Soma Triathlon - Triathlon


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
The Red Rock Company
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 34m 11s
Overall Rank = 12/693
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 2/75
Pre-race routine:

I've been dealing with achelies tendonitis, and have been on a reduced running diet. Also, I haven't been able to swim since Aug. 8th when the local pool closed. The last time I swum was at the Tempe Olympic race on Sept. 22nd.

I woke up at 5:00am, went to Mcd's for oatmeal and coffee.
Event warmup:

I set up transition quickly, got ready, put on the wetsuit and warmed up the shoulders and upper body with some cable exercises. I felt pretty decent.
Swim
  • 33m 34s
  • 2135 yards
  • 01m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started out decently, but pooped out around 1500 meters. I just tried to maintain a pace that kept me from getting too tired for the bike, but maintain headway. My form probably wasn't as good as it could have been.

I swam about 1.5 minutes slower than I thought that I would or could.
What would you do differently?:

I haven't been able to swim since Aug. 8th when the local pool closed. The last time I swum was at the Tempe Olympic race on Sept. 22nd.

Either, I need to get a vasatrainer or endless pool. I'm not going to make any further significant progress in swimming without year round practice.
Transition 1
  • 01m 27s
Comments:

Decent tranistion
What would you do differently?:

I just need to speed it up a bit, since it was about 27 seconds slower than the average for the leaders.
Bike
  • 2h 19m 17s
  • 55.98 miles
  • 24.11 mile/hr
Comments:

I had a goal time of around 2:22 to 2:23, this time required about 245 to 250 watts.

I smoked the bike part. I thought in my head was that I wanted and needed to catch the might and great, dream crusher, Jedi Master Bryan Dunn and stay with him on the bike course. He beat me out of the water by about 1.5 minutes, and I noticed at turnarounds that I wasn't making too much into his time, but I continued to push the pace hard.

Getting out of the water is always pretty tough as my legs need some time to get aquainted to the work that I'm requiring of them. I'd say that it wasn't until about the 20 mile point that I felt comfortable after I had pushed my limits for the HIM distance in close to the first hour.

The second lap got congested, esp. around the U-turns where I'd have to really go slow or almost stop to wait for the other riders. I managed to get back to speed as best as possible without busting the watt ceiling. I pushed the hills kind of hard to maintain pace, but again not to go anearobic, right at lactace level though, some VO2max efforts.

It was in the middle of the 3rd lap that my body was feeling the effort, around mile 48 to 50, I backed off a smidge on the hills, but kept hard on the flats.

I feel the toughest section was going east on Rio Solado on the 3rd lap, there was a wind, not great, but it was tough to maintain a fast speed. I was grinding stay above 23mph.

After I crossed over the hill on Mill Ave. bridge, I basically coasted in and let my legs get some blood and recouperate for a bit before the run. I did a decent flying dismount and jogged to the rack.

Other have asked me to put out the power data:

Bike: Specialized SHIV
Gear: Rotor Q rings 54/42
Cassette: 11/28
Wheels: Valdora 58mm carbon/aluminum clincher
Tire: Conti GP4000S with Bontrager XXX latex tubes

The tire combo was the first time, used to use Michelin Pro4 SC with butyl tubes.

Power Data and Chart Shown:
est. CDA: .275
est. CRR: .0055
avg: 267.5
NP: 279
IF: .87
VI: 1.05 (a little high, probably due to the U-turns and going uphills hard)
Cadence: 92.5 rpm
w/kg output: 4.01

What would you do differently?:

Not much
Transition 2
  • 01m 31s
Comments:

Again about 30 seconds slower than the leaders
What would you do differently?:

Tighten this up.
Run
  • 1h 38m 20s
  • 13.11 miles
  • 07m 30s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt pretty good off the bike, esp. considering how hard I hit the pace. I settled in at a 7 min/mile pace right off the bat. My first loop split was right at a 7:17 pace, so I thought that a 135 was in the cards... but in the middle of the 7th mile as my body was aching and some cramping that my pace was slowing. I vowed to not stop or walk, and to grab water and gatorade at each station. I did this well.

I just couldn't keep my pace up as the miles wore on, I was repeating my new battle cry over and over in my head: "Pain is not an indicator to stop..." but my gas tank was going dry and I ran in on fumes.

DONE!!!
What would you do differently?:

Well, my achelies limited my running for about the last 6 weeks and the longest runs that I did were about 8 miles, right where I crapped out.
Post race
Warm down:

Massage, food and friends

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Running injury and lack of pool facilities

Event comments:

Awesome race, awesome volunteers!!!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2013-01-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:33:34 | 2135 yards | 01m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/75
Overall: 67/693
Performance: Below average
N/A
Suit: Xterra Vector Pro
Course: A rectangular course in Tempe Town Lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:27
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:19:17 | 55.98 miles | 24.11 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/75
Overall: 2/693
Performance: Good
N/A
Wind: Little with gusts
Course: 3 loops of 18.7 miles each that also included a total of 16 stop and start U-turns and numerous 90 degree slow down turns.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:31
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:38:20 | 13.11 miles | 07m 30s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/75
Overall: 42/693
Performance: Good
N/A
Course: 2 loops around Tempe Town Lake.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %3
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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] 5