Mullet Man Triathlon - Triathlon


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Perdido Key, Florida
United States
Flora Bama
58F / 14C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 32m 30s
Overall Rank = 11/156
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 1/22
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at 4:15, packed everything up, and met up with my friend so we could make the hour ride together. I ate 2 PB&J sandwiches, a little of an energy drink, and some water. I got to the race around 6:20 and set everything up. By 7:15 I was all set and headed down to the beach.
Event warmup:

The water was cold, the air temp was even colder, even worse there was a 10-15 mph NNE wind which made it even colder. I got in the water up to my waist but didn't actually swim. Everyone was concerned about the cold weather/water.
Swim
  • 14m 47s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 41s / 100 yards
Comments:

I knew days in advance it was going to be cold. Living in south Alabama I've never needed a wetsuit but now was the time I would need one. I have a surfing wetsuit that would take an eternity to get off in T1 or I could use my 2mm wetsuit top, and it worked out ok.

I don't have a problem with open water swimming but the cold got to me on this one. I hate cold water, I've known this for years. I couldn't get in my groove until about the 1/2 way mark. My breathing was off and I seemed to be going really slow. Also, I think the course may have been a little long. My wetsuit top held a lot of water in it and slowed me down. I started to get cold around the 3/4 mark. I was nervous about the wetsuit top beging too cold, but it wasn't unbearable. It did save some time in transition because I took it off while running on the beach between the swim and T1.
Transition 1
  • 01m 50s
Comments:

The only problem with T1 was the gravel. There are few things I hate more than rocks in my shoes when biking or running and I had plenty for both. I also put a long sleeve shirt on because I thought I would be cold. I never got cold and shouldn't have put the shirt on.
What would you do differently?:

Go faster!
Bike
  • 48m 2s
  • 17 miles
  • 21.24 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike course was nice and flat. There is one bridge you have to climb on the way out and again on the way back. The only problem was the NNE winds. It made for a lttle tailwind on the way out with the ocassional crosswind. After the turnaround It was a headwind with some crosswinds which doesn't work out well with deep carbon wheels. I drank ~16 ounces of perform for the bike which was my only nutrition for the whole race and I felt fine throughout. Overall I felt good on the bike and passed a lot of people.

They did have cops at the major intersections blocking traffic and at the turnaround. I rode 90% of the route in the road instead of the bike lane because there were regular runners/cyclists out.
What would you do differently?:

Not much I would change. It was my first time racing with aero wheels and an aero helmet and I feel like they helped me.
Transition 2
  • 01m 3s
Comments:

Not much to report here. Everything was fairly smooth. There was more running on gravel and jumping over a puddle which was less than ideal. I somehow managed to hit my foot on the plastic matts they had in transition, which bruised later in the evening. I could have gone faster though.
What would you do differently?:

Go faster!
Run
  • 26m 49s
  • 4 miles
  • 06m 42s  min/mile
Comments:

The only good thing about the cold air temps and wind from earlier in the morning is that I never got too hot on the run. I felt strong the whole time. I passed a lot more people on the run. I've been running a lot all winter and feel like it's finally paying off. I never stopped to drink, but never felt I needed to with the lower temps. I haven't done many hard bricks this year in training so the pace was better than I expected.
What would you do differently?:

I'm happy with the run. The 2nd place guy was 18 seconds behind me. I looked behind me when I was getting towards the finish and didn't see anyone so I continued at the same pace through the finish line.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank some water and walked around. After waiting for my friend to finish I had a few bushwackers and would definitely recommend them. The post race food was also very good.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Cold water, and a headwind/crosswinds on the way back on the bike.

Event comments:

Overall it was good. It's a low-key race. There were no emails leading up to the race which was kinda off and made me question if I actually registered. There isn't a lot of info leading up to the start. No national anthem or announcements. Before the race we were standing around and I quietly heard someone say "ready" "set" "GO" which kinda threw me off.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2014-02-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:47 | 880 yards | 01m 41s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/22
Overall: 27/156
Performance: Below average
Suit: Surfing wetsuit top
Course: The course seemed long.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:50
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:48:02 | 17 miles | 21.24 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/22
Overall: 14/156
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course: Nice and fllat to the bridge and back.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:03
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:26:49 | 04 miles | 06m 42s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/22
Overall: 11/156
Performance: Good
Course: Nice and flat to the bridge and back.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4