Jack's Generic Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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New Braunfels, Texas
United States
Jack and Adam's Bicycles
Total Time = 1h 16m
Overall Rank = 73/724
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 5/61
Pre-race routine:

Up at about 5, had a couple of frozen waffles and made a bagel to take with me in the car. With 3 hours before the race start, I think that was just the right amount of food and calories. Had some Diet Coke, too, of course.

Got to the race site (45 minute drive) and realized I forgot my damn helmet. First time in 5 years of racing that I've ever forgotten anything for a race. Fortunately, they had some extras in the "forget me not" bucket. So I grabbed one from there. It wasn't aero and didn't match my bike's paint job, but I could race. :p
Event warmup:

Ran a couple of miles easy with some 20" strides thrown in. Took part in the pre-race yoga they offered. Swam about 250 meters to get my shoulders and lats awake. Spent some additional time stretching. Overall, a good warm up.
Swim
  • 09m 19s
  • 547 yards
  • 01m 42s / 100 yards
Comments:

Very good swim here. I've always had a tendency to go way too hard on the swim. I end up getting totally anaerobic and come out of the water with my heart rate jacked up to the moon. Today, I kept myself in check. I had a good draft for the first 150m, lost him going around the first buoy, but found two more guys basically swimming side by side and pretty much followed them in.

Swim rank: 110th overall/7th AG
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 1
  • 01m 25s
Comments:

Mostly a good transition, but I jinxed myself, apparently. After the thread on starting with your shoes clipped in, it figures that at my next race I'd have the worst time ever getting my feet on top of my shoes. I know why: I tried to hop on the bike and then get my feet on the shoes. Normally, I put my left foot on top of the shoe and swing my right leg over. Hey dummy, nothing new on race day!

T1 rank: 81st overall/7th AG
What would you do differently?:

Mount my damn bike like I normally do. Could always run a little faster, but the few seconds I lose I more than make up by not starting the bike anaerobic.
Bike
  • 39m 18s
  • 13.8 miles
  • 21.07 mile/hr
Comments:

Wow. I didn't expect this, but this is the highest NP and AP I've ever held for a race of this distance (or shorter, for that matter). What's more, I didn't feel like I was redlining the whole way like I typically shoot for on races of this distance.

The road conditions over the back third or so of the course were horrible. The road was chip seal and it was like riding on cobblestones. I think I would have made up even a little more time on my competitors if the roads had been good. I absolutely fly on flats and downhills because of decent power and great aerodynamics. Because of the rough surface and resulting astronomical rolling resistance, I lost some of that aero advantage.

With 4 more weeks of full on training and a recovery week leading in to The Austin Tri, I'm pretty excited to see what happens there.

Bike rank: 54th overall/5th AG
What would you do differently?:

Not a damn thing.
Transition 2
  • 00m 54s
Comments:

Couldn't have done this much better, other than maybe shave a second or so off racking my bike. Overall, it was damn fast.

T2 rank: 46th overall/4th AG
Run
  • 25m 1s
  • 3 miles
  • 08m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

Didn't expect much from this run, since I slacked off training for several months and the last 3 weeks I've been doing basically base-type stuff to get back in the groove. As a result, I've done no speed training at all. Even my long run paces are way off what they should be. Begin over the 170 pound mark doesn't help things. In decent shape, I could cut almost 3 minutes off this time.

Amazingly enough, I did almost run down a guy in my AG who runs even worse than I do. I think he heard me coming and managed to pick up his pace in the last 1/4 mile. He put on a pretty good kick and I couldn't hang. I didn't push it crazy hard and that almost cost me.

Run rank: 142nd overall/11th AG
What would you do differently?:

Same story as always: actually train for the race!
Post race
Warm down:

Immediately headed over to the post race massage and got one. Had a bunch of water, some soda, and a couple of free beers. When I checked the result postings, I got upset at myself. I also had to stick around to see what happened at the awards.

The posted results only showed 4 guys ahead of me in my AG. That meant I was no worse than 5th. If 2 of those guys went off with the open wave (possible), it meant I was third and on the podium. However, if only one of them went off (pretty likely) with the open wave, it meant I was 4th by less than 5 seconds to the guy that I didn't do everything I could to chase down. Argh.

Well, one of them did go off with the open wave, but there was a correction in the posted results that added a guy ahead of me, so I was still in 5th for the AG. The damn run is what cost me, though. I was less than 45 seconds out of third. No ifs, ands, or buts about it: if I had trained for this race like I should have, I would have placed for the first time.

Ah well. 5th in my AG is nothing to sneeze at and it far exceeds my expectations for this race.

This was the 3rd race of the Texas Tri Series. Prior to this race, due to a mediocre showing at The Rookie and a horrible race at The Couples, I was in 4th for my AG, about 6:30 behind the guy that finished ahead of me today. So now I'm off the podium by about 6:35. I feel confident, though. I can run this guy down on a longer race. He only managed 8:38 miles today. The best 1/2 IM run pace I can find for him is 8:55. I know for a fact that I can do Longhorn in less than 8:10 per mile. Even if he manages to match today's pace for Longhorn, I'll make up the deficit. That doesn't count the time I should make up at The Austin Tri next month.

Event comments:

My only problem with the High Five events out at the Texas Ski Ranch (The Rookie and this race) is the mediocre post race meal. They have beer (good), lots of different snacks (good), plenty of sodas and cold water (good), but crappy Costco/Sams frozen burgers as the main course. I don't even bother with them anymore.

Other than that very minor gripe, they do great work.




Last updated: 2010-04-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:09:19 | 547 yards | 01m 42s / 100yards
Age Group: 8/61
Overall: 110/724
Performance: Good
Suit: Tri top and shorts
Course: Circular around the island in the Texas Ski Ranch tow cable lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 84F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:25
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:39:18 | 13.8 miles | 21.07 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/61
Overall: 54/724
Performance: Good
NP: 220 watts AP: 210 watts
Wind: Little
Course: Rectangular, rolling hills.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:54
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:25:01 | 03 miles | 08m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/61
Overall: 142/724
Performance: Below average
Course: Basically an out and back.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4