General Discussion Race Reports! » West Valley Tri Club City of Surprise Sprint Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

West Valley Tri Club City of Surprise Sprint - Triathlon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Surprise, Arizona
United States
Tri Family Racing
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 01m 47s
Overall Rank = 30/54
Age Group = Clydesdales
Age Group Rank = 1/3
Pre-race routine:

The convenience of having a race 2 ½ miles from home at a park you visit every weekend cannot be overstated. When the race was announced, even though the season was supposed to conclude with Rev3 South Carolina, I knew I had no choice but to be there. Besides, since the Rev3 race had been marred by bike trouble, I was excited by the opportunity to end the season on a positive note. It’s a short race, likely a less than deep field, on flat roads with which I am very familiar. Certainly a recipe for success. It was also being sponsored by a club that I was considering joining. The day prior to the event, I started to feel a little nervous. I realized that when I travel for a race, there is less pressure in a way – no one there knows me. I can just blend into the background and do my thing. Here, I was to perform in front of people who know me, people who I would likely be in a club with in the near future, and in my home town. I didn’t want to embarrass myself. I wanted to be the best me – the seasoned veteran who can compete in the Clydesdale division under favorable circumstances.
Event warmup:

: I got up a little earlier than necessary and got ready to go to the recreation campus. All I needed was my running shoes, visor, towel, and goggles in a small bag, since I would wear my bike gear and ride to the event. Being a pool swim, there was no wetsuit to deal with. I rode the 2 ½ miles to the recreation center, racked the bike, set up transition, picked up my timing chip, got body marked and was ready to go about 90 minutes before the start.
Jenna brought the pups down to the area and I met them in the dog park. Since that is what we usually do on Sunday mornings, and I was there anyway, we decided to use my additional time to do our normal routine, just a little earlier than usual. We walked from the park to the start area and watched a little of the kids race while we tried to keep the dogs warm. Since there weren’t that many people in the race, I was able to stay with them until a couple of minutes beforehand and just walk from the sidewalk to the road to take my place for the run (being a reverse order race, the run was first). We took every advantage of it being a small, local race.

Swim
  • 10m 31s
  • 400 yards
  • 02m 38s / 100 yards
Comments:

After getting off the bike, my HR was running in the mid 160s. I wasn’t sure how close any competitors were behind me, but wanted to start slowly to let my HR come down a bit. I took the first few lengths slowly and paused at the walls for a breath. I passed a couple of people and was passed by a couple of others but the pool was by no means crowded. It was also easy to keep checking to make sure no one who looked like a Clydesdale was gaining on me whenever I reached a wall. As I went back to the end of the pool to start the second time through, I started counting down the lengths left to the end of the season. No one was gaining on me and so I cruised through to the end. I got out of the pool and ran across the finish line. Season over – and I knew it was a good race.
What would you do differently?:

I could have pushed the swim a little harder, but it wouldn’t have made a difference overall
Transition 1
  • 01m 13s
Comments:

This was the run to bike transition. It was deadly efficient. I got to my spot, changed shoes, put on my helmet, unracked my bike, and got to the mount line.
Bike
  • 23m 48s
  • 8 miles
  • 20.17 mile/hr
Comments:

Getting on the bike, I felt I had an opportunity to extend any lead that I had. I was still a little hesitant to trust my front wheel after Rev3, so I took the corners very conservatively in case of a flat. However, I maintained a good speed on each straight and made a bunch of passes. However, on a looped course, you never know who is in front of and behind you. I just stayed consistent, counted down the loops and figured if no Clydesdales were passing me, I was (at worst) holding my position. Even though my overall pace was slowed a bit by all the cornering, I still managed to finish the bike in under 24 minutes to keep my average pace above the 20 mph threshold.
Transition 2
  • 01m 2s
Comments:

This is the bike to swim transition. Another speedy transition – I racked the bike, took off my helmet, shoes, and socks, grabbed my goggles and got to the pool.
Run
  • 25m 19s
  • 3 miles
  • 08m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

As we waited to start, I overheard a couple of guys nearby saying they were Clydesdales. In their conversation, I was able to identify at least three people to keep an eye on, and a fourth who I suspected was in the division, but wasn’t sure. As we started, three of them went out in front of me. I wanted to stay close enough to keep them in sight. I figured if I was close enough, I could pass them in transition or catch them on the bike. Having the out and back course was nice. After each turnaround, I was able to see everyone ahead of me coming the other direction. I couldn’t pick out any that I could identify as obvious Clydesdales, so I thought I was positioned well to compete.
After the first turnaround, I was able to catch the three who were ahead of me, one after the other. As we approached the start of the second loop, I felt like I had something to protect and kept my pace steady. Unless they really were able to turn it on during the second loop, I would be able to hold them off if I maintained. I reached the last turnaround looking forward to seeing how close they were in the other direction. It looked like I had at least 30-60 seconds on the guys I had passed and it didn’t appear that they were gaining. I glanced at the Garmin occasionally to see a pace in the 9:30 range – a lot faster than I have been training lately. I chugged into the run finish happy that I had a) outrun a few people, and b) maintained a pace a lot faster than my recent training paces.

