Matt Mason Memorial “Cowboy UP!” Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Smithville Lake, Missouri
United States
Matt Mason Memorial “Cowboy UP!” Triathlon
63F / 17C
Sunny
Total Time = 56m 29s
Overall Rank = 6/257
Age Group = 30-39M
Age Group Rank = 2/78
Pre-race routine:

Up earrrrly. The race site was an hours drive, and transition opened at 5:15. For someone who likes to arrive early you can do the math on what time I left my house. Once I arrived I got setup quickly and easily. Put down a Gatorade Prime and then later a GU Roctane before hand. Scoped out the race entrances and exits.
Event warmup:

It was actually a little chilly this morning, low 60s, which is a welcome change to the never ending heat we've had this last month and a half. This was a time trial start so I lined up accordingly based on my predicted time and then the pre-race ceremonies got started. This was more than just your typical event start. The race was in memory of a local Navy SEAL (and triathlete) who was shot down in Afghanistan almost one year ago today, raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project. There was a prayer, the national anthem, and then a gun salute to Matt. It was all very cool and carried a lot more of significance. It help put my mind in a good frame of reference as to what we were doing today.
Swim
  • 07m 54s
  • 547 yards
  • 01m 26s / 100 yards
Comments:

Time trial start. I seeded myself around the 7:00 line marker, probably about 6/7th in line. Once I got my cue to take off I sprinted into the water as far out as I could. The water levels were pretty shallow due to the lack of rain (only 8ft deep at the first turn buoy). I started going out like gangbusters and immediately passed two people ahead of me. Once I got to the first buoy I felt a lot of tiredness in my shoulders. I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pull off some spectacular swim - I just didn't have it in me. So I just focused on long strokes and good underwater technique.

A pretty simple and straight forward swim leg. No drama, no catastrophes. Just a decent in and out of the water swim. Time includes a decent length jog all the way up to the entrance of transition.
What would you do differently?:

Lack of swim focus this last month or so during training didn't help my performance.
Transition 1
  • 00m 39s
Comments:

Quick in and out with the bike. Horrible job of getting on my bike and getting going. I left my shoes on my bike and I had planned on slipping my feet in while getting up to speed, but I struggled with this - despite practicing this with little trouble yesterday. The simple task of getting my bare feet on top of my shoes and pedaling was almost too much to overcome. Once I finally did get going my right shoe buckle managed to slip out of its buckle loop. I didn't bother fixing it, I just rode with my shoe unbuckled.

5/257
3/78
What would you do differently?:

More practice, or maybe I should just go back to putting my shoes on in transition before running my bike out.
Bike
  • 27m 2s
  • 9.2 miles
  • 20.11 mile/hr
Comments:

Once I finally did get going I was panting hard. Could. Not. Catch. My. Breath. But, I was going hard, this is a sprint, so no need to hold back. I don't think I actually brought my breathing and HR down until around mile 3 or 4.

For a 10 mile course (which me and some others only measured around 9.15 miles) this was not boring. I don't recall too many flat sections. You were either going up some incline or going down one. Some hills were more steep than others and often the momentum of one downhill carried you up the next. The road leading in and out of the park left a lot to be desired. Pretty typical of what one would experience at a park, but a little too many cracks and breaks in the road. Before I knew my 9+ mile bike ride was through and it was time to dismount.
What would you do differently?:

Hammer a little harder on the uphill climbs.
Transition 2
  • 00m 42s
Comments:

I thought I moved pretty well on this. Not sure why I'm slower than my peers.

73/257
15/78
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 20m 14s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 32s  min/mile
Comments:

5k runs are painful. 5k runs in a triathlon might be even more painful. There is just no point during a 5k sprint race where you get to just run and enjoy running and being out there. It's always "GO, GO, GO. This is a sprint, keep moving!" At least that's what's going on in my head. So with that I managed to get my breathing and HR to skyrocket back up, which in turn made the first mile go by slowly because all I can think about is "I'm I done with this yet?"

Nice course, and trail. Three aid stations on the course, one of which you passed twice. So if you were really thirsty on your 3 mile run this race had you covered. Towards the end, on the last mile, I really started to feel good and I hit my running groove. HR and breathing came under control and this became a lot more enjoyable. I managed to negative split each mile. Right before the turn towards the finish chute they handed out American flags to run with and I thought that was pretty awesome. A good reminder as to what this race was about.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Good effort throughout.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk. Talk. Some eating and drinking.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The last two months have not been the greatest time in my life for training. Just hasn't been enjoyable. I blame mostly the hot weather for not having that good mojo feeling I get when I'm out on a good SBR session.

Event comments:

Great race, especially considering it was a first time race with a first time race director. Great volunteer support, plus the local community really came out for this event. I would consider this event again in the future.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2012-07-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:54 | 547 yards | 01m 26s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/78
Overall: 3/257
Performance: Average
Suit: N/A
Course: Counter-clockwise triangular swim.
Start type: Run Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 86F / 30C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:39
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
00:27:02 | 9.2 miles | 20.11 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/78
Overall: 20/257
Performance: Average
Wind: None
Course: On the streets near the race location. Two hairpin turnarounds. Undulating roads
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:42
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:20:14 | 03.11 miles | 06m 32s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/78
Overall: 6/257
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back on paved park trail.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
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