New Jersey State Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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West Windsor, New Jersey
United States
CGI Racing
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 34m 48s
Overall Rank = 194/743
Age Group = M 45-49
Age Group Rank = 22/65
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:30. Coffee, kid droppage, English muffin w/PB & honey, more kid droppage, some water and gatorade, pack up and go. Out the door about 5:45. Had a Clif bar and water on the ride there.

Went the wrong way on 676. I was on auto pilot and crossed the Ben instead of taking 95. Doh!Got to transition 1/2 hour before it was to close. I have never been that "late". It wasn't too bad actually.
Event warmup:

Set-up transition, then wait. And wait. And wait. Transition closed at 7:20, my wave started at 9:00. Pee'd a couple of times (clear...I was hydrated!), more kid droppage, sunscreen the dome, and watched the Sprint swim waves. Saw a boatload (literally) of men who I presume had been pulled out of the water. That's gotta suck. Watched a few people struggle, hold on to buoys, hold on to boats, etc.
About 10 mins before my wave I ran up and down the grassy hill behind the swim start to get the HR up. I have struggled the past couple of races with my breathing and HR on the swim. I've had to stop and catch my breath and settle down. This day I was determined to not let that happen.

Swim
  • 33m 22s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started in the back and kept a real easy pace to start. Even with that I was passing people. Not too crowded and didn't get banged around. I never once had to stop to catch my breath. Yes! I got a real good rhythm going and increased my pace as I went along. Passed a couple of previous wave swimmers, and got passed by some fast swimming clydes from the wave behind me. There we plenty of orange buoys to sight, along with lane markers from boat races. They were yellow, and round, and looked like swim caps so at time I thought I was passing more people than I actually was. I had good turns at the big yellow buoys and kept a decent line throughout the race.
I did taste fuel in the water after making the last turn and heading to the finish. There were a lot of boats out there, maybe more so because of the tragic death last year
What would you do differently?:

Maybe push a bit harder once I got into a goof rhythm, but I was very happy that I had no breathing/HR issues.
Transition 1
  • 01m 57s
Comments:

Steep grassy hill right out of the water, then a looong run across the parking lot. Helmet and shades on, bike off rack, then a looong run with a couple grassy hills to the mount line. Right shoe banged a couple of times, causing wheel to work against the rubber band on the left shoe but it held. I was passed buy one guy in my AG who had his shoes on, and one guy who had shoes clipped in. The guy with shoes on stopped dead to clip in and I passed him. The guy with shoes clipped in put his feet in right away without getting up to speed and I passed him.
What would you do differently?:

run faster through transition and to the mount.
Bike
  • 1h 06m 19s
  • 24.23 miles
  • 21.92 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt really good about my mount and getting in to my shoes at speed. I had put some vaseline on the shoe opening and that helped. Right shoe first with strap open, then pedal more, Left shoe next with strap open, then pedal more. Then I set the straps one at a time while pedaling. I went out pretty fast and kept a really good pace overall. I stayed in the big ring up front exclusively once I got out of the park. Played leap frog with a couple of riders, and got passed by some really fast youngsters who must have been on their second loop through the college. I seemed to pass the same couple of riders on the slight uphills and downhills but they re-passed on extended flats.
I had my bike worked on the day before at bike check. I had put on bar end shifters a while ago and turns out the were upside down. Knapp guys were super nice about it and fixed it for the cost of new cables. I had the front shifter in friction, but they had it working in all gears in STA (I couldn't ever get it adjusted...duh! it was upsidedown!) Problem was it would hang every now and then so I switched back to friction mid race.
I experimented some with hydration/nutrition since I've been cramping some on the run leg lately. Drank Gatorade at first, felt a little crampy, and stuck to water mostly. Ate one Mocha Clif shot. It was good; went down easy and felt fine in the tummy
Dismount was really good. Nice long stretch in the park where you can get feet out of shoes, get out of the saddle and spin a bit while still keeping speed. I guess all those times as a kid jumping off moving bikes has paid off here.
Overall I am very happy with the big leg. My official pace is 21, but if it really is a 39k course (24.23 mi) then I did a bit better than that.
What would you do differently?:

Not change my shifter from friction to STA the day before the race with out have any chance at all to ride that way.
Do better job with hydration/nutrition. Need to get in more calories/electrolytes but need to keep the water lever good to help with digestion.
Transition 2
  • 02m 40s
Comments:

Forgot my race belt! Doh!!!! Got to the rack quickly, shoes & socks on, and headed out. Felt really good until I got to the exit. Very nice lady "reminded" me I needed my number. had to run back to my rack for it. That easily cost me 30-40 seconds. Better than a DQ!
What would you do differently?:

Remember my race belt. I had it under my shoes instead of on top.
Run
  • 50m 31s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 08s  min/mile
Comments:

Once again, could have gone faster. It was hot and sunny in spots and I took the ice water soaked wash cloth when available. I drank at every water station and walked through most of them. One near the end at the top of a hill really drew me up the hill. I was tempted to walk before I got there but the icy wash cloth was my motivation. I drank Heed at one station even though I have never tried it before. I also stopped to pee in the woods and it was no longer clear so I knew I need to hydrate more. There were times when I was very thirsty but not near a station. Lots of folks carried their own fluids and that may be a way to go. With a late start I was out the in the almost mid-day sun.
What would you do differently?:

Hydrate better on the bike.
Post race
Warm down:

Had a shower. Nice!! They had a shower tent set up and it was awesome. After that I sat for a bit, then ate the pasta and cookies and lemon ice. I didn't stretch at all which is unusual for me

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I didn't train specifically for this race and have been working through ankle soreness. Was please that I did better overall than last year but a little disappointed that I didn't crush last years time. Need to remember it was a B/C race in terms of my schedule and goals.

Event comments:

CGI puts on great races, but I do hate a 9:00 start on a hot day in late July.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-01-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:33:22 | 1640 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/65
Overall: 441/743
Performance: Good
Suit: TriSuit
Course: Rectangular with 3 turns
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:57
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:06:19 | 24.23 miles | 21.92 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/65
Overall: 155/743
Performance: Good
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: Very flat course. One technical section through Mercer County College that is done 2x, mile 7ish and mile 20ish
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:40
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:50:31 | 06.21 miles | 08m 08s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/65
Overall: 178/743
Performance: Average
Course: two section through the park. A couple of tight spots with 2 way traffic, a couple of decent hills and some really sunny spots. Just so happens the back half is where the hills are and the sunny spots are... at the same time
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4