Dunedin Rotary Triathlon-My First! - TriathlonSprint


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Dunedin, Florida
United States
Dunedin Rotary
85F / 29C
Total Time = 1h 12m 13s
Overall Rank = 122/662
Age Group = 30-34M
Age Group Rank = 13/45
Pre-race routine:

The family and I stayed at my sister's home in Seminole the night before. Slept horrible. Maybe fell asleep around 1:00 a.m. and woke up every hour or so checking the clock. Got up around 5:00 a.m. Ate a cliff bar and drank some water. Drove to the race hoping to get there about 6:00 a.m. or so. Traffic jam getting into the park where the event was being held and didn't get to transition until 6:50. Being my first tri, that made me a bit nervous, but ended up having plenty of time.
Event warmup:

Swam a bit. The water felt great. Stretched and then just waited around for my heat to start. My wife came with me early so my sister brought my son closer to race start time so he could sleep a little bit longer. I was glad to see they made it into the park before they closed the roads.
Swim
  • 09m 55s
  • 440 yards
  • 02m 15s / 100 yards
Comments:

Don't look at the time! For some reason on race day, they changed the direction of the swim to go against the current. This could be because last year, the times were blazingly fast. So, maybe they were trying to make the swim longer? It was either the current or the race layout, but everyone's swims were longer timewise than they should have been . The fastest swims were in the mid-8 min. range. Last year they were in the upper-5 min's. So, definitely something off here.
Anyways, going into this, I was most concerned about the swim. Shouldn't have worried...the swim went great. Didn't get kicked in the face...drafted a few times. Good pace, never felt tired, just cruised in.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe push it a little bit harder, but being my first tri, I didn't want to go to fast and burn out. So, being my first race, I was very satisfied with my swim, except the time, but like I said everyone's times were slow.
Transition 1
  • 01m 18s
Comments:

Transition was on a rough pavement. So, rough it hurt to walk on it. So, my practicing of running barefoot with my shoes already on the bike didn't pay off at least for this one. Put on my sunglasses, helmet, bike shoes, unracked bike and jogged to mount line.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 34m 53s
  • 12 miles
  • 20.64 mile/hr
Comments:

This course was a lot of fun. I passed a lot of people, however did get passed by quite a few, probably about 15-20 people all with decked out tri-bikes with Zipp wheels and/or discs. Overall I felt really good with my pace. I passed people on the uphills which made me feel good. Started to feel gassed on the last half of the second loop which cost me some time. Also, got stuck behind slower people as I waited for a group of 3 or 4 riders to pass me. Nothing like having to break on flat straight aways to kill your momentum. Anyways, thinking that I hadn't drank that much and wanted to be hydrated on the run, at the end of the bike leg I drank some of the powerade I had with me. See "Run".
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I just need to keep training! I have only been training for about 4 months and only about 2 months with my new bike with longer rides.
Transition 2
  • 01m 20s
Comments:

Again with the rough surface, I just dismounted with my bike shoes on and jogged in them back to my rack. Helmet off, bike shoes off, socks on, running shoes on, visor on, racing belt on. For some reason, I put the racing belt on and my visor on while standing there, instead putting them on while running out of transition.
What would you do differently?:

Put visor and belt on while running out of transition.
Run
  • 24m 49s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 07m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

When reading the race course description, it mentioned the run being on a "packed" trail. Uhhh...No. It was on a not-so-packed trail. Loose dirt and beach sand. To start the run, my stomoach was sloshing around from the powerade I drank before I dismounted on the bike. Legs felt tired, but I just kept telling myself, they will feel better as we go on. Well, little did I know the course was going to be 75% on this soft dirt/sand. It was BRUTAL. I train on hard pavement and was not prepared for this. I had to walk twice for about a minute or 2 each time. I felt the strongest on the last 3/4 mile when it went back to pavement except for about a 50 yard section where it went back onto the beach sand. Finished strong, but was disappointed in my time. I was hoping to break 1:10. I initially blamed it on the run, but now that I see the splits, it was mainly due to the swim and partially on the bike. The run wasn't bad at all at 24:49. I beat my stand alone 5K run that I did back in February by :32. If I didn;t have to walk or put up with the soft sand, I think I could have put together a sub-24:00 5K which would have been really good (for me).
What would you do differently?:

Try to run the course beforehand to get acclimated. I had no idea what I was in store for so couldn't prepare myself.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank A LOT of water. IT WAS HOT! Ate some pizza.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fitness level.

Event comments:

The volunteers were not real educated as far as course layout. I asked 2 different volunteers that were right by transition which direction the bike and run would be, Neither knew. I just decided to follow the crowd since I knew I would not be leading the pack:) The run, because of how hot it was, should have had more than 2 drink stations which seemed. Three would have been nice. I don't think I will do this race next year. The soft sand just is not fun to run in.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-04-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:09:55 | 440 yards | 02m 15s / 100yards
Age Group: 15/45
Overall: 0/662
Performance:
Suit: Tri shorts & drifit sleeveless shirt
Course: Upside down triangle going clockwise against current.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:18
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:34:53 | 12 miles | 20.64 mile/hr
Age Group: 17/45
Overall: 0/662
Performance:
Wind:
Course: Two 6 Mile laps, mostly flat but there were 2 bridges to cross over.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:20
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:24:49 | 03.11 miles | 07m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 19/45
Overall: 45/662
Performance: Below average
Course: Started on pavement, then onto beach sand, then onto off-road trail, back on pavement, back thru beach sand, then short sprint on pavement to finish. Majority of run was on off-road trail.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 3