NIantic Bay Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Niantic, Connecticut
United States
Hartford Marathon Foundation
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 17m 39s
Overall Rank = 74/338
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 17/43
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:30 packed car, and left at 5:00. Stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a large coffee and a bagel. Got to race site at 6:00, got a ncie spot on the end of the rack. I gotta gripe about the people who get tehre 15 min. before the race starts then complain about new room on the rack. Get the damn transition area earlier

Met up with Rob and Dave and Dave and I walked down to the swim exit to see what the run was going to be like to T1. We have been forewarned to bring something to wear on our feet, but there was nothing to worry about. Nice east run over the sand and over grass, but it was all uphill for about a 1/2 mile. Hung out, listened to mP3 player, had a clif bar and a bottle of gatorade. I realized that one of the things I like best about doing tri's is the pre-race energy in the transition area, everyone fiddling with everything, even though they've probably all been over it a thousands time before. The pre-race energy is incredible.
Event warmup:

walked down to the water with Dave and took a quiick swim. Water was pleasantly nice. Felt a lot warmet then a coupel of weeks ago, when I had been down with my family.
Swim
  • 16m 30s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 53s / 100 yards
Comments:

First run start. Swim was in Niantic Bay (portion of Long Island Sound). Did I tell you how much I love swimming in my wetsuit, especially in salt water. Found soem clear water pretty quickly, as usual my navigation was all over the place. I'd love to wear a tracker with some GPS during a race, then see it when I finish. Swam comfortably hard. Didn't push to hard, could have definitely gone faster.

Got a little freaked out the last 100 yards of the swim. Swam over a bed of seaweed, that was high enough to brush against your face as you swam over it. Was pulling pieces of it up with each pull of my arm.
What would you do differently?:

Swim a little faster.
Transition 1
  • 03m 24s
Comments:

About a 1/4 mile run to T1, all up hill. Heart was pounding as I came over the first steep hill. Was out of the top part of the wetsuit by the time I got out of the water. Over asphalt the last 50 yards (that felt good on the feet). Sat down, pushed wetsuit over calves then pulled off feet. On with shoes, had a little trouble getting helmet buckled, then ran out of bike exit
What would you do differently?:

nothing really. Was happy about how I got my heart rate down by the time I got into transition. Run was long enough to focus on the things I needed to do in T1
Bike
  • 32m 46s
  • 11.4 miles
  • 20.87 mile/hr
Comments:

I was stoked about my ride. I wanted to ride hard to see how it would affect my run. My overall rank was 50/338. Ride felt great the whole way. Was able to relax right away, stayed with a cadence of 90-95. Got out of the saddle on the hills when I had too. If there weren't so many turns, would have had a higher overall speed.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, ride went great. best race I've had. I'm really getting to love the bike.
Transition 2
  • 01m 27s
Comments:

Saw a guy almost take a header just as I was coming to the dismount line. He made a pretty good save. No problems in T2, except, my stomach wasn't feeling all that great for some reason. Grabbed hat adn race belt and was off.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, pretty much went according to plan
Run
  • 23m 33s
  • 3.5 miles
  • 06m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

No way this course was 3.5 miles. I would say closer to a 5K based on my time. No way I can run sub 7 mpm for 3.5 miles. Left T2 and my stomach was a little queasy. Wasn't sure if it was because of the effort on the bike, but it passed almost as quickly as it came.

Found my legs right away, which was a surprise since I haven't done any brick work since my last race almost over 4 weeks ago adn I pressed pretty good on the bike. Felt great the entire run. Think I was passed by about 3-4 people, and I passed 10-15. Run was basically flat the whole way, some small little hills but nothing major. Run finished by crossing through the sand, then running on the hard packed sand along the edge of the water.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really, maybe start to push a little harder towards the end, but didn't know how far I was from finish.
Post race
Warm down:

Took off shoes adn socks and stood in water to cool off. Had a couple cups of gatorade and then soem ice cream. The ice cream was just what the doctor ordered, tasted like a bit of heaven.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training, especially swim. Also my nutrition has sucked lately, was probably a good 5 lbs heavier then I shoudl be.

Event comments:

very organized race, will defintely coem back next year






Last updated: 2005-08-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:30 | 880 yards | 01m 53s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/43
Overall: 96/338
Performance: Average
Suit: Xterra Vortex Full
Course: Point to point around the point.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:24
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:32:46 | 11.4 miles | 20.87 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/43
Overall: 50/338
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: wasn't as flat as I thought it was going to be. Took a recon ride in the car before I got to the race site this morning. But I was able to stay in the big ring the whole ride except for one hill. I was shooting for 21-22 mph on the bike so I hit it pretty good. Took almost my whole bottle of gatorade over the ride. Passed tons of people on the bike. easily 40-50. Seemed like all I was saying was on your left the whole ride.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 95
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:27
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:23:33 | 03.5 miles | 06m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/43
Overall: 103/338
Performance: Good
Course: Flat, winding through neighborhoods adjacent to beach. Saw soem really nice beach houses
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %0
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? No
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] 4