Legenda Subic International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Many lessons learned here. Almost shocked at my final swim time. I hit the halfway mark (going back into water at turnaround) in 16:45. On the positives, I was almost always relaxed, and when I ran into trouble with swimmers barging over into me on first lap, and again on second when another Wave came up behind me just after starting, I just breaststroked, and moved myself over as much as I could to get clear swimming room. Had to do a considerable amount of "looking" to keep swimming without interruption, and on many occassions, I would keep my head in water for 3-4 strokes, and then suddenly look up because someone had dropped in right on front of me. Noticed that I could usually tell in time that they were there by feeling a slight tug in the water...then I'd look up, and there they were. Also frustrated by swimmers (probably in 20-29 age group), that went out fast, and died into the swim....they were backing up on the steady swimmers later on. Did try close to the buoy at one point, but there was too much traffic...it would open, close, open, close....just headed back out wide.

LATE NOTE: After reviewing the overall results of this race, I believe that the swim course was about 100 meters short. Everyone improved from 2-3 minutes over their "usual" times. And Im pretty sure that with the trouble that I ran into, I could not have swum as fast as I did. Note for next year, and future beach tris...your effort was probably 36:30/37:00, given the trouble you had. So on a good, clean swim, you might have come close to 34:00 at best.

With a field of 150 or so in the wave, need to swim out FAST and WIDE. and STAY WIDE, until I know that there is no one in front of me that does not belong in front of me, and that is going to come back in front of me. Need to resist the urge to drift inwards, until well clear of the clutter, particularly in the first 300 meters...after that it seems to sort itself out....and do the same thing on the backside... if and when another wave comes up behind you, being out wide will also have less impact, as the fastest swimmers in that group will be drifting inwards..by being wide, you eventually have everyone drifting off to the inside on you...and the sooner that you will have clear swimming room again. Sacrifice the distance for relaxation. Took me some time to figure that out during the swim.

Not a very good transition. Took 3:42. Was having trouble with my shirt..the salt water on my body (still had it after shower), made it hard to put on my singlet (need to change it anyway). Also was interrupted by a fellow competitor....lost about 5 seconds on pleasantries and lost focus. Felt like I was rummaging for what to put on next. Took a bottle of Powerade with me on the bike, to drink while starting the bike leg. That seemed to work ok, drank the whole thing by the time that I got to the very first hillete, that leads down to NAVMAG.

The tension and crowds and confusion of the pre-race made it hard to set up T1 comfortably. Need to devise a way to remove clutter and it needs to be second-nature. Right now, it's not. Everything felt deliberate and hard. I think I lost about 30 seconds overall.

Rode with "slight reserve". Was mindful of blowing up throughout most segments of the hills. It was hard work anyway, was in lowest gear at the usual points. I caught a considerable amount of bikers on the hills, but they would take off from me once we flattened out, only to catch them again on another hill. Rode the downhills well, leaned into it, and was going as fast as the good bikes on those sections, though I was riding lower than even those riders on their nice bikes. In instances where a rider was riding his nice bike with low profile, they were going by me. I rode "good steady" on the flat portions. Felt some soreness in left arm and right side of lower back, but stretched out on bike about a half dozen times, and that immediately helps. Gears shifted great throughout. Temperature was mild (compared to last weeks training session), and there was almost no wind. Conditions were about as good as you could get for this time of year. Rode with full complement of water (800 ml), and took at Gu Gel at 1:30:00 (overall time) Killed water by 10km loop turnaround point. Good use of my water. And timing of gel was just right. At this point, I had not yet felt any signs of "fatigue" creeping up on me.

Ride a different bike. I feel that I am pretty much maxed out on what I can do with it. Maybe a bit more speed brought on by increased fitness, but not a whole lot more can be done. My bike time is reflective of it. I could not improve on anything that Ive done in the last year..at least not much. I rode the course as well as I could to get the time that I did. 1:24 is about the limit, for now, in that heat and riding conditions (even on a fast, lane marked course).

Also not a good transition. Was confused by conflicting directions by race staff as to where my bike rack was; that cost a few seconds. When I dropped my bike, lost time trying to figure out what to do first....again, it was not second-nature, and it should have been rehearsed beforehand. I was having to make decisions that I had not considered before. Too much clutter, physical and mental. Took down another gel, and also drank most of another powerade while walking up the bridge to the 10k start.

Keeps things simpler. Less clutter. Probably lost another 15-20 seconds at T2.

Surprisingly good run. Started off slow but steady, and was able to stay that way for over two laps, before having to walk at the first water station on the 3rd lap. Up to that point, did not even take water at the first two laps of aid stations...only an ice sponge at the aid station just prior to start of 3rd lap. At that point, started to feel some overheating going on, and I started losing tempo. My third lap felt like my worst. Mentally, I picked up, when I knew that the 4th lap was coming up. I walked anywhere from 20-30 seconds at each water station from that point on, pouring water on my head, and relaxing my breathing in hopes of saving energy, and restoring myself...and it worked..it was enough to keep on going on at a steady tempo. When I started tiring, I just slowed it down as much as I needed to. In last 600 meters, I really picked it up, and at the end I was running like a run race finish....finished strong, and recovered quickly.

Not much. I did not want to start walking sooner, that would have slowed me down. I took it as far as I could go, until I had to start walking. My hydration plan was good, and it resulted in me not really needing much water in the last two laps...I was tired, but not wiped out. Never bonked. Ended up walking at 6 stops for a total of about 2 minutes.

Recovered fairly quickly, after hitting shower three times at the finish line. In fact, as far as body soreness, fatigue, etc, this is the best that I have felt post-race for any race. Almost as if I did not push hard enough.

LATER NOTE: My post-race recovery has been the best yet. 48 hours after event, I feel surprisingly good, as if I had nothing more than a vigorous workout. I think the nutrition plan was good to prevent post-race dehydration and soreness. And I was fit enough for the event.


Technology. Time management at transitions. Form in swim. Swim strategy. Weight (still need to lose another 5 lbs to get to the right fighting weight -- I think 152-154 is probably just right for max performance, at my age and physical condition).


Lessons Learned/Things to focus on

1) Swim leg appears to have been a bit shorter than 1500...just not sure how much. That said, need to continue working on stroke efficiency, and learn to race smarter. Try out your "fast start" theory at next Animo Sprint Tri. Good place to experiment. Go out HARD for first 100 to clear stragglers, then work on finding rhythm - hopefully won't cost you too much energy.

2) Bike speed problem is not solvable -- need a new bike. Continue to work with this one as long as you can and you have to.

3) Transition training is a must. You must learn to make T1 and T2 second nature/instinctive. No guessing. Establish a routine.

4) Don't need anything right now for run, except to avoid injuries. Limit your pounding.

5) Great nutrition going into this race. Heed the lessons learned.

6) Good taper prior to week of race....replicate it, from now on. It seemed just about right for a peak performance, at least up to the Standard Distance. I had plenty of leg.

7) Shave about 3-4 days out from next race, to avoid any unneccessary itchiness the night before race. I am now sold on shaving everything off to deal with tropical climate. Not just for swim, but to stave off overheating.

8) Get new tri-shorts. Get new race singlet...need one that breathes a bit better. Also get new race hat (adidas brand) that fits a bit better...the one you are using now is heavy and unwieldy during race.

9) Do conduct some experimental bike riding using the RS10 wheelsets. Compare against R500. Also at different weights. Give them a chance before you unload them. Also experiment with cassette.