Tri by the Bay - Triathlon


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Brudenell, Prince Edward Island
Canada
20C / 68F
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 15m 52s
Overall Rank = 1/52
Age Group = M30-39
Age Group Rank = 1/8
Pre-race routine:

Usual early wake up (4:20am), coffee, oatmeal and water. The race was about a 45 minute drive from home and we left shortly after 7am (9am race start) thinking that would give us lots of time to get ready once we got there (yeah right). We arrived around 8:00 and went to register. Things were a bit slow there but not too bad. Got our chips and body marking and then went out to put the bikes etc in transition. Found a decent spot right near the bike/run out.

During the pre race briefing, we found out that both the bike and run course were new. The bike course went from a 2 loop flattish 18.5k one to a 22k single loop with 2 decent hills to contend with. The run course changed from a double out and back to a single out and back. Both good changes IMO.
Event warmup:

As I always seem to be, I was late starting my warmup. It consisted of a 10 min ride on the bike with a few hard 30s pickups and a 2.5 min run. Gotta work on the time management a bit better. From there I scrambled to get my wetsuit on as we walked down to the beach. Once there, I swam for about 15 seconds to make sure it was on right.
Swim
  • 12m 31s
  • 750 meters
  • 01m 40s / 100 meters
Comments:

I started off right beside Alex. The last two years he finished ahead of me so I figured I might get some draft off him. Once the gun went off, the two of us were off the front right away. I went in and sat on his right hip but within a minute or two he started to drift back. I just maintained my effort and was first to the turn buoy. I figured he was right on my feet which was not what I wanted! However after turning at the second buoy I took a peek and he was 10-15 feet behind me. I just maintained my effort for the rest of the swim - not hard enough to gas myself but a good strong effort. Almost took a jellyfish to the face at one point - that would have sucked.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I'm not in fantastic swim shape since my 3weeks in France but my workouts in the last week or so have been decent so I think I executed about right.
Transition 1
  • 01m 43s
Comments:

The water exit to T1 is about a 200m run. Good thing too because I struggled with getting my wetsuit zipper undone and it took me about half of the run to T1 to get it open. From there things went smoothly.
What would you do differently?:

Remember to use my left hand to open the flap on my wetsuit!
Bike
  • 37m 47s
  • 22 kms
  • 34.94 km/hr
Comments:

Did my usual semi flying mount and then left my feet on top of my shoes while going up the first hill right out of transition. Once over the top and up to speed I put my feet in and settled into the aerobars and power targets. Once I turned out of the park I saw Tab up the road (she did the Du). After a couple of minutes I went past her choosing "Hey sexy" over "On your left". ;)

For the first 9km I was right around my power target and feeling pretty good. Around that point we went down a hill and near the top there was a volunteer at a road. I didn't quite catch what she said but near the bottom of the hill was a road to the right and a road sign saying that the town of Cardigan was that way. I remembered hearing in the race briefing that we would turn right at the round about and go through Cardigan from there. However there was nothing indicating we should turn there. I have done a previous race that used that road before and the doubt settled into my head. I couldn't see any other riders ahead of me and part way up the hill I decided I should have turned and turned around. As I got back to the bottom another rider came down and went past the turn. Fuck! I turned back around and started going back up. According to my Garmin I lost 45 seconds doing that. I rode a.n.g.r.y. for the next 5 or 10 mins - mostly at myself but I was also angry that every road up to that point had an indicator of whether or not it was a turn or straight through. Ultimately though I know I screwed up - it made no sense that there would be a turn there with no markings at all.

After calming down a bit, I got to Cardigan (from the back road...) and there is a tough little hill to climb. 290w at 12 km/hr isn't fun - Tab said she saw one guy tip over on the way up. From there we got onto a long stretch of new pavement with a bit of tailwind. I couldn't see any riders in front of me at all along this stretch. After turning right we got onto a road with a horrible section of pavement. Out of the aerobars and just aiming for the less bumpy sections. Fortunately it wasn't too long. The rest of the ride was uneventful coming into T2. I was happy to look behind me and not see anyone catching me.

http://www.strava.com/activities/165441494
What would you do differently?:

Duh - know the course. I would have had the fastest bike split if I hadn't been an idiot.
Transition 2
  • 00m 49s
Comments:

Uneventful. Not super fast, not too slow.
What would you do differently?:

Be a bit smoother.
Run
  • 23m 4s
  • 5.2 kms
  • 04m 26s  min/km
Comments:

There is a 300 meter hill right out of T2 that isn't terribly hard but enough to get your attention. I didn't want to kill myself here so I just kept a steady smooth effort and evaluated how the legs felt (just fair). As I got near the top, I saw Alex coming in off the bike in 2nd place. I glanced at my watch and saw 1:33 so with the rest of his ride and transition I figured I had about a 2:30 head start. Not too comforting when I know he can run 18 mins if he's in good shape. He was followed shortly by 3 others including Gaetan who can run a 39 min 10k with a double stroller.... also not good.

My legs weren't really feeling great but I just tried to keep the effort high in the hopes that they would come around a bit. First KM was 4:33 - not bad with the two hills but not great. Once on the trail, I felt like I could run a little more steady and just ran at the pace that i felt a little too hard. Second KM was 4:33 again - hmm....

At the turnaround I glanced at my watch to see what the time gap was going to be. When I looked up the trail, I was surprised to not see any of the chasers yet. It was a full minute+ before Gaetan went by. At that point I figured I still had a chance and kept going as hard as I could manage. Shortly after I saw Alex and Pete and didn't think they were going to catch me. I didn't look back until back out on the road and past the 4k mark. I still had a good gap on Gaetan but he was closing fast. With half of a KM left there is one little hill, I took one more look and powered up the hill as best as I could and ran to the finish hard. Crossed the line and just layed down on the grass. Gaetan crossed the line 18 seconds later, he ran a low 19 min 5.2k and told me he needed it to be 6 km. :)

http://www.strava.com/activities/165438426
What would you do differently?:

I dunno, it worked out pretty well.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being in France for 3 weeks resulting in no riding or swimming and less than normal running. Followed up by some knee trouble when I got back into training.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2014-07-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:31 | 750 meters | 01m 40s / 100meters
Age Group: 1/8
Overall: 1/52
Performance: Good
Suit: Huub
Course: 2 laps of a 375m triangle in a clockwise direction. Since the tide was in, the water was deep enough to swim the entire time. In previous years we sometimes have to run around the half way buoy and a bunch of the beach. This year was all swimming and we could swim almost to the beach exit.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 18C / 64F Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:43
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:37:47 | 22 kms | 34.94 km/hr
Age Group: 1/8
Overall: 2/52
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: One 22k lap with about 500 feet of climbing - most of it in 2 hills. One section of about 1 km with VERY rough pavement. It was out of the aerobars and just aiming for the less rough patches - no way to keep the power to the pedals for this section.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:49
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:23:04 | 05.2 kms | 04m 26s  min/km
Age Group: 3/8
Overall: 12/52
Performance:
Course: Out and back with the out being gradually uphill. The first KM and a bit are on pavement with a couple of hills. After that it's on the confederation trail - pretty flat, crushed gravel, good to run on.
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]