Health Net Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Shelton, Connecticut
United States
Tri Fitness
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 13m 42s
Overall Rank = 14/248
Age Group = M3034
Age Group Rank = 2/26
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4:30, had bagel and coffee and left just after 5:00. I got to the race site at quarter of 6:00 and had plenty of time to get everything set up. I even had time to ride my bike around a little to make sure my adjustments to my derailer were good. I thought they were, but I should have tried in my big ring.
Event warmup:

Swam a little to remind myself what the wetsuit feels like and stretched on land while the first waves started.
Swim
  • 28m 51s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 55s / 100 meters
Comments:

This was my first time in my wetsuit or in open water for the year. It made me realize that I need to do this more often. Even though I've been doing well in the pool, I felt like it didn't translate to the open water and my stroke felt as if it was off.

I started hard with a few dolphin dives to try to get out fast and with some fast swimmers to draft off. The first bouys were only a couple hundred meters out and I wanted to swim as fast as I could around them and then fall into a draft. I swam hard, but I didn't feel like I was moving very well and my body position in the wetsuit felt so much different than I was used to in the pool.

I got around the first turns and slid in behind the guy that was next to me, but he seemed like he was slowing down. I kept looking around for a better place to be and saw someone passing the group I was in and I accelerated to get behind him. I stayed with him for a couple hundred meters or maybe until the half point when we started catching the stragglers from the previous waves. I lost my guy in traffic and couldn't close the gap and I was on my own dodging the previous waves swimmers for the rest of the swim.

Although it didn't work out, I was happy that I was able to sight and stay aware of what was going on and plan where I wanted to swim. The course must have been long because there is no way I was that slow.

What would you do differently?:

Do some open water swims in my wetsuit. If weather permits, I'll do my bi-weekly continuous swims in open water for the rest of the season.
Transition 1
  • 01m 44s
Comments:

Had trouble getting my suit off my heels like usual. I never practiced this year, so this transition was as good as I could expect. The Mucinex I took that morning for my cold probably didn't help.
What would you do differently?:

Practice and not be sick.
Bike
  • 1h 00m 27s
  • 21.1 miles
  • 20.94 mile/hr
Comments:

I put my new wheels on a couple days prior to the race and learned about adjusting my rear derailer for the first time by watching videos online. I thought everything was working fine, but I had trouble shifting during the race and had to settle for less than optimum gears several times. I also dropped my chain on one of the big climbs towards the beginning, but that was just being careless and not from playing bike mechanic the day before. I don't think the maladjusted rear derailer slowed me down, but it was annoying and probably not good for my drive train. I'm usually good about the "nothing new on race day" rule, but I only got the tools to move my cassette to my new wheels on Thursday.

I also had the misfortune of experiencing speed wobble while going 47 mph down one of the big hills. I had read about this phenomenon previously, so I knew to relax and put my knees on the top tube and it only lasted 5 seconds or so. A truck had pulled out in front of me and there was a cross wind, so I'm blaming those causing me tense up and cause it. I should also check to make sure my headset and wheels are tight.

Aside from the shifting and the speed wobble it was an uneventful ride. I passed lots of people at the beginning and then it thinned out.
What would you do differently?:

Learn how to adjust my rear derailer better and if I do so in the future, make sure I do a real ride to make sure it works. Stop dropping my chain when shifting from the big to small ring.
Transition 2
  • 00m 46s
Comments:

Almost lost it on my dismount. I heard the announcer making a comment how it can be dangerous or tricky getting off your bike while it is still moving. Glad I could be an illustrative example for the crowd.
Run
  • 41m 53s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 06m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

I was shooting for 6:40 to 6:45 and hit that goal. The start over uneven dirt under the pine trees and then the hills are brutal. I never saw anyone in my age group and just tried to keep an even pace though the run. I had some stomach cramping or stitch during the second loop and backed off a little.
Post race
Warm down:

I had some cookies, took a dip in the river, cleaned up my transition area and changed in my car. Went back to the finish area and had a sandwich and saw that I placed in my age group, which surprised me since last year there seemed to be a lot of speedy people here gunning for the cash prizes.
So I waited around for the awards. They took forever to get going and then they had local politicians and sponsors give their speeches and that took a long time too. After all that waiting I was disappointed that all I got was a little medal. Two years ago they gave out half price entries for the next year as the second place prize.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fighting off a cold for the last couple days and the mostly long slow work for IMWI is not good for short course.

Event comments:

This course has some very good points like the nice river swim, good transition area and post race food, but the bike course being short of 40k by a few miles and the busy and sometimes rough roads it goes on are a big negative. I thought it was short last year because of a last minute course change, but this year was the same. Unless they change the course to make it a true Olympic distance I won't be back.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-05-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:28:51 | 1500 meters | 01m 55s / 100meters
Age Group: 4/26
Overall: 25/248
Performance: Average
Suit: Blue Seventy Reaction
Course: Long, narrow rectangle in the river. No current or chop and the water seemed clean and the start area was sandy. The start was either deep or shallow depending where you are.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:44
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:00:27 | 21.1 miles | 20.94 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/26
Overall: 16/248
Performance: Good
160 bpm
Wind: Little
Course: Uphill for 4 or five miles and then some steep descents and rollers. The course is on some nice back roads and then some pretty busy roads and I wondered how much traffic there would be for the people riding later in the day. The course is not even close to 40k.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering:
Gear changes: Bad Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:46
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:41:53 | 06.2 miles | 06m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/26
Overall: 19/248
Performance: Average
1 - 6:45 - 171bpm -- 2 - 6:43 - 173bpm -- 3 - 6:50 - 169bpm -- 4 - 6:56 - 173bpm -- 5 - 7:08 - 170bpm -- 6 - 6:32 - 171bpm -- .2- 6:21 - 176bpm
Course: Half mile on grass and dirt then onto the road for a double out and back over rolling hills. Pretty rough course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3