Capital of Texas Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Austin, Texas
United States
Capital of TexasTriathlon
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 29m 30s
Overall Rank = 193/1327
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 21/134
Pre-race routine:

Up at 5:15 after pretty good sleep, cheerios+raisin bran and a coffee at 5:45 which is 2.5 hours before my wave start at 8:20. Man I'm bringing a lot of stuff today. Parked kind of far away so had to lug everything to transition.
Event warmup:

No real warmup: we were kicked out of the transition area at 7:05, my wave was the last to leave at 8:20 (actual 8:30). Sat around, went to the toilet twice, then found Alex S. who's leaving at 8:15 so we chatted until our waves left. Started to get hot in the sun.
Swim
  • 24m 21s
  • 1500 yards
  • 01m 37s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first triathlon wearing a wetsuit (thanks Keith!). Some chafing on the neck, other than that I felt like a torpedo. My left goggle filled up with water; after pausing twice to empty/fix, I punted and swam 1400 yards pop-eye style.
I didn't really push too hard in the water. I ended up being moderately sore in the neck and arms, but nothing horrible, so I probably under-trained again. I guess I end up relying on technique and my background of swimming as a child.
I didn't aggressively turn the buoys, instead just eased through my turns with one eye closed.
I'll conclude that the swimsuit helped: my target pace was 1:40 based on swim workouts, which I hit but without really pushing.

What would you do differently?:

Bring goggles that are tested and work. Round the turns quicker and more efficiently. Train a bit more - maybe try to hang with the front group (drafting early). I think I can squeeze out a true 1:30 pace in the next one
Transition 1
  • 03m 52s
Comments:

The transitions are long for this race. Worse, my bike was on rack #2, farthest from the exit - holy crap that was a long run through dirt and rocks.
This was the first time doing the shoes in pedals, but without rubber bands they gave me some trouble while jogging and again when mounting.
I rode without socks and my feet were nasty but no problems with blisters or anything.
I left the Forerunner turned OFF, fearing the 3 hour delay pause might drain batteries; in retrospect that was a silly time penalty.
What would you do differently?:

Try rubber band trick on shoes-in-pedals. Practice transitions and get stuff on faster (without thinking), and just plain RUN FASTER. Leave the computer on (batteries should last 8 hours!). Finally, skip drinking in T1 - I ended up with some fluids left on the bike
Bike
  • 1h 09m 6s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 21.58 mile/hr
Comments:

I rode on my 2001 Fuji, which is a bit heavy but fits me well. I ascended and descended well, "burning matches" on all 8 short ascents, and accelerating out of corners pretty well. I pegged my HR the whole way in laps 1 and 2, but notice now I let up on the last 2 a bit.
The Fuji felt fast downhill - I passed some age groupers but gave some back on the flats. Not sure if this is a fitness thing or a strategic issue, or maybe an equipment issue.
One 44 yr old guy was drafting like he was in a road race, the bastard. I was hoping there were some referees watching because he wasn't even trying to hide his drafting. He tried shadowing me on the descent down Congress on lap 4, so I shook him with some lane changing like I was in a road race as well LOL.
I came off the bike feeling a bit crampy and stiff, wondering if I went off to hard, but as turned out it was about right for a 40k.

What would you do differently?:

Stay in the aero bars for the *entire* flats and descents. Drink a bit more (I had some left over, and wasted time in T1 drinking). Try to negative split all 4 quadrants - peg the HR in lap 3 and lap 4, let up only in the last mile.
Transition 2
  • 03m 32s
Comments:

I didn't know the trick of taking the feet out of the shoes, so I actually unclipped and had to carry (then reclip) one shoe during the run.
My back gets bent/cramped like an old man's, which slows me down during T2 (and during mile 1). This will kill me to the tune of 2-3 minutes, which in a sprint is terrible, not so bad in this Oly.


What would you do differently?:

Take feet out of shoes in last mile, pedal on top, dismount on the run. Drink more fluids while on the bike during last mile too.
I need to see a therapist about the lower back as well, and start a regime that will strengthen/unravel the back problem (especially if I do a sprint).

Run
  • 48m 46s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 51s  min/mile
Comments:

The first mile of the run was pretty bad, my back was stiff (see T2 notes), legs felt crampy, and I had visions of popping/cramping for sure. But after the first turnaround I cranked out a couple of 7:30 miles without unraveling so I settled in. Turns out mile 3 was short, so that was a nice mental boost to think I ran a 7:15 mile.
I stopped drinking at stations, instead used them to douse the head to cool off (I was full and couldn't really drink much anyway).
I felt I did an okay job pushing, except for between mile 4 and 5 I felt pegged - the HR wasn't coming down, it was hot. But then I pushed it up the hill and popped out a 7:23 last mile so I guess I did all right.

What would you do differently?:

Get some work done on the back to speed up the first 2 miles. Push a bit harder early (get HR up in 165 range and see how you feel). Concentrate on technique (turnover, stride length).
Post race
Warm down:

None really - drink 2 bottles of water, 1 bottle gatorade, eat a banana.
Skipped the massage, it was too long of a line.
Missed my tee shirt - where were they?
Saw the family and wanted to get out of there and get a good meal.


What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hesitation to "push it" (knowing boundaries). Training. Back problems. Equipment - the old Fuji is heavy.

Event comments:

No fluids on the bike, but for a 10k I guess that is okay, so I still said "Yes" above.




Last updated: 2009-05-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:24:21 | 1500 yards | 01m 37s / 100yards
Age Group: 17/134
Overall: 138/1327
Performance: Average
N/A - Forerunner 305 doesn't work in the water.
Suit: Pro Motion full
Course: In the water wave start, upstream to the tressle (I think), downstream to Congress bridge (second one), back to Auditorium shores, out via ramp.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:52
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:09:06 | 24.85 miles | 21.58 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/134
Overall: 230/1327
Performance: Good
Laps are skewed, but here it is: #1 13.35mi 37:46 21.2 163avg 170max #2 10.40mi 30:00 20.8 157avg 166max
Wind: Little
Course: 4 10k laps: From 1st Street bridge up C. Chavez, over to Congress, up the hill to the Capital and back to C. Chavez, out to Austin High and back to and across 1st Street bridge, to a turnaround on the bridge.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 03:32
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:48:46 | 06.21 miles | 07m 51s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/134
Overall: 229/1327
Performance: Average
Some per-mile HR data (first 5k lap) lap dist time pace avg max #3 0.14 1:12 8:50 143 153 #4 0.22 1:45 7:59 156 158 #5 0.74 5:47 7:46 160 163 #6 0.93 7:14 7:46 163 166 #7 1.01 7:29 7:23 165 167 #8 0.24 1:48 7:38 165 167 (second 5k lap) lap dist time pace avg max #9 0.97 7:40 7:55 164 167 #10 0.93 7:37 8:10 164 167 #11 1.02 7:34 7:23 169 188 #12 0.21 1:29 7:04 174 178
Course: 2 5k laps: out of transition; down Riverside to Dawson, out and back to Barton Creek turnaround, back on Riverside to Congress bridge, up to 3rd street with a 3 block turn around on Brazos, back to Congress, back over the bridge, then down Riverside again to the finish.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4