Loveland Lake To Lake - TriathlonOlympic


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Loveland, Colorado
United States
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 52m 50s
Overall Rank = 208/715
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 31/74
Pre-race routine:

Drove up to Loveland the day before and stayed the night. Didn't really sleep well with the noisy A/C unit and nerves. Up at 4:30 am and had a Clif bar and banana. Arrived at race around 5:40 am and set up transition. New distance for me and couldn't decide whether to wear socks or not, clip shoes onto pedals, etc.; things I normally do for sprints.
Event warmup:

1/2 mile jog and then down to the beach for the swim. Should have tried to swim some beforehand to warm up my shoulders. Roctane about 15 minutes before swim.
Swim
  • 36m 10s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 12s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was in the first wave, which made me a little nervous as I would get eaten up by later waves but it turned out to be not much of an issue. The gun went off and I waited about five seconds before starting. I took some conservative lines, swam freestyle as much as I could, and rested my shoulders with bouts of breast stroke. I did get caught by the 3rd wave but that was it. My actual swim time was 34:00, which is just a bit over 2:00/100 yard pace; very good for me. I also heard from a few people that the swim course was long based on previous swim times so that's even better for me.
Swam until my fingers touched sand and started the trek to transition.
What would you do differently?:

Get some sort of warmup in prior. It helps to loosen up my shoulders. A little more agressive lines in the future, especially on the 2nd leg.
Transition 1
  • 01m 15s
Comments:

My original plan was to put on socks for the ride but after getting to transition, my feet were covered with grass so I hastily wiped them off and just put on my shoes.

What would you do differently?:

In sprints I usually have the shoes on the pedals and no socks. Probably should continue doing this for Olympic distance as well.
Bike
  • 1h 31m 59s
  • 30 miles
  • 19.57 mile/hr
Comments:

Spent the first few miles settling in and riding at a high cadence. Tried to maintain this cadence as best as I could and stay consistent on the uphills. I did pass a lot of people but also got passed a ton. Seemed like everyone had a TT bike and knew how to use it. Played leap frog with a few different riders but in the end I got past all of them but one.
The downhills were fast and fun and I hit a max speed of 45 mph. I really pushed the last 10 miles and saw my average speed climb the whole way. Little hairy on one of the last turns that took us onto the opposite side of the road; a rider had gone down and seemed to be hurt pretty bad.
Really had to pee through the last 10 miles or so of the bike and this kept me from drinking the rest of my Cytomax bottle.
What would you do differently?:

Probably push a little harder but this was a 30 mile ride and I still needed to run a 10k in the sun afterwards.
My cyclometer had the mileage at 29.3, so my average was more like 19.2.
Anyway, I'm really happy with this ride. My goal was to average 18 mph and I easily exceeded that. Bike seems to be improving.
Transition 2
  • 00m 57s
Comments:

My feet felt great coming off the bike, no hot spots or anything, so I decided to continue sockless into the run. Had trouble with my left orthotic rolling up a bit when I put my shoe on so I had to take it off and put it back on. Had to pee but I figured I'd get into the run and see what happens when I'm not crouched over with a lightly padded saddle jammed into my crotch.
What would you do differently?:

Baby powder in shoes when I go sockless. Anti-chafe on feet.
Run
  • 42m 28s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt strong out of transition and was really curious what my Mile 1 split would be as I've only done 5ks off the bike. Didn't feel like I was running very fast but I hit Mile 1 at 6:40. Eased off a little and settled into a good rhythm.
So while the bike course was absolutely beautiful, the run course started off a little rough. Until you got to the lake, you either had to run on some sketchy sidewalks or badly cambered roads. The sidwalks were narrow and riddled with driveway entrances and the roads were IT band flaring cambered. You were also dealing with runners coming back who were intent on holding their lines. I played chicken with a few of these elites as they were coming in. In some cases, they were given an entire lane of the road but still insisted on encroaching on the narrow bike lane/sidewalk that the outgoing runners were given.
Anyway, I felt really strong through about 4.5 miles but was wasting energy dodging around runners on the sidewalk along the lake. I also started to get a hot spot in the ball of my left foot just a few miles in. Not sure if this had something to do with my orthotic get messed up or what. At 4.5, I started to fade a little but kept seeing runners ahead of me who were in my age group. So as much as I wanted to coast a little, I kept having to pick off these guys. I'd pass one, look ahead and see a 39 on the guys leg and literally say to myself "for f*ck's sake!"
Got the last guy I could see with about a 100 yards to go and finished strong, though a bit nauseated.
What would you do differently?:

Probably wear socks. The hotspot bugged me most of the run, though I don't think it slowed me down. I don't have a realistic chance of placing in this type of event so I may as well take care of my feet.
Needed to finish my bottle, which probably would have helped in my run.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, ice, water, gatorade. The clouds had cleared for the run and it was in the high 80s now.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Experience. Swim. This is my first crack at the Olympic distance. It was nearly twice as long as any type of endurance event I have ever done.

Event comments:

A very well run race. Bike course was amazing. Lots of volunteers. Pretty good post races stuff, even some vendors.




Last updated: 2010-05-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:36:10 | 1640 yards | 02m 12s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/74
Overall: 504/715
Performance: Good
Suit: ProMotion
Course: Counter clockwise loop with three turns.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:15
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:31:59 | 30 miles | 19.57 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/74
Overall: 309/715
Performance: Good
Gu @ 1:05 into bike. Drank 3/4 of Cytomax bottle.
Wind: None
Course: Clockwise loop heading NW of Loveland up to Horsetooth Reservoir. Mainly up hill until about 20 miles. A few climbs and some fast downhills.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 88
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:57
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:42:28 | 06.21 miles | 06m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/74
Overall: 50/715
Performance: Good
Mile 1 (6:40)
Course: Flat O&B through a residential neighborhood and then along Lake Loveland. All sidewalks and roads.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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] 5