Cape Henlopen Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Lewes, Delaware
United States
Piranha Sports
49F / 9C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 24m
Overall Rank = 43/408
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 12/36
Pre-race routine:

Lunch around noon was burger, fresh onions, roasted red peppers, ketchup and hot mustard on a warm corn tortilla...with Ore-Ida seasoned fries.
Jay and I headed down to registration on Saturday and arrived around 3:30pm. Got back to Kim's parents around 4:30pm.
Dinner around 5:00pm the night before, pasta and parm-less chicken parm.
Awoke at 5:10...got outta bed around 5:20...showered, had 12 oz. of water...a couple sips of Gatorade G2, and a banana.

Event warmup:

Drove over to the event in Jay's Ravvie. Let me see if I can remember the playlist...Scraped, Better, Lose Yourself, and part of a Tupac song are what I remember (good stuff)...cold in the morning and dark as we arrived around 6:00am. Got my chip, got numbered, and headed to my station...down the row from Jay. I realized I forgot my racebelt and my bento box. (not horrible since it's a short race) I had a gel 40 minutes before the race. I took a whiz in the trees and downed another Orange Burst Gu-gel (expired 18 months ago! Uh-Oh!)before making the approximately 1/2 mile walk over to the beach in my wetsuit. Jay and I had some good laughs going over which definitely settled the butterflies. The cold was disappointing btw, as all the women seemed to be baring less skin this year! :(
Swim
  • 19m 25s
  • 440 yards
  • 04m 25s / 100 yards
Comments:

I didn't really hit my stride until about the last orange buoy before the final yellow buoy.
What would you do differently?:

Honestly, I think I need to get my heart rate up just a bit before the event. Perhaps a jog on the beach next time or some warm-up swim strokes just before.
While overall I was satisfied with my effort (navigation was good without having to do much sighting), and I didn't really get kicked a lot while I did A LOT of kicking! I swear, I must have kicked 20 people...and not just once each! I kept kicking away until they moved! Funny stuff. :)
Transition 1
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

I felt a lot more tired this year compared to '07 coming back from the swim...maybe because the swim was a lot more rough this year.
What would you do differently?:

get the wetsuit off better. I used Pam spray...maybe not enough!
This transition was slower than '07's.
Bike
  • 39m 54s
  • 14 miles
  • 21.05 mile/hr
Comments:

drinking amount must have been alright, had another expired Gu gel early on the bike. Had a G2 Gatorade cut with water about 80-20 mix (I should have gone more water than that)...and yes, I did have 2 episodes of regurg. on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

No expired Gu gels...and regular GatorAde, not G2...my wife is great, she just didn't realize she picked up G2 instead of regular GatorAde.
While I would like to have beaten '07's 21.49 mph, overall, I'm happy.
Transition 2
  • 01m 10s
Comments:

maybe I'll try that riding with feet on top of shoes thing some day...
overall, again, slower than '07...a year of injury in between along with more longer/duration focused training this summer as opposed to the sprint training in late '07 definitely showed.
What would you do differently?:

not have a strained calf going into a race. :(
Run
  • 22m 2s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 07m 07s  min/mile
Comments:

Unfortunately...the strained calf that stopped me from running since Friday, October 2nd hit me like a friggin monster as I came out of the gates. As it was happening I just couldn't get myself to believe I was hurting this badly on a race day. That's just never happened to me before. I really considered walking the run so I wouldn't hurt myself long-term. It was very depressing to know for a fact I didn't give my best performance. Actually, I think I did do the best with what I could. I pushed through the pain. One of my favorite parts of the run is the finish on a grassy field. It may sound corny, but I like to think I'm busting one loose for a long touchdown when I'm healthy. This time, I was making sure I didn't hit a hole or something...I couldn't really toe-off with my left leg due to the horrible calf strain throughout the run. On a positive note, my left knee gave me no problems at all through the race, and I was not even close to being tired at the end of the run. I HATE leaving extra gas in the tank.
What would you do differently?:

hmm, being injured and not being able to push off with my left foot...yeah, I'll put that on my list of things not to be and do next time. :)
I will call it below average, not bad, based on the surprisingly good time on the run. I was so disheartened I didn't even look at my watch during the run...upon seeing results on the computer later that afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised.
Post race
Warm down:

After hobbling to the finish with my 3 year old running behind me, I hung with my fam. They needed to use the bathroom, so at that time, I went to grab an icepack. Jay was getting in from the bike when I got in from the run...I iced my calf and got video of Jay coming in to finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

left calf strain on the run. rough water for the swim. no excuse for the bike other than I haven't been practicing sprint biking like I did in '07.

Event comments:

ANY race with my buddy Jay is a great race! Fortunately or unfortunately, CHTD may not happen for us in '10. Why? HIM and IM distance events are taking place in September, 2010. It will be a great year!
By the way, announced to Jay this weekend Kim and I are expecting our 3rd child in 2010. :)




Last updated: 2009-09-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:19:25 | 440 yards | 04m 25s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/36
Overall: 79/408
Performance: Average
To put that time into perspective, the #1 swimmer hit a 13:21. I believe they tack on the additional 1/4 mile+ back from the beach onto that time.
Suit: Orca sleeveless.
Course: south to north...good sized waves, I put medium, but they were decent sized enough to make me suck in some saltwater during the swim unfortunately!
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:30
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:39:54 | 14 miles | 21.05 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/36
Overall: 0/408
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: flat and fast with one drawbridge we hit twice, once out and once back in. speedbumps at the U.D. Marine Studies area were new this year (at least 3 of them).
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:10
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:22:02 | 03.1 miles | 07m 07s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/36
Overall: 0/408
Performance: Below average
Course: through Cape Henlopen State Park. I love the scenery in Cape Henlopen State Park. It really is beautiful.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5