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Race Result

Racer: Fabrice Guillaume
Race: Little Pepper
Date: Sunday, June 17, 2007
Location: Culpepper, VA
Race Type: Triathlon - Sprint
Age Group: Male 30 - 34
Time: 1:26:14
Overall Place: 46 / 323
Age Group Place: 8 / 26
Comment: my first OWS.



Race Report:



Time: 1:26:14 (S: 15:04 / B:44:22 / R: 23:53)
Rank (Age Group Male): 8 / 26
Rank (Male): 41 / 189
Rank (Male/Female): 46 / 323

Pre-race routine:
=================
Woke up at 4 am
Breakfast as usual.

Drove to Culpepper (1h15 drive). Arrived on site around 6:30.
I got my race packet, got marked (bib 137) and I set up my Transition area.
The lake temperature was around 76-78 F so there was not really any need for a wet suit. But because that was my first OWS, I decided to go with my sleeveless wet suit.

I ran into Shawn before the race and I finally got to meet Kevin. It was nice to chat with these 2 RATS. too bad I missed the other RATS that raced...

Swim: 750m in a lake
=====
Time: 15:04
Age Group: 12/26
Overall (Man): 86/189

The course was a rectangle. We had to swim around several bouys.

This was my very very first OWS. I was very happy and excited to finally do one.
I used my sleeveless wetsuit. I had just trained once with it but I knew it would help me.

I started at a medium-strong pace. But after the first bouy I decided to slow down and try to keep a regular pace. I had some difficulties to swim efficiently, my stroke was not good at all. I was swimming with a 3 stroke approach, breathing on each side, and sighting every 5 strokes. That was working fine (that's what I trained for).
What was not working was the actual pull/push stroke and my breathing was not as relaxed as I wanted. Compared to the swimming pool, i was just not doing fine. I did about 2mn/100yrds average when I do 1:45/100yrds average on a 1000 yrds swim.
Anyway, I'll just have to keep swimming, maybe more with the wet suit on.


T1:
===
Time: 1:35
Age Group: 6/26
Overall (Man): 22/189

For my first official T1, I am happy.
I ran out of the lake, passed a couple of people while running.
then I took out my wet suit without any pb.
I put my shoes on, grabbed my helmet and ran out of the transition area.
I clipped, biked up the hill, then put on my glass.


Bike: 14 miles, hilly.
=====
Time: 44:22
Age Group: 7/26
Overall (Man): 34/189

I did both my laps at a decent pace without really pushing too hard as I was not sure how would I handle so many hills.
conditions were perfect with a sunny weather, lovely scenery,...
I got stuck behind a truck for a 1/2 mile or so at one point. The rest of the race was not pb. It was just hilly.


T2:
===
Time: 1:23
Age Group: 12/26
Overall (Man): 88/189

Well one really bad thing is that I lost 8-10 seconds trying to find my transition area.
it's too bad as I had worked my way in/out before the race to be sure I would be right on my spot during the race. Well it did not happen.
As I ran into my alley, I stopped midway as I could not see my stuff. I looked at the other alley, checked the number to realize I was really in the good one. So I looked more carefully and finally saw my stuff 10 meters from me.
What got me was the long sleeves wet suit from another racer that he hanged on the bike rack. It was hiding a little bit my stuff and I guess I did not look carefully enough the first time.

anyway, I took out my biking shoes, put on my running shoes without any pb. I grabbed my race belt and hat, and put them on as I ran out of T2.


Run:
====
Time: 23:52
Age Group: 8/26
Overall (Man): 55/189

This was supposed to be my strong sport. But I was running blind without my POLAR Watch (bracelet had broken the week before so I had nothing to tell me my pace).

I know this was a hilly race but I could really have done better.
Anyway, next time I'll race with my watch on and maybe I will wake up mid race to start increasing my pace :)


Feedback:
=========
Great race. I loved every bit of it.
Glad to meet Kevin for the 1st time. Very happy to chat with Shawn too. I hope I can meet more RATS later on.

I need to keep training hard on my weak swim as I have 2 OLYs coming (1km and 1.5 km).
And I need to be more in a "race spirit" next time with a polar watch on me so I can push harder during the run instead of just enjoying the race at an almost comfortable pace.

Fabrice