Batavia Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Batavia, Illinois
United States
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 21m 9s
Overall Rank = 67/483
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 10/48
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 3.30, had cereal and vitamins for breakfast. I rented a car and packed it last night to save some time in the morning. Got my girlfriend in the car about 4 and off we went. Got there in plenty of time, set up near the end of the rack. So far, so good.
Event warmup:

Not much. Before the start, I waded into the water, got my head and cap wet. Did some warm up stretching just to loosen up, and thats it.
Swim
  • 05m 30s
  • 437 yards
  • 01m 16s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim went a lot better than I expected. The water was a lot warmer than Lake Michigan, which meant I could breath easy and didnt freak out. It was a one-at-a-time start, 5 seconds between swimmers, so there was plenty of room to run into the water, dive in and get going. I put my head down and swam hard for about 6 strokes, then started breathing every other stroke on my left side, looking ahead once in a while to see where I was going. On the the backside of the loop, the water got really shallow, so once my hand starting scraping the sand, I stood up and walked/ran to the start of the second loop. I did the same thing at the end of the race. I think it tired my legs out a lot, trying to run in a sandybottomed pool. The second lap was a lot more crowded than the first, and I think I whacked some poor girl in the head. ouch.

Good news, when I got out, I was with a lot of people numbered 40s and 50s, so I was already moving up the standings!
What would you do differently?:

Try to swim more instead of running to save my legs for later. Overall, this went as well as I could have hoped.
Transition 1
  • 03m 26s
Comments:

My rack was at the far end from the swim exit and bike exit, so this transition was a lot longer. Ran across the parking lot, taking off my cap, goggles, and starting on my wetsuit. I put my helmet and sunglasses on first thing, so I wouldnt think about those. Kicked my wetsuit off, socks on. Not bad. The bike shoes were tough, because my hands were a little shaky and cold. Got them on, race belt too, and I ran with the bike back across the lot to the bike start.

I didnt start with my shoes on the bike because the bike start had three speed bumps right away, then a big hill. I didnt want to mess with putting shoes on going over the bumps, and risk not having them in for the hill. Plus, I'm a little worried having bike shoes adds some time and difficulty.
What would you do differently?:

Rack in a better place. Figure out how to get my shoes on faster.
Bike
  • 41m 2s
  • 14.7 miles
  • 21.49 mile/hr
Comments:

Ever since about 3 weeks ago, when I almost crashed skidding on a turn, I've been way too cautious going around corners. So I've got to get my head on straight for those. Overall though, the bike went well. I just couldn't go as fast as I wanted. My bike computer average topped out at about 21.5, and if I had pushed any harder, I dont know how much I would have had for the run.

Also, getting my feet out of my shoes at the end was tough. That same hill that we started on was at the end, downhill, then the speed bumps, and I was trying to pull my feet out of my shoes before the mat so I didnt fall and embarass myself. Luckily I made it, but it could have been a lot smoother.

On a high note, the only people passing me were tri-bike monsters, so that made me feel good. Kept a lookout for people in my age group, but didnt see many, at least not passing me.
What would you do differently?:

practice mounting and especially dismounting. Figure out just how much I can push myself, and still have something left for the run.
Transition 2
  • 01m 33s
Comments:

I barely got my feet out in time, and my shoes were dragging on the ground, poor babies. Other than that, felt much faster, ran across the lot, helmet and glasses off, hat on, shoes on, tied, gone. The run start was at my end, so that was nice :)
What would you do differently?:

Maybe get some of those stretchy shoelaces so I dont have to tie them!!
Run
  • 29m 40s
  • 4.1 miles
  • 07m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

Ouch. I havent done ANY bricks in my training yet, and I was worried about my legs going in. Of course, the feeling was nothing like I expected. Just felt slow, hard to get my feet moving.

The race course was really nice, but all those people I passed on the bike went flying by me on the run. The weird part was, I didn't see ANYONE from my age group. I know its not the biggest, but wtf?! youd think I'd see at least one other guy.

I felt better as the run went on, and picked up the pace. Finally, at the end, my girlfriend was waiting just before a wooden bridge yelling that the finish was just on the other side. I gave it everything I had, and sprinted through to the end.
What would you do differently?:

Because I had enough energy to sprint at the end, does that mean I didn't go hard enough early in the run? This feels like my weakest leg, and I know I need to get faster to really compete. But today, where I am in my training and experience, I can't complain :)
Post race
Warm down:

Stayed on my feet, stayed loose, drank some water, ate some oranges.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

First tri, so definitely experience.

Event comments:

These were my early season hopes:

Conservative
400 m swim - 7 minutes
14.7 mile bike - 43:50
4.1 mile run - 37 minutes
= 1:27

Super Perfect
400 m swim - 6:30
14.7 bike - 40
4.1 run - 35
= 1:21.30

The biking was tougher than I thought it would be, just because of the rolling hills and sharp turns. But other than that, my training has come a long way in the last couple months. Transition times were fine, I think I can do better, but for a first time, I'm pretty happy :)




Last updated: 2009-06-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:30 | 437 yards | 01m 16s / 100yards
Age Group: 9/48
Overall: 71/483
Performance: Good
Suit: Sleeveless wetsuit
Course: 2 laps around a quarry turned beach/pool.
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 63F / 17C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:26
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:41:02 | 14.7 miles | 21.49 mile/hr
Age Group: 9/48
Overall: 53/483
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: Some little hills, tight turns, lots of nice roads, pretty a perfect bike setup. The turns could have been cleared a little better, some gravel on a couple turns had me worried.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:33
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:29:40 | 04.1 miles | 07m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 17/48
Overall: 88/483
Performance: Good
Course: Nice run on a path long the river, leading into town and city hall.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4