Big Shark New Twon Traithlon - TriathlonSprint


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St. Louis, Missouri
United States
Ultramax
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 54m 49s
Overall Rank = 192/434
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 14/34
Pre-race routine:

On Saturday swam about 1000m to loosen up yoga-induced shoulder soreness. Too many downward dogs, evidently. Anyway Sunday morning was up by 5, out the door by six with breakfast of rice/blueberries and coffee.
Event warmup:

From my vast amounts of triathlon experience (ahem...1 season..), I knew that this time-trial start, like any other, would take a while. I brought ate PB+J sandwich to tide me over during the warmup. Nothing less fun than racing on an empty stomach. In fact, I think that's the main reason I race - to EAT. Yum. Especially barbeque. Anyway..EVENT WARMUP. Hopped in the water for about a 2 minute swim then stood in line for about 30 minutes waiting for the start. Should have swam a bit more but it worked out ok in the end.
Swim
  • 21m 41s
  • 1094 yards
  • 01m 59s / 100 yards
Comments:

First 200m my ankle strap felt really loose. I was really scared about losing it so I just decided to not kick for basically the rest of the swim. Smart decision? Probably not. Rest of the swim was fine, I had practiced in this lake so was very familiar. Very little traffic because of the time-trial start. Did have some problems sighting off the longest "leg" buoy. I'm sure the lifeguards had seen it all by that point but I definitely made a 90-degree turn mid-swim to put myself back on course.
What would you do differently?:

Check ankle strap before starting. Use clear goggles instead of tinted (I need new ones anyway).

I don't use a heart-rate monitor, but I think my HR would be laughably low for the swim. I just get out there and cruise along thinking "my what a nice day for a swim!". Obviously need to improve my mental aggressiveness in the water.

I also need to work on engaging my core a little more to keep my hips higher. This will only improve with added stroke-work in the pool. Who doesn't love that!!!
Transition 1
  • 01m 17s
Comments:

Well. It's T1. Nothing exiting. Wetsuit came off fine and mount was actually really good for not being flying.
What would you do differently?:

It seems like flying mounts are the "flip-turns" of triathlons. I'll figure it out someday.
Bike
  • 1h 01m 35s
  • 19.5 miles
  • 19.00 mile/hr
Comments:

Well if you don't set a PR on this bike course then you are just plain not trying hard enough. There are NO HILLS. NONE. Which actually kind of sucked for me because I'm one of the few that enjoy a little bit of elevation gain. I just sat in my drops the whole time and tried to motor home. Felt some stomach upset at mile 8 but it eventually went away. I remembered to drop a gear coming into corners which felt great.
What would you do differently?:

For stomach - no dairy for breakfast. There was some in my rice and coffee and, while delicious, just has no place in my system on race day.

For speed - I need to remember to challenge myself in the gearing. I stayed in the big ring up front the whole time as planned, but with 5 miles to go started to challenge myself with harder gears behind and, lo and behold, I WENT FASTER! Imagine that! I feel like I could have put the hammer down a little more just by continuing to experiment with gear selection throughout the course. Still, it was my fastest MPH this year.
Transition 2
  • 00m 59s
Comments:

T2. As usual. In and out.
Run
  • 29m 17s
  • 4 miles
  • 07m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

Two loops around the "city" streets of Stepfordian New Town. First mile I always just try to get legs under me. Worked well here and continued my pace for the next three. Was really disappointed that there was no one to sprint against at the end - the announcer was doing a great job and I wanted to race!!
What would you do differently?:

My run training has really slacked off since the SLTC runs ended. Need to get back on that horse for sure. But I was happy with maintaining my 5k pace from last month's race into this longer distance.
Post race
Warm down:

Um....eating?? Walking around? In sweatpants!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Here comes some soul-baring...I was not motivated for this race. Even though the venue is great and so close, the flatness of the course just does not inspire me. Sorry! Therefore my mind was not so much in the game and I came out of the race thinking "well, at least it was a good workout". I know to be faster I will need to put in some serious mind-body work and with the place that I am in training, it's just not happening. Not sure if I'm ok with that or not. I need a new challenge!

Event comments:

Venue and organization were above average. Pretty much the key to my heart from a race-directing standpoint is to post the results online ASAP. And these ones were up before I got home! Great work Ultramax!! Everything was logically laid-out and it was easy to perform as an athlete. Good work Big Shark! The only thing I would improve is the swim exit - very rocky/slippery/muddy/annoying.




Last updated: 2009-06-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:41 | 1094 yards | 01m 59s / 100yards
Age Group: 24/34
Overall: 0/434
Performance: Average
Suit: sleeveless wetsuit
Course: two turns in a man-made lake. Start is running down the dock and jumping in. Exit is a bit rocky and slippery.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:17
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:01:35 | 19.5 miles | 19.00 mile/hr
Age Group: 12/34
Overall: 0/434
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Serpentine route through country roads. Roads were in fairly good condition once we got out of New Town. (the gravel? the grating? these things scare me!)
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:59
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:29:17 | 04 miles | 07m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/34
Overall: 0/434
Performance:
Course: Two loops that are...wait for it...FLAT. Think tortilla flat. Pancake flat. (can you tell I race for food??)
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4