could have finished faster were it not for bunching and other bad behavior in the pool. It's bad enough when people don't take the time to properly estimate their time, but it's worse when they won't let the faster swimmers behind them pass at the wall. Then there are the swimmers who try to pass mid-lane and cause head-on collisions with oncoming swimmers. At several points, many of us were walking - yes, walking - behind a train of people following a slow swimmer.

T1 goal :05/actual :03:06.19

I shelved my pool frustrations with the happy knowledge that I'd still met my goal with room to spare. The mantra now was "focus". I wanted no wasted motion in the transition area, no stopping to catch breath, and certainly no chatting. I beat my goal time and again, felt that I could have done better.

Bike - goal 1:10/actual 1:20:08

My ultimate goal this year is to break 4:00 at Reston. To do so, I will need to average a 16 mph pace. Again, my power word was "focus", which I thought would carry me on this course, which is shorter and flatter than the Reston course (from Worldgate to the W&OD, to Partlow's and back). It wasn't meant to be, though, as I overshot my goal by a little over 10 minutes, though I was still faster than last year.

T2 :02/:02:53.52

Focus, focus, focus. I was a little slower than I'd have liked, but I've really got to hand it to the race organizers: when we set up in T1 by Worldgate, we were given numbered stickers to attach to our rack space. When the racks were moved to T2, by the caboose, volunteers were standing by to take our bike to the assigned space and hand us our T2 bag. I would have been faster if I had pre-set my T2, but no complaints.

Run - goal :30/actual :30:59.90

Having prepared and focused, my new power word was "push". I haven't been used to running much in races, but now, with leg pain issues resolved, there was nothing holding me back. I walked the first minute, ran a minute, and continued for the first 10 minutes, then gradually extended the run portion for another 10, and ran the final 10. Again, a little slower than I'd have liked, but overall I was pleased with my effort.

Final: 2:04:43

So I didn't break 2:00, but I still took :14 off last year's time. I also got a nice confidence boost to propel me into the VA Run Sprint, and my first of two A races this year, the Reston Sprint.