Fleet Feet Aquathon #2 - Aquathlon


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Madison, Wisconsin
United States
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 33m 44s
Overall Rank = 7/101
Age Group = M20-29
Age Group Rank = 5/
Pre-race routine:

This was an evening race, so I didn't know exactly how to eat during the day. I had a regular lunch, but then 2.5 hours before the race I ate a large bowl of cereal. I drank water and gatorade until about 30 minutes before the start, because it was hot. Arrived at the race site about 70 minutes before the start, so that gave me enough time to warm up and get a choice transition spot (although they are all pretty good).
Event warmup:

Jogged about 1.25 miles. My legs felt reasonably good. Not exactly fresh, but not hurting or overly fatigued. Then I stretched everything. Then I got about a 5-minute swim warmup in just before the race. My swim form felt off and my arms didn't feel as strong as I would have liked. Part of that was the waves. They can toss you around a little.
Run
  • 00m
  • 0 miles
  •  min/mile
Transition 1
  • 00m
Swim
  • 13m 34s
  • 1094 yards
  • 01m 14s / 100 yards
Comments:

Based on recent races, my goal today was to hit 14 minutes flat. At the last aquathon I swam 14:40.

Since it was a beach start, I was aggressive running into the water to get ahead of the pack, then dolphin dived for maybe 30 seconds before swimming. Two guys near me did the same thing, and I basically followed their lead. So, for a brief moment, I was 3rd in the swim overall. After I started swimming the guys ahead of me took off and fast people behind me started passing me. I basically faked the swim until the first turn, because I was up front but I didn't have the speed to stay up there.

After the first turn, I tried to draft, but failed. I didn't surge at the right times so I lost the feet. Oh well. I mostly swam my own race for the rest. Part of the reason was that I didn't feel strong or fast at the time. I was kind of giving up on the swim and planning to do better in the run. It turns out I was faster than I thought, which I attribute to excellent navigation between the buoys. That's the advantage of being near the front: you can actually sight.
What would you do differently?:

I gotta work on my drafting. I had a few good opportunities today that I didn't use well.
Transition 2
  • 00m 32s
Comments:

I'm still trying to find the optimal transition spot. This time I picked one about 2/3 of the way through the transition zone, but it was still too close to the swim exit. I didn't have the top half of my suit off when I arrived at my stuff.

Despite that, I had a fast transition. My suit came off fast, and I didn't wear a shirt or sunglasses this time (smart!). Shoes on and I was gone.

My T1 rank was 7th overall (or 4th, depending on how you count ties).
What would you do differently?:

Move all the way to the end of the the transition zone. That is the optimal spot! It gives the most time to strip the wetsuit while running, but it doesn't add any extra distance. Next time I'm gonna win T1!
Run
  • 19m 40s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

This was a reasonably good run (last time I was 22:00+). I wanted to do about 19 minutes, for a total time of 34 minutes. Since my swim was faster than expected I could afford to go 19:40 here.

Legs may feel like bricks after a bike ride, but they feel like noodles after a swim. I had the disco legs for the first mile or so, feeling pretty unstable as I ran. But my pace was fast. The first mile had a healthy uphill in it and it was my fastest mile.

In the 2nd mile I backed off the pace. My stomach started bothering me, and I didn't really feel like pressing through it. I kinda wanted to get a look at who was ahead of me at the turnaround too. So, the 2nd mile and some of the 3rd mile was pretty much cruise control.

After 2.5 miles I started to go after 2 guys ahead of me who were in striking distance. I also wanted to keep one dude behind me from passing. So, I attacked on an uphill. It took a lot out of me, but I got 1 of the 2 guys. I planned to get the second guy during the finishing straightaway, but I just didn't have it in me mentally today. I went fast for the last 1/3 mile, but so did the guy ahead of me. I closed the gap a bit but I needed an all-out sprint to finish it off--and I decided not to do that. He went off course near the end though, so during the race I was thinking that I might let him go ahead of me even if I caught him. If he didn't go off course I would not have had a chance at catching him anyway.

The important thing is that no one caught ME. I thought I was in 8th place at the end, but apparently I was 7th. Sweet. My run was 5th fastest overall.

Mile 1: 6:05
Mile 2: 7:02
Mile 3: 6:06
Final 0.1: 0:27

What would you do differently?:

I'm gonna do situps between now and the next aquathon, because my stomach does not enjoy running after swimming. I don't think it's a food thing.

Also, next time I'm going to make a move on whoever is in front of me before the finishing straightaway. I probably could have caught that one guy if I moved earlier, i.e., before he started his kick.

Next race: 13:30 swim + 0:25 T1 + 19:00 run = 32:55 total

My goal is to keep climbing the series standings. After the first race I was like 22nd or something because of a bad run. With 2 races finished, I'm now tied for 8th. Dang, I think that crappy first-race performance is going to cost me an award at the end. I think I can get up to 5th place in the end, but 1st-3rd are all in my age group and probably too far out of reach.
Post race
Warm down:

I was planning an easy 5 mile run later, so I didn't do any jogging or stretching. Just got some calories in my system.

My 5 mile run turned out to be about 3/4 of a mile, because my legs were more tired than I thought. So I guess that's my cooldown.

I cooled my legs in Lake Mendota for 15 minutes too while I watched ducks attack each other.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Mile 2 of the run could have been a lot better. I have to push through the pain next time.

Also the air had a high resistance due to the presence of millions of gnats. When I finished the race I thought I had grown green chest hair because my chest was coated with them.

Event comments:

Low-key event. Just enough frills to make it a good race. E.g., chip timing, good post-race refreshments, well-marked course, and good music playing. The people that conduct this race are P-R-O's.




Last updated: 2009-06-11 12:00 AM
Running
00:00:00 | 00 miles |  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/101
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
T1
Time:  00:00
Overall:
Putting on cap, goggles and wetsuit:
Getting out of shoes:
Swimming
00:13:34 | 1094 yards | 01m 14s / 100yards
Age Group: 6/
Overall: 16/101
Performance: Good
Suit: Salamander suit, of course
Course: Counterclockwise triangle in Lake Mendota. Clear water. Plenty of algae to eat in case I got hungry.
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 63F / 17C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time:  00:32
Overall: Good
Removing cap, goggles and wetsuit: Good
Getting into shoes: Good
Running
00:19:40 | 03.11 miles | 06m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/
Overall: 5/101
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5