Columbia Triathlon Race Report

As a coach I am always telling my clients that they are capable of more than they think they are, but their training is the best measure of what they are capable of right NOW!  I say this not so much to motivate them, but because I think it's true.  Since I am my own coach, I have to remind myself every now and then that it also applies to me.  So before I give you the race report let me give you a brief training report.

Training report: Murphy's Law......

This was a winter which typified Murphy's Law:  "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong".  It made me realize how lucky I have been in previous years.  In addition to a new, very hectic job, I had a bad lingering cold for most of January,  and then was hit with a bad case of patella tendinitis, which forced me into 10 days without running and limited biking.  Even when I came back from that forced layoff, I had to go easier than I had planned for.  My goal race, the Eagleman 1/2 Ironman, was still some months away but my endurance training was a bit behind schedule.  Given that reality, I made the decision to emphasize endurance on the run and swim (at the cost of some speed) and emphasize speed and strength on the bike (since I have a lot of miles on my legs).  I scheduled the Columbia triathlon as a test race 3 weeks out from Eagleman as a checkup.  Here's how the checkup turned out...

The Columbia Triathlon


As courses go, Columbia would have to be called challenging, if not outright difficult. The bike is very hilly and the run is brutally hilly (the last hill is 1/4 of a mile from the finish).  I know this since I have done the race twice before.  I typically train in the same area as the race so I know it pretty well.  While that doesn't make it any easier, it does give me an idea of what to expect and how to pace the course.

The Swim:

As open water swims go, Centennial lake probably falls somewhere in the middle.  Not the cleanest body of water I have ever jumped into, but certainly not the worst either.  This year the water temp was a balmy 70 degrees and felt warm compared to past years. For the first time we actually had good weather for the race!  I was in a rather large swim wave but I stayed near the back since I was not planning on being one of the faster swimmers. When the horn went off I battled through the usual bunch of people who swim slow but start near the front anyway.  Columbia is a U shaped swim, but a lopsided U, with the longest side of the swim being the last leg.  I hate that since it's almost impossible to tell how much further you have to swim, making it more difficult to gauge whether you can pick up the pace of not.  I therefore swam a very pedestrian 36:52.  This was in line with my swim from 2010 (36:39) but still short of my 2009 time (35:45).  I fully attribute this to the fact I was paranoid about not being able to complete the swim in 2009, so I spent lots more time in the pool, where as now, I know I can complete it.  I have just started working with a swim coach, so tune in in 3 weeks and we will see if I can make any improvements.....

The Bike:

This is where I shine.  I do bike power tests and VO2 tests fairly regularly (every 4 to 5 weeks) and my numbers all year have been good despite missing some training time.  I recently broke my long standing 3 mile time trial record by 8 seconds and my power at lactate threshold has been steadily rising ever since I started working out on the Compu-trainer.  My power at threshold was the best it had ever been, when last measured, so I had reason to be at least a little optimistic.  I had a pretty good transition with the exception of my wetsuit getting stuck on my ankle due to my timing chip.   When I got on my bike, however, my glutes felts really tight.  My plan was to hold back for the first 25% of the bike before I picked up the pace.  This is in line with my plans for racing Eagleman.  I planned to take it easy before settling into the rhythm I want to maintain for the entire race.  Even though I was not full bore on the pedals, I was steadily picking off riders ahead of me.  I wanted to wait until about mile 8 where the road flattens out a bit before I really turned on the power.  I absolutely LOVE going fast on my Colnago Flight!  When I get in the aero position, I can easily pick up a 1/2 mph with the same amount of power.  I stayed in my aero tuck except on a few of the rollers where I got out of the saddle and punched over top.  I was going so fast at one point I actually had to slow down because a car on the road was going too slowly! Right before the 12 mile mark, the course kicks up again in a series of very nasty rollers.  This is the make or break point for a lot of racers.  If you burnt your matches earlier on the course, this is where you will really suffer.  This series of seemingly endless rises continues for the next 6 miles or so.  This is where I passed a bunch of racers.  On this series of climbs riders bunch together as if looking for comfort in numbers, so I guess misery really does love company.  I paced this section really well and when I got back on the flatter portions of the course it was full gas until the finish.  I knew with a concerted effort I could get a bike split PR.  As I the made the turn back onto MD 108 I needed to make it back to transition in 9 minutes or less, 8 minutes later I was hopping off my bike and heading for the run course, a new bike PR by about 1 minute!  I was psyched!  Now I mentally prepped for the hard part.....

The Run:

The Columbia tri run is the hardest I have ever done. It is an almost endless series of short steep inclines.  A mere, 1/4 of a mile out a transition you hit a brute of a hill and that sets the tone for the rest of the run.  I ran the first 2 miles in just under 18 minutes.  This was slower than I wanted but I knew the worst was still ahead.  Slowly but surely the continuous hills and rising temperatures began to take their toll and I slowed mile after mile.  I was never tired really, I just had no OOMPH.  I was missing that extra gear that you need to maintain your pace as the hills keep coming at you.  This is where the lost training time really took its toll.  My speed and power or the run was missing from lack of speed work and interval training.  I know I need to get some of these in before Eagleman so I will not fade in the much longer (and possibly hotter) 1/2 marathon that awaits me that day.  I reverted back to my 2009 run form, but more from insufficient training time than to the inexperience I had the first time I did the race.  All in all a decent race, I mean you can't PR every race, right?

Post Mortem:


Although Columbia is often the toughest race I do all season I encourage everyone to come and experience it first hand.  The race is extremely well run, has a great history, lots of pros show up, and it is right in our back yard!  I think this is the premiere race in our area and we need to come out and support the excellent organization that puts it on!  Hope to see you all on the start line next year, I know I will be there, looking for a better swim and a much better run!

Peace and keep training....

Rob