Tri the Creek Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Aurora, Colorado
United States
73F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 28m 52s
Overall Rank = 177/302
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 18/24
Pre-race routine:

Ate a granola bar, a banana, a cup of coffee, and some gatorade.
Event warmup:

Some stretching, got in the lake and swam a few yards.
Swim
  • 20m 26s
  • 800 yards
  • 02m 33s / 100 yards
Comments:

My first open water swim. I really should have practiced open water swimming beforehand. I guess others aren't great at it either, since I got 16/24. Even though it seemed like my swimming was really bad, I'm pretty happy with it for my first open water swim.
What would you do differently?:

Practice open water swimming. Practice swimming with a wetsuit. Learn to breath on both sides. Swim straighter.
Transition 1
  • 02m 30s
Comments:

Did much better than my first tri last month, even with the addition of wetsuit removal. Probably should learn go sockless.
What would you do differently?:

Practice with the wetsuit. I did a test run Friday night, but I didn't do it that smoothly.
Bike
  • 39m 17s
  • 12.53 miles
  • 19.14 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt like I was really pushing it, but only got 17/24 in my age group. Compared to the swim where I felt like I was very slow, here I felt I was very fast. Guess everyone was fast on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Work on riding hard up hills.
Transition 2
  • 00m 57s
Comments:

Happy with T2.
What would you do differently?:

I need to figure out how to deal with my Garmin 305 and transitioning it from bike to run. I suppose learning to get out of my shoes while on the bike might help slightly instead of clipping out.
Run
  • 25m 40s
  • 2.6 miles
  • 09m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

The course was mis-measured and was only 2.6 miles. I wasn't sure if it was just the mileage marker at the 2 mile point that was wrong or if I could push it brecause we only had just over half a mile left at that point. I kept running too fast and having to force myself to slow down to keep from blowing up. Really ran on the edge of my ability and running at a below 10 minute mile pace is awesome for me.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe wear a hat. The sun was pretty tough by the time we got to the run, especially the "out" portion since it was directly into the sun for much of it.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, stretched a little, ate some pizza, drank some beer.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Open water swimming and just general fitness level both have plenty of room for improvement.

Event comments:

They lose big points on organization because of mis-measuring really both the run & bike courses. The bike was advertised as 13 miles, but garmin said 12.53, and the run was only 2.6 instead of 5k. The first mile marker was exactly right, but the 2nd mile marker was only .6 miles later. If I had known for sure that the course was only 2.6 I might have pushed a little harder, but I really didn't have much more to give. Then again, the guy in 17th beat me by 1.2 seconds and I probably could have passed him.

Overall, I'm exceedingly happy with my performance. I have never pushed myself that hard in an athletic event. It was gratifying to not only not finish dead last in my age group, but to beat several people.




Last updated: 2009-07-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:26 | 800 yards | 02m 33s / 100yards
Age Group: 16/24
Overall: 0/302
Performance: Good
Suit: yes
Course: Cherry Creek Reservoir, U shaped course around two buoys and back in.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:30
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:39:17 | 12.53 miles | 19.14 mile/hr
Age Group: 17/24
Overall: 0/302
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Out and back around Cherry Creek Reservoir. One decent hill and a couple of smaller ones.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:57
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:25:40 | 02.6 miles | 09m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 21/24
Overall: 0/302
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back on the bike path at Cherry Creek Reservoir.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4