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Race Result

Racer: Greg Bishop
Race: Odyssey Half Iron Triathlon
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2005
Location: Lake Anna State Park, VA
Race Type: Triathlon - Half Ironman
Age Group: Male 40 - 44
Time: 7:01:33
Overall Place: 181 / 200
Age Group Place: 26 / 28
Comment: Perfect weather and almost 20 min improvement from 2004



Race Report:



2005 Odyssey Half-Iron Triathlon

How does one improve 20 minutes year over year? Swim faster. Bike faster. Run faster.

Swim: 38:33
T1: 11:47
Bike: 3:23:08
T2: 4:03
Run: 2:43:55
Total: 7:01:26

I started the day at 3:00 and was driving by 3:40. Packet pickup and bike inspection were no problem, as I arrived shortly after 5:00. I learned last year that I need to bring a good light to do setup in the dark. Last year, I only had a mini-mag and found that was a little low on light for comfort. This year I had a head lamp, which was perfect.

As with all (well, almost all) of my events, I had three goals for this event:
1) Be healthy.
2) Be happy.
3) Finish with an official time.

(2004 times in parenthesis after 2005 times)

Swim: 38:33 (45:40)
The water temperature was 78F. I really hesitated to use my wetsuit, as I only have a full and get quite hot in it (not to mention my previously reported issues with my wetsuit at Columbia). In the end, I decided to wear the wetsuit so that I had some more recent practice in it before my later race this year. Other than the distinct petroleum smell about half way through the first loop, the swim was very pleasant. I mostly focused on trying to use up as little energy as possible while continuing to move forward. I stayed almost entirely on course until we were headed back to shore, where I first sighted on the buoy on the beach and not the one in the water. Luckily I realized it early enough not to get too far off course. I came out of the water happy with how the swim felt. After checking my records, I was very pleased to see that my swim improved by 7 minutes.

T1: 11:47 (6:25)
OK, so this transition is even slow for me. Unfortunately I had to run to the bath house for a pit stop. (I later realized that it was probably much better at T1 than later, as facilities were few and far between.)

Bike: 3:23:08 (3:25:42)
I remember really enjoying this bike course last year (other than the last hill climb after 55 miles). The turn around point was different than last year, but the course was the same inside the park. I really enjoyed most of the ride this year. I was a little disappointed to see two large packs of riders of 15-20 each with less than a wheel distance between them coming back as I was headed out. At least they had spread out by the second time around.
I packed my bike expecting water bottle exchanges, as it was last year. (I leave an open hole for the first water bottle and then discard the bottles I get on the course.) It was not the case this year, where there were cups of water or Gatorade handed out on the course. If I had realized, I would have packed my bike differently, as I had the extra bottle sitting on my towel at T1 available. I was able to hold off refilling my onboard bottles until the last turn around. At this point, my bike bottles were empty and I had to refill at least one. Luckily I had packed a couple of pre-measured powdered drink mixes to be able to refill if necessary. I stopped at the aid station, refilled one of my bottles and had a nice chat with the volunteer. I thanked the volunteer for his help and rode on.

On the final inbound leg of the bike, I passed more people than passed me (a rarity). I was apparently slowing down less than they were. My training, hydration and refueling plans were going fairly well. I look forward to seeing the splits on the bike, as I felt better as the bike went on. Coming off the bike, I felt great. I though everything was looking up for a great race (for me).

Compared with last year, the bike time was really close. The main difference is that last year I came off the bike feeling like I had just ridden a long way.

T2: 4:03 (4:44)

Run: 2:43:55 (2:58:51)
I started the run ready to go. I normally go for a fast walk for the first quarter to half mile to allow my body a little time to adjust to running (as this is my weakest leg of a tri). I started running just a little too early in this race, as my back cramped up within the first mile. I slowed down to try and walk off the cramps. In hind-sight, I probably started out a little too fast. I was able to alternately walk and jog the rest of the course, but unfortunately I was unable to completely work out the cramps. I spent the second half of the run cheering on other competitors and enjoying the day. I was able to jog the last mile of the course and crossed the finish line feeling much better than last year.

Total: 7:01:26 (7:21:22)

All-in-all I was quite happy with this event. After the race, I went through what worked and what didn’t for my nutrition and hydration plans in preparation for my long course race in November. I was almost 20 minutes faster this year than last year. I need to spend more time running over the next couple of months.

Next up: Baltimore Half-Marathon on 15 October