Gateway to the Bay Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Kemah, Texas
United States
On Your Mark
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 44m 1s
Overall Rank = 293/335
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 19/22
Pre-race routine:

Slept 6 hours and got up at 4. Pretty good sleep. Ate usual breakfast of Cheerios and raisins and a cup of coffee. Bike was loaded the night before so only had to load up my bag and out the driveway by 4:35. Drank a large bottle of water on the way. Arrived around 5:45.

Unloaded, checked the tires....but realized after the race I did not lock my front brakes back in after reattaching the tire. Need to do a better job with mental checklist or write it down next time.

It was warmer than I expected with minimal winds, but that picked up later. I did not need the sweatshirt I brought after all. It was still dark and I remembered to pack a flashlight this time. That was a lesson learned from my first tri.

Walked to the transition area. Very short wait to be marked and found my spot. Roomy transition area so did not feel squished. Laid out my stuff on a bright towel (another lesson learned) but was not sure if I needed a jacket for the bike. I had it handy just in case.

Ate a Larabar and a banana. I walked around and got familiar with the ins/outs and how many rows from a near by lamp post was my bike racked.
Event warmup:

Did some stretches, but not the full set like I usually do when training. Made sure I did my shoulder stretches and that paid off during the swim.

Put my wet suit on and walked around briefly.

Transition closed at 6:40 and had to walk about 3 blocks to the edge of Galveston Bay for the swim. It was nice that carpet was laid out the entire way.
Swim
  • 12m 32s
  • 500 meters
  • 02m 31s / 100 meters
Comments:

Waves were breaking against the shore as the wind was coming across the bay East to West. Course goes east, then north, then west back to the shore. Much more choppy than it was for the clinic on the same shortened (300M) course two weeks ago. Swim felt good as I could feel the buoyancy of the wet suit making it easier to stay in good swim position. It was difficult sighting the buoys due to the waves, especially the smaller red buoys which marked the course. We were supposed to stay to the right of these for the entire course, but I know I swam just inside one on the way into shore. At least the larger yellow buoys marking the corners were easier to see, but not by much.

I am pleased with the swim overall and that I was right in the middle of the pack for the age group. It was my best event today. I did not feel tired or winded when leaving the water like I did on my last tri.

It was a new thing for me to swim into people AHEAD of me meaning I was actually going faster than them. But, I could not get positioned to get around some of them and I kept running into them. That had an impact on my overall time.
What would you do differently?:

For the swim itself, nothing except maybe being more aggressive in the pack. I was focused on swimming my pace and siting and did not give much thought to positioning in the pack and working that.

When I saw the course for the first time this morning, I was nervous. Swimming 500M via 25M laps in a pool is very different than seeing that distance laid out on a single course. I told myself that I have swam this distance and longer many times over and this will be no different. Confidence comes with experience and I felt much more confident on this swim than the first tri.
Transition 1
  • 07m 26s
Comments:

The carpet from the bay for 3 blocks to the transition area was nice.

This transition was slow for me partly because I had to make a stop at the port-a-can, but that only added 30secs at most.

Taking the wetsuit off took some time, but was easier than I expected. Getting all my stuff on for the bike could have gone better with some better planning and practice. I did not think this one through very much.

I was undecided about wearing a jacket for the bike and finally did not wear one. It was a good decision after all.
What would you do differently?:

Be more aggressive in the transitions. Cutting this time in half to the norm of my age group would have helped my position overall.

Drink more water....to get the salty taste out of my mouth from the swim. It stayed with me the entire bike ride and I was glad to get that drink in T2.
Bike
  • 47m 25s
  • 12 miles
  • 15.18 mile/hr
Comments:

After the bridge, it was flat and straight out and back. Head winds coming from the left front was strong at times, but manageable. My guess I was going about 14/15mph average going out. Returning with the wind at my back was about 18/19mph average.

This was first race with my new bike. Bike handled nicely. I was getting some numbness in the seat and in the right foot.

Going up the bridge the second time I felt the gear slipping and not sure why. I did not see this at any other time on the course.

Legs felt good on the ride and kept at a 90 or so cadence. I passed some bikers and know I was not passed nearly as much as in my first tri. I felt good about that. But the results speak for themselves as I was on the low end of my age group. I have lots of room for improvement here.
What would you do differently?:

Drink water before getting on the bike to get the salt taste out of my mouth.

Though I kept my cadence in the 85 to 95 range for most of the course no matter the gear, I probably need to think more about what gears to use to help save the legs for the run.

Work more on the bike with the nice weather here to stay. Get longer rides in and add more bike/run bricks.


Transition 2
  • 03m 5s
Comments:

Transition was fine I guess. Drank some Powerade and ate one Hammer Gel.

Bike racking and getting into running shoes was ok, but guess it could have gone faster with more planning and practice.
What would you do differently?:

Same as for T1...plan and practice more.
Run
  • 33m 31s
  • 3 miles
  • 11m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

I had hoped to see an improvement in my run time over the last tri as I felt I could do a 10 to 11 minute pace, which would be fast for me. The tight hamstrings coming off the bike along with the right knee hurting (likely due to the IT band tightening up). When I tried to lengthen my stride or speed up, the hamstrings kept pulling me back like snapping rubber bands.


What would you do differently?:

Looking back on the past 7 days, I had not kept my normal stretching routine daily, especially with my IT band via rolling. I would give this a higher priority as part of race preparation.

Doing more bike/run bricks to get used to the changes in the legs going from one event to the other.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and did some light stretching. Drank a full bottle of water handed to me at the finish line. Also had a couple of slices of pizza and a half a banana. It was a good 30 minutes before the transition area was open so we could get our bikes and gear out.

The storm clouds were gathering and I knew a storm was on the way. I got my gear and bike loaded and ready to take out just as the thunder was rumbling and the first big lightening bolt appeared. Just in time....then it started raining hard.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of planning and practice for transition. Proper stretching. Little training for bike to run transition.



Event comments:

This was the first time this tri was held so it appeared to go well given that consideration. It was fairly well organized though the opening of the transition area could be been faster once it was opened, especially with the looming storm clouds coming from the west....

This event and the pre-race clinic held two weeks before the race were good experiences for me and I am glad I did them. The swim in Galveston Bay was a new thing for me and was a highlight. The bike and run presented new planned and unplanned challenges that helped me grow and learn from the experience. It was a good first race for the season to build on and improve.




Last updated: 2010-02-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:32 | 500 meters | 02m 31s / 100meters
Age Group: 10/22
Overall: 0/335
Performance: Good
Suit: Yes
Course: Rectangular course out and back in Galveston Bay. Start was shallow for the first 20 meters or so before swimming was possible.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 60F / 16C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 07:26
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
00:47:25 | 12 miles | 15.18 mile/hr
Age Group: 19/22
Overall: 22/335
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Course started with going up/down/loop around under/then back up/down the Kemah bridge. This turned out to be easier than I thought though I was not that aggressive going down since there was a very sharp right U turn on the first down side. The course was on a heavily traveled state highway, especially on the weekends. But there was plenty of law enforcement managing traffic to keep us safe. Road pavement was excellent with just a couple of very small rough spots. There was some broken glass on the far edge of the shoulders in a couple of places.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 03:05
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:33:31 | 03 miles | 11m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 21/22
Overall: 0/335
Performance: Below average
Course: Flat course through Kemah boardwalk area, under the Kemah bridge over to Fleet Marina and back to finish line by the transition area. Course was on streets, sidewalks, cobblestones and a boardwalk. Some of the streets were pretty rough with holes, patches and patches in the patches.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4