Nations Tri - Race Report

[sgf726]

Hi All,
I successfully completed my first OLY Distance Triathlon. Sunday I raced the Nations Triathlon in Washington, DC. It was a great race, very well organized. I was a little nervous at first as there were over 5000 people competing and I was worried at home crowded the swim and bike course would be but it really wasn't that bad. The roads were closed for both the bike and the and run which was great.

The weather was great all weekend except for Sunday Morning when it was raining.

We arrived in DC on Friday which was good as it gave us time to relax and check out the area. Saturday afternoon we rode our bikes the 3 miles from the race hotel to the transition area (bikes had to be in the transition area on Sat) and then we did a practice swim. They had 600m of the course open for those that wanted to swim. I was glad that I did as it gave me a feel for what the water and currents would be like.

Saturday morning we woke up at 430A and took the bus to the transition area, it was raining lightly when we left the hotel but pouring by the time we arrived in transition. I went over to start setting up my stuff and noticed that the area under my bike was a giant mud puddle. I did bring a trash bag but it doesn't really work that well when in 4" of water I accepted the fact that everything was going to be wet anyways and set-up. I put on my wetsuit (which is really difficult to do when your legs are wet and you don't want to sit in the mud) and got in line for the porta-potties.

I was just glad to be able to wear the wetsuit. A week before the race the water temp was 85 deg, but thanks to Hurricane Earl and some cool nights it was down to 76 deg for race day - so wetsuit legal!

I was in wave 19 of 34 so we had a while to wait (1hr12min) from the start until our start.

Swim (1.5k) - The time between waves went very quickly and before we knew it it as our turn. You jump in the water off a small dock and tread water for a couple of minutes before starting. The course was in the shape of the Washington Monument starting upstream under the Arlington Memorial Bridge and then back down to the dock. I am not a fast swimmer but was able to swim freestyle comfortably the entire distance and finished about in the time I expected. (42.49)

T1 - T1 was really long - I figured it would be about 5 minutes when we scoped it out on Sat. and was right. We had to run up the river bank across the street (~100m) into transition and then I was almost the farthest from the bike out you could get (Row 37/38) which measured .15 miles from where I grabbed my bike to the mount line.

Bike - The bike was great - all the roads where great and it was cool riding by the DC monuments and then out to Rock Creek Parkway. The only challenging part was my cleats were caked with mud from the transition run that I couldn't clip in for the first few miles until I could bang it out. The bike is my strongest and I felt good and averaged 18.7 mph. (1.19:52)

T2 - Pretty uneventful my long run with the bike translated to a short distance to the run out.

Run - The run was basically flat and a beautiful run, I felt strong on the run but wasn't as fast as I expected. I was hoping to average 9 on the run but ended up with 9.30 pace. (58.56).

Overall - My goal was 3 hours but looking back I overestimated my run time and didn't realize how long T1 would be.

Overall: 3:09:01 (55/138 AG)
Swim: 42:49
T1: 5:04
Bike: 1:19:52
T2: 2:22
Run: 58:56

It was a great way to end the race season. I loved the race and am looking forward to more next year.

[Tri Girl]

Congrats!!! That race is one I'd like to do one day (if for nothing else than the closed roads) You did GREAT, and despite the weather it looks like you had fun. Just gotta do the best with what the day gives you, huh?
Nice job!!

[colby]

Great pictures!! Looks a little wet, but such is the case in September with slightly unpredictable weather. Congratulations on your first at this distance, you did awesome!

[Brina]

Congrats on your first oly! You did great.

[spindizzy]

Nice work! Sounds like you were mentally prepared and coped with the race conditions well.

[Bike Chick]

Great race! Congrats on your first Olympic in some nasty conditions--looks pretty soggy.