Catfish Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
United States
Tricat Sports
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 27m 55s
Overall Rank = 121/257
Age Group = 30-34 Males
Age Group Rank = 23/30
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4:45am, ate a bagel, and drank some water. Left the house at 5:00am and tried to calm myself down on the hour commute to Harrisburg.
Event warmup:

Did some jogging and light stretching.
Swim
  • 22m 40s
  • 1056 yards
  • 02m 09s / 100 yards
Comments:

I am NO swimmer. I have never swam more than 50 feet in my life until I started my swim training in July of 2006, yes 2006 as in a little over a month ago. I trained at the Y in a pool and got up to 30 laps without stopping and thought I was ready. WRONG, I struggled the whole swim. I had a hard time controlling my breathing, and my pace. I think it was the open water that got the best of me, along with having to navigate, avoid rocks, and people. I kept looking for the blue line to follow? lol. It was a great experience overall, but I will defintaly be hitting some local deep water lakes to practice in the open water.
What would you do differently?:

For this race nothing, it was a good race to be a first open water race. The fact that its shallow is good if you get into trouble, but the downside is you can use it as a safety blanket.
Transition 1
  • 01m 36s
Comments:

I felt great out of the water, sprinted up the ramp. I had a bib number in the 300's so my bike was right at the entrance of the transition area and got a good spot on the end of a rack. I was able to throw on my socks, shoes, shades, race number belt, and helmet very smoohtly. I chugged some Gatoraid while pushing my bike to the timing chute and got a good running start.
What would you do differently?:

Practice transitions. I never really practiced transitions becuase I had no idea what to expect.
Bike
  • 42m 38s
  • 14.5 miles
  • 20.41 mile/hr
Comments:

This ride went really well for me. I was riding a Mountain Bike and I didnt think I could break 47:00 minutes. I must have been all pumped up or something becuase needless to say I was pleased with my time of 42:38. The ride back was much faster than going out for me.
What would you do differently?:

I plan to break down and buy a road bike. I also need to practice drinking while riding, because I could only manage to get about a half a bottle down on the entire ride.
Transition 2
  • 00m 52s
Comments:

Coming into the transition area I hid a traffic jam right in front of the timing chute. In the excitement of it all I grabbed the front brake and did a nice rear wheel stand. Thankfully I didnt go down or take anyone else out. All in all I think T2 went well at 52 seconds...
What would you do differently?:

Pay more attention as I get closer to the transition area. I Also will practice being out of my shoes prior to hitting the timing chutes. I had no idea this was a strategy, as this was my first tri. I just unclipped and ran into the transition area in my cycling shoes and then changed into my running shoes.
Run
  • 20m 9s
  • 2.8 miles
  • 07m 12s  min/mile
Comments:

My run went well. I was able to make up some ground on those who flew past me on the bike portion. I had one hell of a cramp in my right leg shortly after the run started. Thankfully it went away by the time I hit the batting cages.
What would you do differently?:

Do more bike/run bricks to get my legs used to the change in muscle groups.
Post race
Warm down:

A bit of jogging and light stretching. Lots of hydration.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not knowing when and where I could push myself. I feel like I may have reserved myself in areas because I didnt want to end up buring out, or not having enough left to finish the race strong.

Event comments:

Overall a good race. I had a goal of beating 1:45:00. I am really pleased with beating that by nearly 18 minutes. I was very nervous going into the race, and I feel like the months of training paid off. It was fun and cant wait to do another Triathlon. It was really great to cross the finish line and have the support of my wife, son, and mother and father in law cheering me on. Also thanks to Ron for being a great training partner.

Also, I never saw the people giving free massages.




Last updated: 2006-08-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:22:40 | 1056 yards | 02m 09s / 100yards
Age Group: 27/30
Overall: 202/257
Performance: Average
Suit: Tri-Shorts/Compression Tank
Course: River, point to point.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:36
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
00:42:38 | 14.5 miles | 20.41 mile/hr
Age Group: 20/30
Overall: 117/257
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Out and back, semi-closed.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:52
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:20:09 | 02.8 miles | 07m 12s  min/mile
Age Group: 15/30
Overall: 84/257
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back with a loop
Keeping cool Drinking Just right
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?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4