Last weekend on a cool early spring morning, I competed in The Columbia Triathlon. This was an Olympic distance race that takes place in Howard County, MD at Centennial Park. It was my first race of the 2014 season; however, we were unsure the event would even happen. We registered for the race earlier in the year, but found out a couple of months ago that the current race organizers, The Columbia Triathlon Association (CTA), were going through some difficulties. It wasn’t until April 29 when we were informed that The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults announced that it finalized an agreement with the CTA to acquire ownership and operations of two of their signature races (i.e., The Columbia Triathlon and Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon). Even though this issue was resolved, there were many other varying factors that presented some complications going into the race:
1. During the preceding week to race day, Maryland was hit with torrential rainfall. This caused the bacteria levels in Centennial Park lake to elevate; thus, due to high bacteria levels in the lake, the swim was cancelled just two days before race date. Thus, I lost some competitive advantage as the swim is one of my strengths. The triathlon would now be a time trial start running 100 yards to the transition area to start the bike leg followed by the run portion.
2. In the winter months, most of my bike training consisted of indoor spin classes. As spring brought warmer weather, I started to ride outside to test my fitness levels. Unfortunately, in my outdoor riding, I was not seeing the expected results from the numerous and hard spin classes I completed in the winter. In addition, as I was riding outside, my bike was experiencing various mechanical difficulties (e.g., back brake rubbing against my rear tire, chains skipping)
3. In researching the race, we knew it was a difficult course with a lot of gradual hill climbs and switchbacks.
4. This was probably the coldest temperatures I have raced in, around 44 degrees at 7 am and I needed to figure out proper clothing for the bike and run in this type of climate.
Consequently, my race results were a little disappointing, but still finished 15th overall out of 500+ competitors. So the question becomes, what should I have done differently?
Based on my performance, here are a couple of lessons learned that I will incorporate in my upcoming training:
· Lesson #1: Spend a little more thinking about the race strategy. I’m not talking about a full blown Monte Carlo situational analysis, but perhaps some more ‘what if’ scenario planning could have helped. Not having the swim was a bit of a curve ball, which we tried to prepare for in terms of how the race would unfold. We were expecting a large riding group with plenty of illegal drafting since there was no swim to spread out the field. This indeed was the case in the race; unfortunately, I was not able to join the front group as I struggled to get my shoes on at the start. This was definitely a mistake on my part as I did not correctly place the Velcro strap on my bike shoes. The shoe openings were completely closed as the strap was tight across the top. I could not glide my feet into the shoe openings, but had to unlatch the Velcro to put my foot in the shoes. This cost me valuable time at the start of the bike portion, which was then compounded by my strategy at the starting line. Here I met Mike Meehan, who finished in 2nd place last year at this race to Brian Duffy. I noticed how he was starting to the end of the elite amateur time trial group. Consequently, I positioned myself similarly in the order. I figured we would be able to use the competitors who left at the front of the group as targets to catch up to during the bike start. What I did not expect was to have the issues with my bike shoes, which caused me to miss the large front riding group. As we made our way on the course, I watched the peloton slowly ride away. Key Takeaway: focus to ensure proper race day preparations, and ensure your race strategy planning is comprehensive
· Lesson #2: Spend a little more time riding outside to get comfortable with my race day bike. As mentioned in the preceding section about complications leading up to the race, I knew the bike course was going to be intense. With the mechanical issues and lack of speed translation from the winter spin classes, I was not confident going into the race. It was frustrating since the spin classes are such a great workout, and I felt a lot stronger in my legs. The speed was just not there when riding outside once spring rolled around. About half way through the bike course, I reached a stretch of road that was relatively flat. As I re-positioned myself on the bike, I found my sweet spot and realized the hills were adjusting my position on the bike making for an uncomfortable ride. Once I realized my position was slightly tweaked on the hills, I concentrated to maintain my normal riding position. Key Takeaway: proper preparations working on hills would have led to more confidence and strength riding on the hills during this bike course
As a result of a sub-par bike performance, the run was very lonely and tiring due to the extreme amounts of hills. This course definitely lived up to expectations as being billed on their website as “the most challenging run in triathlon”. My next race will be the Escape from the Cape Triathlon located in Cape May, NJ. The course should be flat and fast, which is right up my alley; however, I will be extra focused on race morning to double check everything is correctly set up on my bike. Second, I will incorporate some hill workouts to get more comfortable while biking on hills for future races in Milwaukee and Des Moines.
