Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Huddleston, Virginia
United States
Set Up Events
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 52m 7s
Overall Rank = 240/255
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 18/23
Pre-race routine:

Stayed in condo nearby >> a few sips of coffee & a biscotti (not hungry) >> to race set-up by 7:30 >> set up transitions
Event warmup:

stretched >> light swimming
Swim
  • 15m 16s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

Wow, that was much worse than I expected to do. I'm a former competitive swimmer.

The water temp, crowding and agitation wasn't bad and the wet-suit was a good temperature, BUT I had only swum in the wet suit once and that was indoors. MISTAKE!
I looked around after the first 100 or so, with my stroke and breathing feeling pretty darn good, and I was in 3rd place in our wave; which surprised me as I wasn't pushing. Almost immediately on lifting my head, I began to struggle to breathe (without signs of panic, go figure). Basically the wet-suit felt very constricting around the base of my neck and my chest. (Kinda like when you're breathing underwater with a snorkle).
Breaststroke didn't work so well in the wet-suit (feet pop out of the water and the stretching of the neck was still a problem) and treading water didn't help, so I settled on elementary back and back crawl through most of the first 2/3. After rounding the last buoy for home, I did crawl most of the way in. A weird and unsettling.
What would you do differently?:

How many times have y'all advised NOT TO TRY ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY?!?!

I need more practice swimming in the wet-suit.

For Brezzy point, I won't wear a wet-suit if at all possible.
Transition 1
  • 04m 28s
Comments:

(see below)

Also, I was pretty fried and distraught from my swim experience. I should have hurried more, but I was trying to compose myself.
What would you do differently?:

stick with cleated cycling shoes
Bike
  • 54m 43s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 13.63 mile/hr
Comments:

Here we go with MISTAKE NUMBER 2 ...How many times have y'all advised NOT TO TRY ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY?!?!

I fell in love with the idea of "Pyro Platforms" which I mounted on my SPD pedals last night and thought I had tested out. They're supposed to allow one to cycle in running shoes (even though I've always used SPD cycle shoes for Centuries or even about town riding)

I crossed the timing mat, mounted my bike and tried to slip in to the Pyro, but I had forgotten to loosen the velcro. Wobbled a bunch. Had to stop. Then I tried again ... and the darn things popped out of the pedals, not once, not twice, but 3 times. I finally just stopped and velcroed (is that a verb?) them to my seat post for the duration and rode on SPD pedals with freakin' running shoes.

Time to go the first 75 yards = probably 5 minutes.

Time lost cycling in running shoes without pedals = probably 5-10 minutes on the bike and some leg strength for the run.
What would you do differently?:

stick with cleated cycling shoes and ride like I know how
Transition 2
  • 02m 43s
Comments:

Hey, I was already IN my running shoes. :)
Run
  • 34m 57s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 11m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

mostly walked the uphills and concentrated on stretching out my stride -- jogged the flats and downhills
What would you do differently?:

It my worst and least favorite component and I avoided training outdoors. I don't think the treadmill is any sort of good substitute.

Need to build up to run the whole thing.
Post race
Warm down:

Chatted with my neighbors and compared notes. Ate 1 & 1/2 cliff bars. Waited for my daughter to accept her trophy (3rd place in 20-24 in her FIRST Tri)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I suspect there are 2-3 minutes lying around in the swim by doing freestyle correctly the whole way. T1 would have then been maybe a minute faster if I weren't out of breath and out of sorts. The bike would have been 12 minutes faster without the Pyro melt-down. The run could have been 1-2 minutes better too, but mostly it won't improve until I commit to it.

Event comments:

Folks were great -- organizers, national guard, volunteers, spectators & fellow competitors.

The course was very nice.

I just wanted to finish this race and I did. Gained some knowledge too.




Last updated: 2009-05-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:15:16 | 820 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 158/255
Performance: Bad
none obtained
Suit: full sleeve wet-suit
Course: rectangle start at left beach and exit right
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 66F / 19C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:28
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
00:54:43 | 12.43 miles | 13.63 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 246/255
Performance: Bad
n/a
Wind: None
Course: small loop in park, then out and back on a main road
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 80
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:43
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:34:57 | 03.11 miles | 11m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/23
Overall: 237/255
Performance: Average
n/a
Course: out and back, utilizing the first part of the bike loop -- uphill from lake for the first mile, but the downhill coming home was sweet
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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