Angel's Race Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Lynchburg, Virginia
United States
set-upinc
65F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 27m 52s
Overall Rank = 85/318
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Had my alarm set for 4:30, but woke up around 3:30 and waited for the alarm in my nice warm bed... listening to the rain pour on our metal roof. After a few thoughts of turning off the alarm and rolling over, got out of bed, had some coffee and packed things up. About 10 minutes down the road realized I had forgotten the Garmin (decided to charge it last night). Decided not to turn around and do the race by feel rather than pace. Note: Took 1 hour door to door not 1.20 like Google Maps said. Lots of on-street parking near the Y at 6am on Sunday morning.
Event warmup:

Just a little biking to make sure I didn't have any problems from my tube change last night and a short run to get the blood moving. Was thinking I should have driven a little of the bike route to get a feel for it. Spent too much time on my feet. Should have found a place to sit down.
Swim
  • 05m 41s
  • 300 meters
  • 01m 53s / 100 meters
Comments:

The people around me did a good job with their times which was different than alot of people who started between 40-100. Other than the woman who passed me, a completely clean pool swim. My start time was 8:37. One good thing about being a good swimmer is that you get to start these races earlier than most. Some people were starting around 10am I think. Ick. The only thing that happened, and it seems to always happen in the pool swims is that I get short of breath around 150 yards. I guess I go out too fast even though I try very hard just to be smooth. I don't get it... I practice starting right out as well and don't have the same problems. Must be the excitement of the race or something.

Best swim start of any tri though... each racer chooses an "angel" to call out in memory of and the announcer says their name as each swimmer begins. Very cool. Raced for Dad.
What would you do differently?:

Just figure out the reason for the fatigue (and try not to hit my head on the lane lines when switching lanes... lol). Maybe not stay inside quite so long beforehand.
Transition 1
  • 02m 54s
Comments:

I suck at T1s. If I'm ever going to be competitive in sprints, I'm going to have to do things differently.
What would you do differently?:

Outsource T1.
Bike
  • 50m 5s
  • 15.53 miles
  • 18.60 mile/hr
Comments:

Lots of volunteers who were always cheering (they were awesome!). Good ratio of me passing to being passed. Generally felt much stronger than previous sprint bike legs... that was a good sign. And it was a tough course, especially the hills back to town.

Post results note: 3rd fastest time in the field was 41.41, so much closer to the top than usual. I'll take it!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Good bike segment. We'll see where the time puts me, but it felt good, especially given the conditions.
Transition 2
  • 00m 53s
Comments:

Good T2. Just had to rack the bike and go. Took a quick swig of water, but otherwise solid.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Good. Hopefully in the top half of folks on this one.
Run
  • 28m 21s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 09m 07s  min/mile
Comments:

Took quite awhile to get my running legs going, but I just kept plugging away. Maybe because the course was slightly uphill along the river? Maybe b/c of the long run yesterday? Maybe the end of bike followed by steep downhill run was a nasty 1-2 punch. Probably all 3. Once I hit the turnaround I felt like I was getting my stride again. Of course, there was the big hill waiting at the end. Fortunately a 47 year old (Dan was his name I found out later) passed me and I made some smartaleck comment about the young guy... lol. Anyway, I caught back up with him at the water station and we ran the hill together. I do have to mention there was a volunteer who ran up the whole hill with me cheering me on. She was great and I really appreciated it. When Dan stopped running on the hill, we both egged him on to run again and he did. Oh, also saw a friend from the Reynosa mission on the run who was a race volunteer... gave her a big hug. Great to see a familiar face!

Post results note: After seeing that the fastest split was 19.46, I felt better about my time. Clearly I wasn't the only one struggling.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe push a little harder once I got down to the river. I thought it was flat, but I don't think it was. Probably won't do a long run the day before next year :-)
Post race
Warm down:

Just walked around and had some drinks, etc. Checked my time on the board... 1.27 something. Was the #4 MC at that point, so I could head on home early (which was a blessing).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Unfamiliarity with the course. A bit of concern about the conditions (wet and humid). Probably shouldn't have run 8 miles the day before, but I think that was a good long-term decision. It isn't about the placing with me anyway.

Event comments:

GREAT volunteers! Challenging course. It wouldn't be my first choice for a first-time tri from a course perspective, but the volunteers and overall feel made it a really wonderful race. Thanks to all for a special morning. We'll work on the weather for next year!

Oh, I also made a concerted effort to cheer on everyone on the bike and run (b/c it was out and back). I remembered reading in someone's posts on here when we were discussing women only tris, that this person thought people weren't very supportive of each other in the mixed ones vs. the women's only. Anyway, I had a good time doing that - hopefully no one thought it was weird! And, I have to say, about 20% of the guys said something back and about 70% of the women. So, I can definitely see how a women's only race would be a more supportive atmosphere.

Final note post results: This was more of a breakthrough race for me than I first realized. Only 20 mins out of 3rd place and 69 out of 176 in male overall (39th percentile) vs. last year's best race of 30 mins out of 3rd place and 221 out of 360 (61st percentile). The biggest difference today was probably the bike. I was 59th in the bike and a decent pace on a course with some tough hills. Kind of excited about trying clipless now :-)




Last updated: 2010-04-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:41 | 300 meters | 01m 53s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/318
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Typical pool swim. 300 snake. Chatted with a guy from NOVA beforehand. It was warm in the pool area. Should have probably stayed outside longer. The heat kind of sapped my energy. Time includes a fair amount of transition
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:54
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
00:50:05 | 15.53 miles | 18.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/318
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course: Because Lynchburg city is on a hill, you go down at the beginning of each segment and up at the end. Downhill and city section was fast, but I took it a little carefully b/c of the wet pavement. Once we were at the bottom, it was basically and out and back route along a nice (but rough pavement) rolling hills road. All big gear until the hill back to the city. A pleasant bike course. Coming back into the city was a tough last mile or two. A couple of bricked segments in the city caught me by surprise... should have gone around those.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:53
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:28:21 | 03.11 miles | 09m 07s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/318
Performance: Average
Course: Basically down to the river... very steep downhill and then a really nice out and back course along a path with 1/4 mile markers (which was handy without my Garmin). Short section through a tunnel (very cool). Maybe a slight uphill going out. Coming back into town we had to go back up the steep hill, but lots of volunteers there to cheer us on.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5