Ultimately, this race reminded me of a special reason why I enjoy these triathlons – they are a great opportunity to spend time with my family. In addition, to my Mom, Dad, and sister being at the race, my Aunt, Uncle and cousin who live in Virginia were able to join us, which always adds to the fun. Last, having the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults as the race sponsor really put things in perspective. There are other young adults who face a much tougher race as they fight for their lives battling cancer. Therefore, while I wish to have performed better, I am truly thankful for the ability and opportunity to compete in these triathlons.
1. During the preceding week to race day, Maryland was hit with torrential rainfall. This caused the bacteria levels in Centennial Park lake to elevate; thus, due to high bacteria levels in the lake, the swim was cancelled just two days before race date. Thus, I lost some competitive advantage as the swim is one of my strengths. The triathlon would now be a time trial start running 100 yards to the transition area to start the bike leg followed by the run portion.
2. In the winter months, most of my bike training consisted of indoor spin classes. As spring brought warmer weather, I started to ride outside to test my fitness levels. Unfortunately, in my outdoor riding, I was not seeing the expected results from the numerous and hard spin classes I completed in the winter. In addition, as I was riding outside, my bike was experiencing various mechanical difficulties (e.g., back brake rubbing against my rear tire, chains skipping)
3. In researching the race, we knew it was a difficult course with a lot of gradual hill climbs and switchbacks.
4. This was probably the coldest temperatures I have raced in, around 44 degrees at 7 am and I needed to figure out proper clothing for the bike and run in this type of climate.
Consequently, my race results were a little disappointing, but still finished 15th overall out of 500+ competitors. So the question becomes, what should I have done differently?
Based on my performance, here are a couple of lessons learned that I will incorporate in my upcoming training:
· Lesson #1: Spend a little more thinking about the race strategy. I’m not talking about a full blown Monte Carlo situational analysis, but perhaps some more ‘what if’ scenario planning could have helped. Not having the swim was a bit of a curve ball, which we tried to prepare for in terms of how the race would unfold. We were expecting a large riding group with plenty of illegal drafting since there was no swim to spread out the field. This indeed was the case in the race; unfortunately, I was not able to join the front group as I struggled to get my shoes on at the start. This was definitely a mistake on my part as I did not correctly place the Velcro strap on my bike shoes. The shoe openings were completely closed as the strap was tight across the top. I could not glide my feet into the shoe openings, but had to unlatch the Velcro to put my foot in the shoes. This cost me valuable time at the start of the bike portion, which was then compounded by my strategy at the starting line. Here I met Mike Meehan, who finished in 2nd place last year at this race to Brian Duffy. I noticed how he was starting to the end of the elite amateur time trial group. Consequently, I positioned myself similarly in the order. I figured we would be able to use the competitors who left at the front of the group as targets to catch up to during the bike start. What I did not expect was to have the issues with my bike shoes, which caused me to miss the large front riding group. As we made our way on the course, I watched the peloton slowly ride away. Key Takeaway: focus to ensure proper race day preparations, and ensure your race strategy planning is comprehensive
· Lesson #2: Spend a little more time riding outside to get comfortable with my race day bike. As mentioned in the preceding section about complications leading up to the race, I knew the bike course was going to be intense. With the mechanical issues and lack of speed translation from the winter spin classes, I was not confident going into the race. It was frustrating since the spin classes are such a great workout, and I felt a lot stronger in my legs. The speed was just not there when riding outside once spring rolled around. About half way through the bike course, I reached a stretch of road that was relatively flat. As I re-positioned myself on the bike, I found my sweet spot and realized the hills were adjusting my position on the bike making for an uncomfortable ride. Once I realized my position was slightly tweaked on the hills, I concentrated to maintain my normal riding position. Key Takeaway: proper preparations working on hills would have led to more confidence and strength riding on the hills during this bike course
As a result of a sub-par bike performance, the run was very lonely and tiring due to the extreme amounts of hills. This course definitely lived up to expectations as being billed on their website as “the most challenging run in triathlon”. My next race will be the Escape from the Cape Triathlon located in Cape May, NJ. The course should be flat and fast, which is right up my alley; however, I will be extra focused on race morning to double check everything is correctly set up on my bike. Second, I will incorporate some hill workouts to get more comfortable while biking on hills for future races in Milwaukee and Des Moines.
Ultimately, this race reminded me of a special reason why I enjoy these triathlons – they are a great opportunity to spend time with my family. In addition, to my Mom, Dad, and sister being at the race, my Aunt, Uncle and cousin who live in Virginia were able to join us, which always adds to the fun. Last, having the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults as the race sponsor really put things in perspective. There are other young adults who face a much tougher race as they fight for their lives battling cancer. Therefore, while I wish to have performed better, I am truly thankful for the ability and opportunity to compete in these triathlons.