Cayuga Lake Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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Trumansburg, New York
United States
Ithaca Triathlon Club
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 32m 43s
Overall Rank = 54/352
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 3/35
Pre-race routine:

Had everything ready as usual: bike in the van, van in the garage, bag packed and in the kitchen. The babysitter showed up a few minutes early, at 4:20. I was on the road and at Dudley's right on time. Pulled into his driveway and saw that the garage door was up and his bike was ready to go so I put it in the van. I then looked for his bag to put it with mine and thought "wait, I didn't see my bag in the van..."

I forgot my bag with my bike shoes, helmet, wetsuit, etc. CRAP. Seriously thought of saying "screw it", but Dud had some stuff I could use. He loaned me his old wetsuit, old helmet, a pair of goggles and the pedals with toe clips from Yvonne's bike. This would prove to be very important later.


Event warmup:

We got there around 6:30 and our waves didn't start until after 9 so we had plenty of time. Setting up my transition didn't exactly take a lot of time though.

The race does let you warm up in the water except during the pre-race meeting. That I really like. I swam a couple hundred yards to check pacing and form. Both were my usual: bad.

Walked around, socialized a lot. Met up with Bob and Matt.

I decided that today would be a test. I'd go hard and see how long I could hold it. If I blew up, I blew up.
Swim
  • 17m 39s
  • 750 meters
  • 02m 21s / 100 meters
Comments:

Started on the far right, on the buoy line right behind the front guy. There weren't many guys behind me, most of the fast ones lined up in front. The plan was to stay right on the buoy line and sight when breathing. Worked well. I went harder than usual and did my best to hold it per my race plan.

I passed at least 6 guys on the run to T1. They were all taking their time. The thing is, your swim time is taken at the mat leading into the T area so by running harder, I bumped my swim placement up quite a bit.


What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 1
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

Suit got stuck at the elbows. Not my usual suit so maybe that was why. Probably lost 10 seconds on that. Otherwise ok.

AG:4 OA:38
What would you do differently?:

Bodyglide
Bike
  • 46m 42s
  • 14.25 miles
  • 18.31 mile/hr
Comments:

Pushed this. My bike fitness is pretty low and I needed a solid muscular endurance workout. This was a good one. Was able to push through the discomfort and keep the work going. I got passed early by a few guys but didn't see anyone in my age group. I figured that all the speed demons were already up front, so my job was to hold off anyone behind me. That was a good motivator.
Transition 2
  • 00m 42s
Comments:

AG:2, OA:8
This was key. Because of the toe clip pedals I was using, I had to ride with my running shoes. So transition was: rack the bike, take my helmet off, go. I stopped for a second because it seemed like I was forgetting something. My number was pinned on my shirt. 4 pins, no flapping like with a race belt, or worrying about pulling the belt up etc. I'm using 4 safety pins from now on.

And I'm also using platform pedals with toe clips and running shoes on the bike for Sprints. The time savings in T2 is enormous. The picture below is my new Sprint transition setup.
Run
  • 26m 10s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

Not my best run by a long shot. Going hard on the bike definitely took a lot out of this run but that was the plan for the day.

Also, within 100 yards of leaving transition I had a side stitch. It got pretty bad and I walked a bit in the first aid station to try to relieve it. Didn't work and the stitch made it much harder to get running again so I decided to just run through it. I just thought "your experience excruciating pain in your hand at least a few times a day, you can put up with this", so I did. It got pretty intense around the 1 mile mark, then calmed down to a manageable level. Never went away during the run, though.

Initially I was passed by a few people doing the Sprint, but they were all in their 30's Around mile 1 a guy in my AG did pass me and he was going at a pace that I knew I couldn't hold for long with the side stitch so I let him go. This was a "hold on for dear life" run. It was definitely easier after the turnaround when it started downhill. Started passing some people at that point.

Back in the park I picked it up a bit and right before the footbridge I saw a guy in my AG. Tried to get to him before the bridge because it's a no passing zone but didn't quite manage it. Picked him off pretty easily after though. That's when I saw the guy who passed me at mile 1. Payback time. I picked it up and got immediately behind his right shoulder. I sat there until we got into the chute and then swung around him and dropped the hammer. I hoped that by the time he realized he'd been passed by someone in his AG, it would be too late to catch me.
What would you do differently?:

Not walk during the aid station. A side stitch is just pain, not an injury. In a race, just run through them.
Post race
Warm down:

The sprint at the end sent my side stitch into overdrive so I sat on the ground for a bit until it calmed down. Then I got my phone and waited by the chute for Dud to finish and took a picture of him.

When we checked the results a while later I was more than a bit surprised to see that they had me at 3rd in my AG. I checked a few more times expecting to see that change as results were amended, but it didn't.

So for the first time in a triathlon, I got to wait around for the awards ceremony and get on the podium to collect some hardware. I'm really pleased that it happened here as the Cayuga Lake Sprint was my very first triathlon in 2004.

2nd place was nine minutes ahead of me. Nine. The two guys I passed at the end of the run? I beat them by less than the difference in our total transition times.

So I got on the podium because I forgot my bag this morning.

Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.

Event comments:

Another smashing success by Jane Miller and the Ithaca Triathlon Club. They do such a great job with this race. The venue is beautiful, bike course is challenging and fun, the run course is the most scenic you'll run in the northeast.


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Last updated: 2010-03-31 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:17:39 | 750 meters | 02m 21s / 100meters
Age Group: 9/35
Overall: 96/352
Performance: Good
The buoys must have been way long, because I swam pretty well. Dud swam really well and they have his pace as 1:49. Not bloody likely.
Suit: Dud's old Xterra
Course: Out and back down a buoy line. Love this course, it's super easy to site on.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:30
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:46:42 | 14.25 miles | 18.31 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/35
Overall: 64/352
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Out and back.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:42
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:26:10 | 03.1 miles | 08m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 9/35
Overall: 99/352
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
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? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4