Cape Henlopen Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Lewes, Delaware
United States
Piranha Sports
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 31m 6s
Overall Rank = 101/408
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 18/52
Pre-race routine:

Got up at around 5am at my friend's house in Georgetown, DE and drove to the site. Parked and went to set things up. I had forgotten to pump my tires, so I had to get the bike mech to do it for me. Yes, I was one of those people.
It was pretty cold (which has been the case with every event I've done this season!) so I put on my suit with about 30 minutes to go. The guy next to me had managed to get his wetsuit on all the way and was about to zip it up when I pointed out to him that he had it on backwards. Heh.
Event warmup:

We had to walk about 1/2 mile from transition to swim start along freezing cold asphalt. Some people had brought flip-flops or crocs. Not me. It was incredibly unpleasant--like walking on my bones. The sand was cold, but at least it was soft.

Swim
  • 19m 38s
  • 437 yards
  • 04m 29s / 100 yards
Comments:

About two minutes from the gun, I looked over, and saw a guy standing next to me who had, similar to the guy back in transition, managed to get his wetsuit on wrong--this guy had it on inside out. I was about to say something and thought better of it. Not much he could have done about it at that point anyway.

This swim started really well-- I got into the water, past the breakers and out around the buoy really quickly, but I just didn't feel like I was going very fast. It wasn't exhausting or anything. I didn't feel like I was swimming against a current, but maybe I was. I got out of the water at around 13 minutes, which is way down from what I usually swim. I was expecting to finish in around 9 minutes at most. Not really sure what happened. I finished in a group of a lot of swimmers from the previous wave and don't recall getting passed by anyone from the later waves, but it didn't feel like a great swim.

After the swim, the run from swim exit to T1 was incredibly long. DIstance-wise, it was further than the swim itself. I tried to hurry, but couldn't go too fast since I was barefoot, and got passed by a couple of people who had left shoes at swim exit. I'll remember that for next year.
What would you do differently?:

Not really sure. This wasn't a great effort on my part, even though I finished in the top 20%. Most of the top people in my AG were in the 16-19 minute range.
Transition 1
  • 02m 6s
Comments:

My heartrate was sky-high after the long run from swim exit, so it took me a little while to get out of my suit and onto the bike.
What would you do differently?:

I'm out of practice taking my suit off.
Bike
  • 40m 34s
  • 14 miles
  • 20.71 mile/hr
Comments:

I wanted to push this bike leg a little. I know this course really well and knew what to expect. I passed lots of people and only got passed by a couple (a P3 with a disk and a P4). I was really aggressive in the corners. I stayed aero, kept my cadence pretty high and kept pushing the pace.
I had my aero bottle full of Heed, but I only drank about 2/3 of it. It was cool, I was well hydrated to begin with, and I didn't want to have to pee on the bike or stop to pee in T2.

At one point, we rode past some stinky roadkill--I think it was a possum but it smelled like a skunk.
What would you do differently?:

I don't know that I could have gone a lot faster. I need to get my bike fitness up. I was happy to break 20MPH. That was one of my goals.
Transition 2
  • 01m 9s
Comments:

Decent transition. I was a mile from bike in/out. Got my bike racked and my helmet off, grabbed my visor and race number and took off.
What would you do differently?:

I should have body-glided the insoles of my shoes, since my Superfeet insoles bunched up a little when I put them on and it took me a couple of seconds to straighten them out.
Run
  • 27m 41s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt ok on the run. I started out at a moderate pace. I knew there would be only one water stop but I wasn't thirsty or hot at all. I got passed by 6 or 7 people and passed a handful. I ate a gel at the 1 mile mark and picked up the pace a little on the last 1/3 of the course. Wanted to try to finish in under 9:00. I run this loop in the summer all the time and usually do it in 25 minutes. With the extra segments they added on (a short out and back at the 1mi mark and the last 500 feet or so to the finish) I was pretty close to my usual pace.
What would you do differently?:

It was fine. I need to be faster. I finished in the top 20% in both swim and bike and then barely cracked the to 50% in the run, which drags down my placing. Not that I'm looking for a podium spot, but it's annoying.
Post race
Warm down:

I gathered my stuff, ate a turkey sandwich and went and met my wife, son and friend who had come to watch me.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The bike was really good. Not sure what happened with the swim. My run fitness just isn't where it was before the injury, and I need to get it back.

Event comments:

This is the second time I've done this race, but the first time I was able to swim (last time got cancelled due to heavy surf). It's a fun local race. Good spectators, lots of volunteers, and I even like the t-shirt. I love the area, so I'll definitely do this race again.




Last updated: 2009-07-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:19:38 | 437 yards | 04m 29s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/52
Overall: 81/408
Performance:
Suit:
Course: Wave start from the beach, left turn, swim to the yellow buoy and get out. 50-75 y run up the beach + the 1/2 run back to transition all counted towards the swim time. The race results don't even give you your 100y swim pace because the run to transition is so long. I think I was out of the water in something like 13 minutes. Not too good.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:06
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:40:34 | 14 miles | 20.71 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/52
Overall: 78/408
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Loop around Lewes DE. On mostly flat mostly closed roads. No hills at all.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 83
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:09
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:27:41 | 03.1 miles | 08m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/52
Overall: 205/408
Performance: Average
HR was pretty high for the whole course.
Course: One loop around Cape Henlopen State Park. A couple of short rollers, but no hills up or down to speak of.
Keeping cool Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4