It's funny how you can spend hours and days trying to figure out all of the components of a race (down to the smallest detail), but it only takes a single race experience to really make it click in your brain. I knew there were a bunch of things I had to focus on, but the Philly Tri really pinpointed my weaknesses, and showed me what things required more focus/training/practice. Shortly after the race, it wasn't hard to come up with 10 areas of improvement for my next race. Some are very broad areas, and some are specific, but these were the items that popped into my head. And surely, each of these areas can be broken down into several sub-categories, giving me plenty to work on for next time. In no particular order:
1. Hydration on bike and run - During the swim, you obviously don't have a chance to hydrate (at least with water of your choosing). So coming out of the swim, you're already in the hole, hydration-wise. Add to that 84 degree water, and there can be a considerable amount of fluid loss. I had done a good job of staying hydrated before the race began, so at least I wasn't going into the swim dehydrated. I had water bottles on my bike, so I was prepared, but during the 15 mile ride, I managed to only finish about half of my water. There was a lot of urgency and action during the ride, so I didn't want to continuously reach for my water bottle, even though I really should have. Each time you grab your water, you slow a little bit, and you hamper your breathing, since you're forced to breathe through your nose for a couple of breaths each time. I didn't feel like I was losing a ton of liquid (a fairly shaded bike ride with a nice breeze is very deceiving), so I thought I was okay. It all hit me when I dismounted off the bike, and headed out for the run. My body was running hot and dehydrated, and it was taking a toll. (I've since run a few times in the heat, and really took notice of how much the heat affects me...It's surprising). I need to make sure that I suck down whatever water I have on the bike, to set myself up for the run.
2. Running after biking - Heat and dehydration aside, I wasn't strong on the run. While dismounting from the bike, running to T2, changing out shoes, and heading to the Run Out all seem like pretty simple things, they can be a bit disorienting during a race. I was making transition with a good amount of urgency (not too much so that I'm going nuts), but I didn't take time to reset myself before the run. But again, putting that aside, I had only done a handful of bike/run brick workouts, and they weren't at race pace/urgency. The heavy legs and disorientation were new feelings, and I wasn't focusing on the right things.
3. T1 - Shirt on - Sounds stupid, but Throwing that small, stretchy Tri shirt on after a run is a pain in the ass. Especially if you've pinned the bib to tightly on the shirt that it rips as you're putting the shirt on. I had planned on wearing it under my wetsuit so I wouldn't have to worry about putting it on, but decided to swim only in spandex and put the shirt on later.
4. T1 - bike mount - While I want to work up to a running jump mount (with shoes on the bike), I still have a ways to go. I had trouble with a standing mount while wearing my bike shoes. Something to work on,
5. proper amount of energy gel - I thought that putting an energy gel (with 2x caffeine) in both of my water bottles would be smart, but it was probably overkill. As I've learned, my biggest enemy is dehydration, and caffeine is no help. I think eating well right before the race, and focusing on hydration during the race is key for me. Maybe one gel packet somewhere in the bike portion. And possibly something on the run... But not 1 full one before the race (in addition to eating well, which I did well on this race), and 2 in the water bottles for the bike.
6. swim form - My swim form could use work all around, but I think my biggest inefficiencies are with my arm stroke during breathing. I lose all focus when I come up for a breath and my pulling arm just drags through the water, far from my body. A close 2nd place is with my kicking. I don't have a good rhythm for my kicks (and I don't think I have particularly good form either). Both things I really need to work on.
7. bi-lateral breathing - Of course. I started out well, but fell into a rhythm rut with breathing every other stroke. It's so much easier, but I need to be disciplined enough to do bi-lateral breathing. You become so disoriented after breathing on one side for 16 minutes straight. I really think it affects you for the rest of the race.
8. sighting - I did alright with this, but could stand to become a little more consistent. I think I zig-zagged a couple of times, and added unnecessary distance to the swim by not sighting often enough. But in general, I was pleased with my sighting
9. managing hills better on the bike - I had done some hills in training, but not enough. The hills on the course certainly weren't these large forboding climbs, but they were enough to throw me off. The hills that I had done during training weren't focused enough. I didn't assess them, and focus on keeping a steady cadence up them. I also didn't focus on powering through them after having reached the top. I think the key for hills is to not have your legs do these slow, pounding pushes; but rather to keep the cadence high and let your legs move as freely as possible, so as to reduce that nasty lactate burn once you reach the top.
10. higher cadence, higher gear - I had only recently been focusing on high cadence, so I was being very conscious of not switching into the smallest ring. I wanted to force myself to keep a high cadence. Problem is, I wasn't going as fast as I could have gone. I'm still not 100% efficient with my high cadence riding, so I lose a little bit. I haven't found the perfect cadence yet, and defaulted to going too fast, rather than too slow, which was not making me any faster. It was just making my riding choppy, if anything.
11. bike dismount / T2 - Not something you typically practice a lot, as it seems pretty basic, but it's still a skill to be mastered. I had un-velcroed my shoes, prior to the dismount, and was working my feet out, but one shoe became unclipped and fell to the ground. I had to scramble to pick it up and then run over to my rack in Transition. I hurriedly threw my bike on the rack, took my helmet off, and worked to get my shoes on. It wasn't the worst transition in the world, but could definitely use improvement. My socks were still only half-on, (from T1), so it was a little bit of a pain getting my shoes on. And I definitely need some focus strides once I started heading to Run Out. Those 50 yards need to be used to gather yourself for the upcoming run.
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