Redondo Beach Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint


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Redondo Beach, California
United States
TC Tri Productions, LLC
62F / 17C
Overcast
Total Time = 54m 1s
Overall Rank = 67/514
Age Group = M 50-54
Age Group Rank = 5/18
Pre-race routine:

First race since IM St. George on May 1. In addition to recovery from that, I also have been rehabbing a minor ITB injury. Felt fine the last week heading into this race.

My wife, Liz, was thinking of racing as well...she held off registering because of a minor wrist sprain on the bike and a shoulder injury from swimming. By the time she decided to go for it, the race was sold out. She decided to volunteer...which meant we had to show up at 5am instead of 6am. So I had a lot of time to kill. :)

I knew there was a hellaciously long run from the beach up a concrete walkway to T1, so I decided to stash my sandals just after the timing mats above the beach. I've got arthritis and chronic PTT in my left foot, so I figured I could both protect my foot and take advantage of my run speed if a spent a few moments putting on the sandals.

Looking at results for previous years, I knew I'd have a good shot at an age group medal. Decided to try to shave time by not bringing my Garmin 205. Considered racing without socks for the first time, but decided I didn't want to risk problems getting my running shoes on (inserts are a bit sticky with bare feet). Maybe next time.
Event warmup:

Jogged over to the swim out to place my sandals.

Stretched my back and IT band a bit. Back was stiff from swimming after packet pickup, but knee/ITB felt good.

Got in the water and did a bit of warmup swim.
Swim
  • 16m 44s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 54s / 100 yards
Comments:

Boy, this was a ridiculously slow time! My split in the water (15:53) is a slower 100 pace than I swam in 59 degree water for 2.4 miles...with cramping...at IM St. George. And the thing of it is, I felt like I was hauling ass...passed a lot of people. Course has to be long...split in the water was almost 2 1/2 MINUTES slower than for the 1/2 mile ocean swim at Malibu Tri in September.

Navigation was good. Felt relaxed. Definitely had effort near red line. Can't understand (or believe) a 1:48/100 pace in the water. Charting the swim pretty accurately on gmap-pedometer.com yields 0.54 miles in the water, so that may be the issue...that extra 70.5 yards would probably amount to 1:10 in swimming time at my usual OW pace and more like a 1:40-1:41 pace for an actual half mile.
What would you do differently?:

Boy...can't think of anything. Been training swim more than ever. Did plenty of OW swims recently. Pushed it, but stayed under control...competed with other guys from my wave around me in the water. Thought I had a good swim, but it turned out to be my weakest performance today, placement-wise.
Transition 1
  • 03m 55s
Comments:

Spent about 25-30 sec. getting my sandals on at the bottom of the concrete walkway up to T1. Seemed like a long time...but then I just sprinted by everyone else who was mincing barefoot up the hill...caught one guy in my AG as I entered the TA. So I think I made up the time invested in putting the sandals on.

Rest of T1 went fine...but wasted seconds I'd like to have back getting left sock on.
What would you do differently?:

Skip the socks. Wearing them was the right decision this time, because my running shoes felt loose WITH the socks. Might have been a disaster if I'd tried to wear them without the socks. But it's possible the socks cost me a medal.
Bike
  • 18m 13s
  • 6 miles
  • 19.76 mile/hr
Comments:

Tried to hammer this. Passed a ton of people, including a couple guys in my AG. Was only passed by one person the whole time (on the first loop). Hoped for something in the 20-21 mph range, but ended up just a hair under 20. Still turned out to be one of my better bike placements ever and within 40 seconds of my goal time. Felt nice to be on one of the nicer bikes doing the passing for a change, instead of getting owned on the bike like usual.

Only real issue is that there are a zillion newbies in this race and they all want to ride to the left. And about 2% of them seemed to have listened to the repeated instructions from the race directors to listen for other riders saying "on your left." Fortunately, other than the two turnarounds and the slightly technical double-dogleg in the middle, there is a lot of elbow room on this course. Only had one near collision.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe push it a bit harder. I was a little apprehensive about leaving nothing for the run, but--honestly--I pushed this ride pretty hard...noticed I was hanging all the way off the nose of my saddle for most of it.
Transition 2
  • 01m
Comments:

Threw bike on rack. Threw helmet on aerobars. Switched shoes. Grabbed hat and bailed. One minute flat. Just what I wanted.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 14m 7s
  • 2 miles
  • 07m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

Hoped for something in the 13:30-13:45 range, but just missed. Haven't done much speed work lately (due to ITBS rehab), so I can't much complain. Hit one mile split (no marker, so going by course map) at about 6:50-6:55. Hill at the end definitely impacted second mile split.

As usually happens, passed a ton of people and no one passed me the whole time. (Well, actually, one younger guy in a dead sprint passed me right at the finish line, but I think I'd passed him shortly before that.) Finished with 2nd fastest run in my AG. (Honestly, would have been disappointed otherwise.) Feels great to be running uninjured again.
What would you do differently?:

I'd like to say, "Run harder," but 7:03.5 is just a hair faster than threshold run pace for me, so holding that for two miles off a swim and bike also at around threshold was good. Basically, the whole tri was like a 12K running race effort and 7:03.5 would be a very strong pace for that distance for me.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around. Definitely left everything on the course...really gassed after that final uphill. Couldn't find the athlete food (signs would be nice, guys). Had some giveaway beverages. Waited for Liz to finish helping with cleaning up the TA. (She was irritated afterward that so many volunteers bailed before the race was over...and that there was no food left for the volunteers who stayed to the end, even though it had been promised.) Finally got a couple squares of pizza and a few cookies.

Missed an AG medal by a minute: 55 seconds out of 4th and 60 seconds (exactly) out of 3rd. So I was in the mix, as I figured I would be, but didn't close the deal. But my splits were all competitive with the two guys just ahead of me--and it wasn't like I let someone outkick me to the line--so I can't be too disappointed.

Best context for my performance may be where I placed in my wave (M 50-69, Clydes, M MTB): S 17/106, B 15/106, R 7/106, OA 11/106...so right about top 10% of the old farts and Clydes (plus mountain bikers).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Well, the swim and the socks, I guess. Even if the course was long, that doesn't effect my overall placement there vs. the bike and run. If I'd placed on the swim where I placed on the bike (which is more typical for me recently), I'd have medalled.

Even wearing my socks. :)

Event comments:

This is a really unique race in that the three segments are designed to yield roughly equivalent times for most athletes. For someone like me who usually lags on the bike, that's pretty appealing.




Last updated: 2010-05-31 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:44 | 880 yards | 01m 54s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/18
Overall: 109/514
Performance: Average
Split exiting the water = 15:53 (1:48/100 yds)
Suit: Xterra Vortex 3 John
Course: Rectangular ocean swim. Two left turns.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:55
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:18:13 | 06 miles | 19.76 mile/hr
Age Group: 6/18
Overall: 77/514
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Two loops. Mostly flat but with two pretty technical turnarounds at each end.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:14:07 | 02 miles | 07m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/18
Overall: 64/514
Performance: Good
Course: Winding, weird-ass, course through Redondo Beach Pier. Changed from map on website...hopefully that will be fixed for next year. Mostly flat...until pretty serious hill in last 1/3 of a mile.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized?
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3