Sportspectrum River Cities Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Benton, Louisiana
United States
Sportspectrum
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 27m 12s
Overall Rank = 66/1022
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 6/64
Pre-race routine:

Drove up Saturday in the monsoon following Bill and Trish and Sherri and Leon from our tri club. Went straight to packet pickup where the swag was good as advertised - long sleeve tech shirt, cotton t-shirt, logoed tech hat, tech socks, logoed towel, and a logoed laptop bag. Off to packet pickup two, where you just picked up your race numbers. Nice racket they have going there.

Got to the hotel about 4, took a nap, and drove in the rain to Monjunis for the NTM dinner at 6. It finally stopped raining after dinner. Sheesh.

Back to the hotel around 8:45 to clean, dry, and lube Companero. Got my stuff all packed in the car except the bike and went to bed around 11:30.

Up at 5, off to the race site at 5:45. Showed up at 6:30 and traffic wasn't too bad. Only thing I noticed weird about setting up was that they didn't mark your age on your calf.
Event warmup:

10 minute jog, swam to the first buoy and back a few times, hung out in the water until time to start. In the 2nd wave so I didn't have long to wait.
Swim
  • 15m 15s
  • 800 meters
  • 01m 55s / 100 meters
Comments:

Start was bad. Before the first buoy I almost hit a kayak. Oops. Got back on track and pretty much swam solo until the turn from home. On the way back I finally found some feet and stayed on them until I could stand.

Felt like I was a lot faster than 1:55. Not sure how far up the timing mat was from the water.
What would you do differently?:

Draft earlier.
Transition 1
  • 01m 47s
Comments:

Decent transition with no major screwups.
What would you do differently?:

Mount the shoes.
Bike
  • 48m 29s
  • 18.2 miles
  • 22.52 mile/hr
Comments:

Hammerfest. There weren't too many folks on the road since I was in the 2nd wave (first wave was the Elites), so it was kind of quiet. Probably about even on the number of folks I passed and those that passed me. Did catch two of the elites, which was a good feeling.
What would you do differently?:

Use the aerobottle to save time when drinking
Transition 2
  • 01m 16s
Comments:

Remember to unbuckle my helmet while running. Last race it stuck and I lost some time. No problem today.
What would you do differently?:

Ride on top and swoop in rather than a screeching halt and clippity clopping.
Run
  • 20m 27s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

First mile was really good. Passed 5, including 2 elites. Mile 2 I got a stitch in my side which really annoyed me. Not as much as what happened next. At the end of mile 2 we ran a trail portion, which was very muddy thanks to the monsoon. I'm still a little careful having broken my foot 2 months or so ago so I slowed down a lot here. If dry I could have gone faster.

Left the trail about 5 seconds behind a guy with a similar pace as me, so I just put my head down and followed him. About 1/2 a mile from the finish we were directed down a road by some volunteer that didn't know what they were doing. When we started meeting people we had already passed we knew something was up. So we turned around, passed them again, and headed for home.

I was not happy about that, but I was almost done. A few minute later I saw the Sport Spectrum arch right by the road, crossed under and passed over the timing mats. Done. Why is Shannon yelling at me? Oh, that wasn't the finish line. Those mats were there for the announcer to call peoples' names before they finished. Didn't remember seeing anything about that in the packet.

Still frustrated, even more so now, I jogged the rest of the way in. Luckily nobody passed me. Apparently this happened to a lot of folks too.
What would you do differently?:

Not go the wrong way, not stop early.
Post race
Warm down:

Got my finisher's canteen, which was a nice change from another medal, drank lots of water, several free beers, a hot dog, a banana, more water, more beer.

Stretched for about 20 minutes at the false finish line and yelled at people to keep running.

Then hung around for a couple of hours waiting for AG results. I don't understand why Atomic Racing Systems doesn't post your AG ranking when they do the prelim results. I counted that I was 9th in my AG, but I had no idea how many of those were in the elite wave. I was hoping that 5 of those ahead of me had done the elite wave. Sadly only 3 did. Trophies went down to 4th place in my AG. Rats. Not that I had planned to place, but it would have been sweet.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Swim - drafting
Bike - the engine
Run - course knowledge and bad advice from volunteers

Event comments:

Good swim course, one of the best bike courses I've ever seen, and a pretty challenging run course. More expensive than a normal sprint, but the swag you get is worth it. Excellent race.

Just don't go the wrong way on the run or stop too soon. :)




Last updated: 2009-06-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:15:15 | 800 meters | 01m 55s / 100meters
Age Group: 11/64
Overall: 123/1022
Performance: Average
Suit: LG tri top and shorts
Course: Rectangular lake swim with wade start.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:47
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:48:29 | 18.2 miles | 22.52 mile/hr
Age Group: 9/64
Overall: 129/1022
Performance: Good
Min HR: 163 Avg HR: 171 Max HR: 182
Wind: Little
Course: Single loop on epic roads. Mostly flat with rollers and one epic hill with a false top.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:16
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:20:27 | 03.11 miles | 06m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 7/64
Overall: 42/1022
Performance: Average
Min HR: 175 Avg HR: 181 Max HR: 185
Course: Single loop on park roads with a portion on some very muddy trails.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4