Post race
Warm down:

After I finished, I grabbed my things and went to meet Jenna and the pups. I told her that I should probably go back to the pool for the awards ceremony. I didn’t know where I had finished, but I was going to be very surprised if I wasn’t in the top three. She decided to stay at the park with the pups, and I returned to the pool. When the first results were posted, I didn’t see my name anywhere. (In retrospect, I remember that Tri Family Racing separates Clyde/Athena results from Age Group, but I started to get a little worried in the moment) I would hate to have an issue with my timing chip or result in a race where I would have finished on the podium. Shortly thereafter, the race director announced that he was reading the results for the sprint and he was starting with Clydesdales. Wow – that’s great – we usually get left to the end. He announced 3rd place and 2nd place without saying my name. I had a wave of panic wash over me as I worried about my chip and the fact that I had not appeared on the preliminary results list. He then announced my name as 1st place. I couldn’t believe it. I got to the table and received my medal, and congratulated the 2nd and 3rd place winners. The guy who came in 2nd told me that he was chasing me the whole race but couldn’t quite catch up. I congratulated him on a great race and told him that I had raced over my head. I wanted him to know that I may have been a little faster, but it took a great effort for me to do it. It was a great end to a fun morning. After a long, challenging season with a lot of ups and downs, I needed a win. Thankfully, I was able to get one.

Event comments:

Tri Family Racing did a good job with the event. Things were organized and on time, and the course was well marked and safe.




Last updated: 2013-11-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:10:31 | 400 yards | 02m 38s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/3
Overall: 38/54
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course: Serpentine through the pool two times
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:13
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:23:48 | 08 miles | 20.17 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/3
Overall: 15/54
Performance:
Wind:
Course: Four two mile blocks around Bullard, Greenway, Parkview, and Paradise
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:02
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:25:19 | 03 miles | 08m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/3
Overall: 36/54
Performance:
Course: Two out and backs along Tierra Buena to Statler and back.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

{postbutton}
2013-11-09 5:55 AM

User image

Master
1696
1000500100252525
Surprise, Arizona
Subject: West Valley Tri Club City of Surprise Sprint
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » West Valley Tri Club City of Surprise Sprint Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Latrobe Valley Tri Club Winter Triathlon

Started by swayerm
Views: 713 Posts: 1

2013-10-31 9:43 PM swayerm

Latrobe Valley Tri Club Winter Triathlon

Started by jobaxas
Views: 1231 Posts: 10

2013-08-19 3:57 PM mcmanusclan5

1st Annual City of Surprise Mini Tri

Started by BHannahs
Views: 968 Posts: 2

2013-05-14 10:48 AM PHXATC

Davis Family YMCA/Steel Valley Triathlon Club Sprint Distance Triathlon

Started by Tkimble01
Views: 1371 Posts: 1

2010-06-28 3:07 PM Tkimble01

Davis Family YMCA/Steel Valley Triathlon Club Sprint Distance Triathlon

Started by fcrellin791
Views: 1290 Posts: 1

2009-05-17 1:37 PM fcrellin791
RELATED ARTICLES
date : November 21, 2011
author : etra77
comments : 0
Aunt and Nephew do their first Sprint Triathlon together
 
date : July 28, 2009
author : Coach AJ
comments : 1
I'm doing the 22 week sprint tri program and the 2 mile bike ride it starts with is not very challenging. I see this as a opportunity to train the right way and challenge myself. Any ideas?
date : October 7, 2008
author : gczarski
comments : 0
This past spring I realized a few of us were heading in the wrong direction physically. We were getting together for poker games and kids’ birthdays, but that was it.
 
date : September 8, 2008
author : pjwalzphd
comments : 2
When I told my husband that I planned to work toward completing a sprint triathlon, he smiled and was supportive, but a bit disbelieving.
date : April 1, 2008
author : trvw
comments : 0
The challenge? The accomplishment? I want to do this because it is an opportunity to live life. The event is an indoor sprint triathlon. I get to experience the challenge on a safer scale.
 
date : April 11, 2007
author : Terese Luikens
comments : 1
Have a goal when you get into the water. If your purpose is distance, then set your pace for endurance. If your objective is speed, then incorporate drills.
date : November 27, 2005
author : Rich Strauss
comments : 0
Tri clubs offer all of us, from beginner to advanced athlete, a venue in which we can realign our perspective of what “fast” and “far” are, pushing us to new and greater heights of performance.
 
date : January 10, 2005
author : trithis
comments : 0
Club or group workouts are very motivating and soon you’ll start feeling like a triathlete, making you less likely to flake out.