TriWaco Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Waco, Texas
United States
Ironhead Race Productions
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 32m 52s
Overall Rank = 21/203
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 2/17
Pre-race routine:

Drove up to Waco on Sat afternoon with my wife. Got checked into the hotel, picked up my race packet, and set out to drive the bike course. Glad I drove the bike course so I knew what to expect where. Dinner was chicken and rice at Elite Cafe. Yum!

Woke up at 5am, got dressed, woke my wife up to put sunscreen on my back, ate a banana and part of a Clif bar with some Gatorade. Got my bike racked at about 5:40 right next to TXMPGirl. (Good to meet you and congrats on your 1st place AG finish!)
Event warmup:

No real warm up to speak of. Speaking of speaking...holy smokes that was a long pre-race monologue! Probably 3x as long as it needed to be. Visited the facilities and waited around for the start.
Swim
  • 31m 43s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

About 5 seconds before the start of our wave (2nd wave of the day in very manly hot pink caps), a guy right behind me started freaking out and hyperventilating. Tried to communicate the need for help to the horn guy but no luck. The horn sounded and it was every man for himself. My wife later told me that the lifeguard was able to get him after the wave left.

After bumping around for a bit, everyone got settled in and I was able to follow my pace. Hoping to find someone a little faster than me to draft but no luck. Overall, I had a pretty good swim. No goggle leaks, minimal fogging, didn't miss any bouys.
What would you do differently?:

More OWS practice and better sighting. I OWS'ed once before the race and that was probably a month before. Focused a lot of training time on pool drills and form.
Transition 1
  • 02m 11s
Comments:

It was a loooong way from the water to my bike. Ran up some winding ramps where my wife informed me I was 3rd in my AG out of the water. Felt great about that! It was a long TA and I was glad my bike was close the bike in/out.

Slipped on my socks, bike shoes, race belt, and finally my helmet. Pulled my bike off the rack and headed for bike out. Once across the mount line I got on my bike smoothly, clipped in, pedaled for a bit to get some speed, then slipped my sunglasses on.

Second fastest T1 in my AG.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Really glad my wife was able to let me know my position - that was a HUGE help!
Bike
  • 1h 09m 13s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 21.54 mile/hr
Comments:

Started out at a comfortable pace and quickly kicked it into gear. Passed one of the guys in my AG who was ahead of me. He had a bunch of rash on his back and a bent seat. He said that he crashed. Good on him for keeping going! He would end up passing me on the run and finishing about 2:30 ahead of me.

There were a couple of loose dogs on the side of the highway but they were either well trained or had an invisible fence b/c they would bark and carry on but they wouldn't get on the pavement.

I carried a disposable squeeze water bottle which I planned to exchange for the bottle hand-up on the course. I'd never done that before so I didn't really know exactly what to expect. it went very smoothly though. I approached, tossed my bottle, and grabbed a full one. Yeah!

Not much bike traffic out on the course which was nice. Thank you to all the LEO's who managed the intersections!

Only one bit of drama on the bike. About a mile before the finish, my left contact came off of my eye! It was still in my eye but wasn't on my eye (hard contacts). So I could see ok, but my depth perception was pretty jacked. Made the last couple turns across the bridge a little interesting.
What would you do differently?:

Had a great bike leg so I can't think of much I'd do differently. Took 2 gels, one at about 15' in and another at about 50' in. Slipped the third into my short pocket for the run.
Transition 2
  • 01m 16s
Comments:

Did the one leg behind the other cruise thing to the dismount line. quickly popped off and ran my bike to my rack. Decided to rack my bike how it was this morning since I didn't want to risk a time penalty for racking my bike incorrectly. Jack is a big stickler on rules! That took a little longer than normal but my overall T2 was great. Left T2 with a mile on my face and cheers from my wife. 2nd fastest T2 in my AG.
What would you do differently?:

Nada.
Run
  • 48m 19s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

Took me a good mile or so to get my running legs under me after getting off the bike. And then the hills arrived. Suffering. I pushed through but was soon passed by the guy in my AG that I passed on the bike. I tried to hang on and pace him but no such luck in those hills. I conceded his pass and hoped he would burn out toward the end where I was hoping to have a kick. No such luck.

Running across the suspension bridge to the finish was fun with the people cheering. I had a good kick for the last 1/2 mile to the finish but my run time was a little slower than I hoped for. Those hills hit my quads hard and I could feel them throbbing in both my legs. Glad I didn't cramp.
What would you do differently?:

More hill work-outs. I did essentially zero hill/strength work prior to the race. Did plenty of speed work but not much on an incline.
Post race
Warm down:

Crossed the finish line and sat down for a while. Got my contact situated in my eye. Then walked around for a bit (and checked the times to confirm the need to stick around for the awards ceremony), ate some pizza and a banana, stretched, picked up my transition stuff, loaded it all into the car, then headed up to the hotel room for some A/C and a shower before the awards ceremony.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hills on the run.

Event comments:

Lots of volunteers and a well directed race. Pre-race mtng was way too long and the awards were a bit delayed by the arrival of the official results. Overall a good race though and I'm glad I did it.




Last updated: 2009-07-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:43 | 1640 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/17
Overall: 41/203
Performance: Good
Suit: De Soto 4-pocket shorts
Course: Was it long...short? I dunno. I was ready to be done about 3/4 of the way through.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:11
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:09:13 | 24.85 miles | 21.54 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/17
Overall: 20/203
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course: Flat and fast! There were some very small gradual climbs/descents but they are hardly worth mentioning. Road surface was butter-smooth for the most part except for a short stretch of pretty rough chip-seal. Very well marked course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:16
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:48:19 | 06.21 miles | 07m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/17
Overall: 25/203
Performance: Average
Course: Brutal hills!! First 1.5 miles or so was flat and then we entered Cameron Park. This was an out-back (mostly) run course so all the hills we hit on the way to the turn around point were waiting for us when we headed back.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4