Terramuggus Sprint Triathlon Series - Race #3 - Triathlon


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Marlborough, Connecticut
United States
Pig Iron Sports
89F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 18m 32s
Overall Rank = 48/181
Age Group = 50-59M
Age Group Rank = 4/16
Pre-race routine:

Got there early again to set up and not feel rushed. Left at 4:15PM with plenty of time to drive there, park and even got 'rock-star parking' right in the main lot. Paid 25$, got body marked and picked up timing chip. Set up transition in a better area this time, which definitely helped.

Drank gatorade, chilled with my i-pod and hung out in the shade and waited to put on wetsuit as it was HOT.
Event warmup:

Put on wetsuit with 15 minutes to start and swam ~400M. Felt good, too good...
Swim
  • 14m 8s
  • 600 yards
  • 02m 22s / 100 yards
Comments:

Goggles broke when I came in from warmup and was fortunate to have my backup pair.

Planned to try to start out strong this time, as my last report noted that I thought I could swim faster. Ha! What a joke. I am not a swimmer and am even more undertrained than when I did this last year. What was I thinking?

Started off quickly and tried to hold onto Kevin's feet (yes, the fish from Master's), which lasted 2 strokes. Then found someone else and tried to hold a strong pace. Well, after about 2 or 3 minutes of this, I was seriously breathing hard and was quite uncomfortable. Slowed down, did backstroke and actually was keeping up. Someone even swam behind my feet. (I wonder if he noticed they were upside down...) but my breathing was still uncomfortably fast so I flipped over and just went r-e-a-l-l-y slow for a couple of minutes until it was tolerable.

Able to be smooth again for the last few minutes to the turn buoy and then swam relaxed behind someone the rest of the way in. Much, much better for the second half. Ironically, much quicker also.
What would you do differently?:

Start slowly and just go easy for the first half and pick it up a bit if able on the back half. Find feet and stay relaxed and smooth. Message to self: DO NOT PUSH EARLY!
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

transition included about 1 minute of the swim time. I was much faster than last year. Breathing was uncontrolled coming out of the water and I was a bit dizzy and probably overheated. Planned to drink some cooled G2 that I had iced on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really
Bike
  • 41m 18s
  • 12.6 miles
  • 18.14 mile/hr
Comments:

Tried to go out hard and catch as many faster swimmers as I could. I was still mad at myself for messing up the swim and wanted to punish myself. Picked off a dozen people on the first half of the first loop but it was hot and I was still breathing hard. Made a decision to slow down a bit at that point.

Pushed hard on the downhills. Need to train more to hold a moderate intensity up a long, gentle hill. My right calf cramped a bit and I think that was the heat/dehydration.

Overall a pretty good ride.
What would you do differently?:

Try to be more evenly paced. Not smart to burn a few matches early on to try to recapture lost time on the swim.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

T2 was included in the run segment and I'm pretty sure I kept it to 30-40 seconds, max. I was quick with shoes-bike shoes off, no socks, run shoes pulled on (no laces). Then off to the run course. Grabbed sports beans which was a good idea to do. Also had put a few cough drops in my back pocket late on the bike to have later-good decision.

Sadly, I saw Kevin the fish on the side of the road and noted that he had a DNF. I presume he had a flat...
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 24m 6s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 07m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Started out with a strong cadence and legs felt good. I remembered that it is fairly shaded and has a few tiny rollers before the long downhill. Tried to lengthen stride on the downs and stay quick and light all other times.

Overall went ok. It was hot. I should have drank some during the run and although I wouldn't have reversed the beginning of dehydration, it would have felt good and I doubt I would have sacrificed much time.

Got passed by 2 guys in 'cyclonauts' kits and stayed on their heel. We came up to another younger guy with his head down. I told him to 'stay with me and to pick it up'. We passed the 2 guys and tried to track down the next guy who was about 250M ahead of us. I sprinted ahead of him near the end and he came in behind me but I couldn't quite catch the guy in front of me.

After the finish, the guy in front of me said he 'heard me coming and picked it up!'. The guy I ran with thanked me for helping him hold 'that strong pace at the end'.

Nice
:)
What would you do differently?:

Drink more.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed the goggles and swam in the lake for 10 minutes. Water was warm!


What limited your ability to perform faster:

Started out too fast on the swim.
Need more bike training to be able to push a bit on the uphills in short races and hold a high cadence in a bigger gear.
Need brick runs with tempo running to be able to hold a faster pace in these shorter races.

Event comments:

I still love the venue. Easy to get to. Low key and some good competition.




Last updated: 2013-07-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:08 | 600 yards | 02m 22s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/16
Overall: 70/181
Performance: Bad
time includes T1-and I think the swim was about 100M longer when I compare times to last year of others Out to the 1/2 buoy in 7:15ish; back in 5:50 with a little over a minute in tranition is my best guess. HR stayed in the low 140's during the swim.
Suit: Blue 70 Sleeveless
Course: Same course-Out and back around two yellow buoys, posing as ducks, on the sides and then to the orange turn around buoy in the middle of the lake-counterclockwise. Mass start from waist deep in the lake. Women had 5 minute head start and then the Men went. Very short run up to transition area-run with bike about 100M-mount and go. New bike racks this time allowed for ample space.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Average
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:41:18 | 12.6 miles | 18.14 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/16
Overall: 46/181
Performance: Good
first loop in 20:27 HR=148 second loop in 21:29 HR=145 that may include about 48 seconds of running with the bike...the numbers don't add up well
Wind: None
Course: New course due to local construction. More direct, but longer and a few more hills. 12.6 miles compared with closer to 11 on the old course (it wasn't really 12 before) 2 loops clockwise around the lake. Traffic was stopped at lights/corners but cars were on the course which was a bit dicey at the turns. I do not know the exact course other than it seemed flat to down, followed by rollers, then a long grind up interspersed with 2 long down sections. One of the downs was followed by a 90 degree turn and I almost went off the course on the first lap...
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90+
Turns: Below average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:24:06 | 03.1 miles | 07m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/16
Overall: 54/181
Performance: Average
av HR=151/peak HR=164 during the sprint at the end
Course: 1 loop, counterclockwise around the lake. Miles 1/2 have rolling, net uphills with the first mile being worse than the second. Both are followed by downhills where you can bound down with long strides and make up ground. Mile 3 is flat with one tiny hill near the end then finishes on a slight downhill making it a fast finishing course.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %?
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5