Tempe International Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Tucson Racing Inc.
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 03m 24s
Overall Rank = 421/581
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 65/79
Pre-race routine:

Alarm went off at 4AM. Hit the snooze button at least once, got up around 4:19. The day before was very busy and I didn't get to bed until 11:30 or so. Ate a plain bagel with PB&J. Out of the house around 5AM and drove up to TTL to set up transition. Drank some powerade on the way up there. I was in wave 9 (1st oly wave), so I didn't start until 7AM.
Event warmup:

Not too much. My legs were actually pretty sore at the start of the day for some reason, so I tried to stretch them out a bit before getting into the wetsuit. Took a gel about 10 minutes before heading into my wave 9 corral.
Swim
  • 39m 41s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 25s / 100 yards
Comments:

I'm so glad this race was wetsuit legal this year. I haven't done a lot of swimming lately, but I knew if I had the wetsuit, I'd have no issue with the 1500m. I didn't ever stop and hold onto anything, but paused a few times to sight and spit out some water. Otherwise, I just kept chugging along at my slow pace and tried not to get beat up too badly by the other athletes from the waves behind me that caught up to me quickly. I thought I saw quite a few people cutting inside the first green bouy but I managed to keep it on my left despite the sun being in our faces. On the final leg to the stairs, I was sighting on a red bouy and somehow ended up swimming directly in to it. Duh! So off I went again and made it to the stairs. I slipped a bit on the stairs, but quickly got going again and headed to Transition.
What would you do differently?:

More swim practice...that's about it. I don't freak out in the OW and people around me and running into me isn't a big deal. However, it this hadn't been wetsuit legal, my swim time would have suffered quite a bit and that probably would have carried over into the next two legs of the race. 73rd out of 79 in my AG for the swim clearly shows I have a lot of ground to gain in swim performance. Hopefully low hanging fruit for the next race, now I just need to go and pick it.
Transition 1
  • 02m 49s
Comments:

For some reason I was struggling with getting my zipper down on the wetsuit as I was running to my rack. Fortunately, my rack was nearly at the far west end of transition, so I had time to mess with it. Finally got it off before getting to my rack. Wetsuit didn't come off the leg with the timing chip as well as the other one, so that ate up some time. Took a sec to try and get all the dried grass and dirt off my feet before putting on socks and shoes. Once that was done I was off and running I also wore my Garmin this time, so that took a few extra seconds to get on. Finally, I was trying not to leave a mess in transition, so that ate some seconds too.
What would you do differently?:

Figure out how to get that wetsuit off faster! This is a pretty long transition.
Bike
  • 1h 19m 49s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 18.68 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt pretty good on the bike this time. I had gotten in much more riding than my last race (avg of 18.16 mph on flat sprint course), so I was pleased with this time. The course has quite a few hilly areas and for some reason, I tend to pass the people I'm near on the hills and they move past me on the flats. I think I tend to focus on pedaling technique on the hills and let it go away when I'm on the flats. I just need to focus on good pedaling all the time until it's natural. According to my garmin, I averaged 18.8 MPH on this course. Took plenty of fluids with me, so I didn't need to take any on the course. There were a couple of guys that I kept going back and forth with. One in my AG and the other not. The guy in my AG made it to transition before me, but I was right behind him on the exit to the run.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I didn't stand much and crank on the bike as I wanted to make sure I still had legs for the run. Plus, my legs were sore before the race even started and as I'd flex them on the bike, I could feel the soreness in my quads. This was a much more technical course than Firebird sprint and my average speed was higher and for 2x the distance. Much better.
Transition 2
  • 01m 34s
Comments:

I had been practicing undoing the ratched buckle on my cycling shoes (the're MTN bike shoes) while riding and I got both of them undone as I was rolling down Rio Salado for the last time. Popped out of the pedals and straight to my rack which was pretty close to the bike in/out, so that was nice. Got off the cycling shoes fast and on with the running shoes. took one last drink from my water bottle and off I went.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 59m 27s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

In training, the longest brick I did was a 26 mile bike with a 4 mile run, so today was new territory-not the best training practice. First loop wasn't too bad and I a 9:3x pace. 2nd loop was a little rougher. I was dumping water on my head and on the sponges to stay cool. Within the first mile of the run, I managed to pass the guy I was going back and forth with on the bike and I left him behind for good. I got passed by a lot of people, but I didn't have to stop and walk at all and pushed through the tired legs. Picked up some last minute energy with everybody cheering at the finish line and a shoutout by BTer PhxPhotg. Thanks!
What would you do differently?:

More brick training sessions and not show up with sore legs. Plus more run training in the weeks leading up to the race. I sadly lost a week of training a few weeks before the race and only got one 5 mile run in during that time.
Post race
Warm down:

Ate a Clif bar and drank some water from the super cool finishers' can cooler water bottle they gave us at the finish line. After cooling down, I had to pack up and get out of there to relieve the inlaws that were watching the kids.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

In general, I need to follow a real training plan, not just wake up and ask myself if I feel like running, biking or swimming. I'll probably also have accept that fact that I'll need to to multiple workouts each day so I can do more than just 'finish' the race. I wanted to come in under 3 hours and came close, so if I do this and focus on getting my swim a little faster, I should have no problems breaking 3 hours. However, I'm pleased overall for this time on my first Olympic distance triathlon.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2010-01-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:39:41 | 1640 yards | 02m 25s / 100yards
Age Group: 73/79
Overall: 0/581
Performance: Good
Suit: XTERRA Sleeveless
Course: TTL Rectangle
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:49
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:19:49 | 24.85 miles | 18.68 mile/hr
Age Group: 58/79
Overall: 0/581
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Urban streets around Tempe Town Lake.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:34
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:59:27 | 06.21 miles | 09m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 60/79
Overall: 0/581
Performance: Average
Course: Two loops around TTL with set of stairs on each loop. Course was only about 5.99 Miles according to the Garmin.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 3