Splash and Sprint - Aquathlon


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Regina, Saskatchewan
Canada
Regina Multisport Club
Total Time = 45m 9s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

I'll never learn. Started the day leading my indoor cycling class. But I did only do one hour of continuous riding - Real Rides IMC. Then walked downtown (after a brief nap) to clothes shop with SB and FW. Returned by 4:30. Had a 30 minute nap. Had a Chicken/lettuce/cheese sandwich at 5:30 with a coffee. Relaxed, made some homebrew energy drink. Drove to race at 6:30. Lounged a little and helped do a little setting up of the course.

Found a good transition spot. Drank some of my homebrew. And got ready.

Event warmup:

Drank more homebrew. Had one Hammer apple/cinnamon gel swam 100 metres (long course pool) then lined up for the start.
Double checked my goggles. Used spit...for anti fog - it is the duct tape of bodily fluids!
It was a staggered start - every 10 sec..I had a pause ahead of me, so had 20 sec and open water in front of me. Estimated finish time was 16:20.
Run
  • 00m
  • 0 kms
  •  min/km
Transition 1
  • 00m
Swim
  • 16m 40s
  • 750 meters
  • 02m 13s / 100 meters
Comments:

Had some good clean water ahead of me. This meant no hassles, but it also meant no drafting. World Champ Milos Kostic was about 4 places ahead of me. He is a "messy" swimmer and bumped into me in three different lane as we we going in different directions. I felt a little awkward in the first 400 - kept hitting the rope with my arm...got my act together thereafter. Swam pretty well and efficiently but was eventually caught by Frankie who was 10 s behind me. She passed on the bulkhead saying "sorry sorry" I laughed at her and said shut up and swim :)... I passed a few swimmers along the way. I was passed by another woman about 200 m later who then slowed down so much, I had to breaststroke for 20 metres to not hit her...as soon as I passed her at the bulk head - I kicked off and I got a big cramp in my leg...I thought this is it... but I kept kicking and it worked out of my system...she of course decided to pass me again at the next bulk head. this was with 150 to go. I drafted really well behind her then at the last bulkhead where we are allowed to pass in the lane because there is not returning traffic, I passed her, sprinted to the ladder and got out. Good strong finish! Frankie blew me out of the water...I didn't see her until the run finish line where we crossed the line together! She's made an incredible improvement.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to swim faster. Find some good drafting. Don't stress about Milos. Everything else went pretty smoothly. Had some trouble finding the foot place on the exit ladder. Work on that.
Transition 2
  • 02m 26s
Comments:

This transition includes from getting to transition seat to running to the track (through hallway to Fieldhouse).
Transition was deliberate and planned. Sat down. Dried my toes. Put on socks. Put asthma meds in pocket (didn't need) Big gulp of homebrew and carried it with me to track - discarding it afterwards. (SB was there and gave it back to me after finish!) Ran from seat all the way to track.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Maybe spend less time on toes, but I need that time to get my bearings. A little dizzy from the sudden horizontal posture. Remember my low blood pressure. I don't think this transition is the best place to save time. Actual time in transition - not counting running to track was about 1:16.
Run
  • 26m 37s
  • 5 kms
  • 05m 19s  min/km
Comments:

Everything felt good. I picked a pace that felt right and pretty much stuck to it. I had no idea what I was running but FW was timing and she said I pretty much nailed 1:05-1:07 per lap, except for one where I did 59 and the bell lap that I burned up, passed about 6 people - and caught up to Frankie and did it in about 52s.
Again I did not carry water. Bruce did - he always does. I was absolutely parched again. I probably could have done better with some water - but that would have been a distraction as well.
Ran strong and steady. didn't stress about being passed, just ran my race.
Personal best on the run.
What would you do differently?:

Water...I say this every year. Parched throat.
Run faster. Keep up with those that pass me...but then would I blow up. Why would I push that hard?
Post race
Warm down:

Drank what was left of my homebrew. Waited for Starcorp to come in and congratulated him...and Frankie. Talked with FW and SB. So glad they were there.
Hung around, showered, ate at the afterrace, went home.
Stretching? What's that.
Got home by 10:30 pm.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This is a night race. Starts at 8 pm. I'm better mornings. I'm still running heavy, have to lose at least another 10 pounds. And my calves were still tight.
Swimming was slower than I expected, I haven't had as much pool time as I've had in previous years - keep in mind this race is two weeks early this year.

Event comments:

This was a pretty fast pace - probably at the top end of my range for this distance. Probably could have gone a little faster. Maybe shaved another 30 seconds...a minute? Would it be worth it?
This is a C race and the season opener. I'm a long - slow kinda guy...I'm not built for the short stuff. I do it just because I can and to wake up my body a little. This did the trick. Got me ready to introduce more training volume.
I'm pretty happy with the results. A little slower on the swim, but considerably faster on the run. A personal best overall.
It's all good!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2010-03-01 12:00 AM
Running
00:00:00 | 00 kms |  min/km
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
T1
Time:  00:00
Overall:
Putting on cap, goggles and wetsuit:
Getting out of shoes:
Swimming
00:16:40 | 750 meters | 02m 13s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Estimated 16:20 - changed it from 17 minutes...Hearth rate was pretty good, but took me about 200m to get into my groove. Never felt completely comfortable until around 600 breathing was great.
Suit: Old Craft Tri short
Course: Long course (50 M) swim up one way, down the other side of the lane, then under rope and do again in next lane...reach other side of pool and exit from ladder. We we sharing the pool with a swim meet (during the day) so the pool had all the fancy flags and ropes. Started near the back of the pack - it seems everyone had their time at less than 15 minutes.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time:  02:26
Overall: Good
Removing cap, goggles and wetsuit: Good
Getting into shoes: Good
Running
00:26:37 | 05 kms | 05m 19s  min/km
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
HR was never an issue. I just ran and ran and ran. Very crowded track at times, (fast swimmers!) but that cleared out pretty quick. Was passed a number of times by the fast boys and a couple of women, but I did my share of passing too.
Course: 200m oval track. 25 laps. Stuck to the two innermost lanes. The curtains in the centre were partially pulled back, so everyone could see the back parts of the track. Some exercise equipment was a little too close to lane one and my arm hit is a few times rounding the turn. This is my home track, so there were no surprises. There was a finish chute in lane one right near the start.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4