New Jersey State Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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West Windsor, New Jersey
United States
CGI Racing
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 24m 8s
Overall Rank = 410/1129
Age Group = CLYDE
Age Group Rank = 14/57
Pre-race routine:

Woke up around 4:30AM and jumped into the shower to loosen up a little. Ate my bagel w/ peanut butter and started drinking some Powerade. Loaded the car and left for the park. Got there around 5:15AM, got body-marked and then set up shop in transition.
Event warmup:

Took a ride out of the park to the Wawa on Quakerbridge Rd. Got some coffee. Rode back to transition and went for a jog (that turned into a walk) and stopped to stretch. My left achilles has been bothering me a lot. Went back to transition, took a GU, grabbed my goggles and swim cap and headed down to the swim start. Jumped in the water and tried to get loose.
Swim
  • 10m 3s
  • 547 yards
  • 01m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

Time from NJ State sprint '07 - 9:22
Time from NJ State sprint '08 - 9:52
Time from NJ State sprint '09 - 10:03

Race directors announced that the swim would be wetsuit legal. Now I brought my wetsuit - but decided against using it. I wanted a real comparision between what I did in years past without a wetsuit and what I could accomplish today. So - no wetsuit even though I probably do the swim portion maybe 1-2 minutes faster wearing the wetsuit.

After the start, I sprinted out the 1st 100 yards really hard and then slowed down. It seems every time that I decide I want to "race" I need more air and I screw my breathing up. I started taking a breath almost every stroke until I passed the turn buoy - then I was able to get a better 1-2-3 stroke/breath rhythm going. I still stopped to breaststroke waaaaay too many times in order to catch my breath. I'm starting to think I swim much faster from the outset if I swim under control instead of getting caught up in the moment and going all out at the beginning.
What would you do differently?:

Can't figure this one out. I think I stopped to breastroke and catch my breath too often.
Transition 1
  • 02m 11s
Comments:

My time from the swim exit to the transition entrance was good - I ran pretty good too. The problem was when I crossed over into transition I walked the length of transition until I reached my rack. Once I got to my bike everything went smoothly. Really good transition except for the walking at the beginning.


What would you do differently?:

Run after crossing the timing mat. I ran pretty good from the swim exit up the enbankment - but was resolved to walking once i entered the transition area.
Bike
  • 33m 45s
  • 11.5 miles
  • 20.44 mile/hr
Comments:

Time from NJ State sprint '07 (13.5 mile course) - 37:03 (21.4 mph)
Time from NJ State sprint '08 (11.5 mile course) - 32:49 (21.0 mph)
Time from NJ State sprint '09 (11.5 mile course) - 33:45 (20.4 mph)

I was ready to go this year. My fitness levels and base were supposed to be stronger this year than last year or years' past. In 2007 I did ride out on the road for prep of this race a lot more than this year though. This year most of the training was either in a spin class or on my trainer.

I started the 1st leg of the race (within the park) fairly well. My plan was to get up to about 18-19 mph with a high cadence to loosen my legs up and stretch out a little until I reached Hughes Dr. Following the right turn onto Hughes I would shift to a smaller ring and pick up the intensity. Everything was fine. By the time I reached Quakerbridge I was up around 22-23 mph. We made the right turn onto Village (I believe) and started up on a very slight incline. I dropped to about 20-21 mph. After making another right turn onto South Post - I pushed it back up to about 25mph until we made a left onto Conover. Once on Conover I was up and down from anywhere between 26mph to 18 mph. I stopped counting people I passed at 70.

My problem started right after the turn off of Village onto Old Trenton Rd. After making the turn I pushed it up to about 26mph until I ran into car traffic. There wasn't a shoulder to go around the 3 or 4 cars ahead of me and they were slowing down because of the bikers ahead of them. So from the initial right hand turn at Old Trenton Rd - thru the intersection of Old Trenton Road and Edinburg Rd then up to the entrance back into the park - I was STUCK behind a Ford F250 pickup truck and 3 cars in front of that. What was I gonna do? That was about 2 miles I had to wait. My mph dropped to about 15mph!!! My time most definitley goes from 33 minutes to about 29 or 30 minutes if I didn't get stuck in the traffic jam.

Still - ranked #98 out of 1129 ain't horrible.
What would you do differently?:

I think I'm finished using Zipps. At least until I drop 40 lbs. I used them two years in a row and my mph has decreased each year.

Probably didn't help that I got stuck behind three cars and a truck on a road without a shoulder to go around them.
Transition 2
  • 01m 44s
Comments:

Gonna attempt to start swinging my leg over to the other side and jumping off and start running.
What would you do differently?:

Again I ran pretty decent after I dismounted. I even passed 2 or 3 others on the way to transition. But again - right after I passed the transition area timing mat - I walked to my rack. Again - once I got to my rack, everything went smooth. Walking to my rack was the "slow-down" factor in my time.
Run
  • 36m 28s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 11m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

Time from NJ State sprint '07 - 29:46 (9:37 mile)
Time from NJ State sprint '08 - 32:00 (10:20 mile)
Time from NJ State sprint '09 - 36:28 (11:30 mile)

This is a really bad pattern here.

Today my right achilles was just screaming. I did a race last weekend and it was swollen all day last Sunday and then still swollen on Monday. I probably should have decided to get off the asphalt earlier and run on the grass. Once I started running on the grass (just before the turn aorund and the bridge) I was able to tolerate it much better. Most of the 75-100 people I passed on the bike course came back and passed me.
What would you do differently?:

This one is easy. I had to walk a lot and run on the grass because my right achilles has blown up. Stopped for a month because of shin splints, started running again and my achilles is the problem now. Can anyone say calf problems?
Post race
Event comments:

Still the race I consider to be my "A" race. The one I try to train all year for! Terrific race!




Last updated: 2009-05-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:10:03 | 547 yards | 01m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/57
Overall: 164/1129
Performance: Below average
Suit: Zoot Ultra Racesuit
Course:
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 02:11
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:33:45 | 11.5 miles | 20.44 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/57
Overall: 99/1129
Performance: Below average
Wind: None
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: low
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:44
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:36:28 | 03.11 miles | 11m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/57
Overall: 950/1129
Performance: Bad
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5