One Last Tri - TriathlonSprint


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Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota
United States
50F / 10C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 13m 31s
Overall Rank = 4/191
Age Group = 30-39
Age Group Rank = 2/19
Pre-race routine:

Got up way earlier than I needed to so I could get to the race site at 6:00. Realized about 10 minutes from the park that I had forgotten my contacts. Turned around, drove home, (apparently woke up my son), got my contacts, forgot water bottles for a second time, and drove back to the park. Arrived about 7:10. Plenty of time to get a reasonably good transition space. Before I left home, I had a banana, yogurt, granola, and a bunch of coffee. Set up the transition area, chatted with some others, found someone to loan me a water bottle.
Event warmup:

Rode a couple miles on the bike. Ran ~1/2 mile with some short sprints. Stretched, and wet-suited myself. Went down to the water and shrieked like many others when I let the water into my suit. Brrrrr! The water was so cold that if I didn't pull my swim cap down to the top of my goggles, I would get pretty sharp pain in my brow like what happens to me when running in the really cold.

Pre-race meeting, and then lined up in the water for the time trial start. "Warmed up my wetsuit" and sat in the water to try to acclimate myself as much as possible.
Swim
  • 09m 23s
  • 600 yards
  • 01m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was 9th to start swimming. I was hoping that I'd be able to draft off someone in front of me, but I passed half a dozen people or so and then found myself out of reach of the people in front of me. Breathing and sighting were pretty good and the water only felt cold for the first 50 yards or so. I could tell that I've not been swimming lately because I started to tire a bit about 2/3 the way through the swim and someone behind me caught and slowly passed me with about 100 yards to go. I was pretty satisfied with my swim, though, all things considered
What would you do differently?:

Oh, I don't know. Make time to train during the off season and summer.
Transition 1
  • 01m 31s
Comments:

Ran at a good pace into the transition area and had my wetsuit stripped down below my waist. I got to my bike and had a heck of a time getting my heels out and I stumbled about a little bit making that happen. Socks took a couple moments as well, but once I got all of that taken care of everything else was fine. I was 3rd into transition (as far as I could tell), but passed the two in front of me on the way out.
What would you do differently?:

Practice those transitions. Yes, I've done good transitions in the past, but my T1 could use a bit of refinement. Also think about training without socks.
Bike
  • 39m 52s
  • 14.1 miles
  • 21.22 mile/hr
Comments:

Pushed on the bike, though I didn't feel like it went as well as the results indicated (Results say I had the 7th best bike, but four of those are times of just a couple seconds). My new bike is why I signed up for this race. I'm sure it helped as a non-scientific time trial I did a while ago showed. Like the swim, I felt a bit tired, but kept pushing. Flew into transition feeling pretty good because nobody had gained or passed me on the course. I did see the one person ahead of me probably 1/2 mile into the run as I was coming into T2.
What would you do differently?:

More training and I could have done better, yet.
Transition 2
  • 00m 23s
Comments:

2nd best transition time in the race. It was an excellent transition. I got a little ego boost too, 'cause the announcer commented on how fast it was and said that I gained time on the guy in front of me.
What would you do differently?:

Not a thing. Probably my best T2 ever.
Run
  • 22m 23s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 07m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

My run actually felt pretty good. I didn't have any of the lead-legs that sometimes happens after the bike. I immediately took off at a decent pace. My feet were frozen and it felt like I was still wearing my cleats, though. They felt like that through nearly the whole run. Some of the trail running was a little hard to find the best path without hitting a root, etc. Didn't particularly care for the beds of rocks that must have covered mud. There were a few times too where I wasn't 100% sure I was on the trail. A little better marking would have been nice. I would really have liked to have a water stop about mile 1 too. Again, started to feel a little tired a bit after mile two, but kept at it. Hitting the paved trail again felt good 'cause I knew the end was close and I was able to pick up the pace a little more. Oh, and having a little descent to the finish line always feels good.

Despite most of my running over the past year being with the hash (with beer stops), this was a pretty decent run for me.
What would you do differently?:

Guess... training, of course.
Post race
Warm down:

Sat in the grass to get over the queasy feeling in my stomach. Walked around and talked to the other early finishers. Put warm things on, and found the post-race food.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training. This result was VERY good, but I know I can do better. I'm sure with some decent training, I could probably pull several minutes off that time.

Event comments:

I liked the race. With a few changes, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this race. As it was, I'd consider doing it again.




Last updated: 2010-09-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:09:23 | 600 yards | 01m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 6/19
Overall: 18/191
Performance: Good
Suit: sleeveless wetsuit
Course: clockwise triangle, started in the water just up past my knees.
Start type: Wade Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:31
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:39:52 | 14.1 miles | 21.22 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/19
Overall: 3/191
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Clockwise loop on country roads (some with shoulders, some without) around the lake. Few rolling hills. My computer said that the distance was over 14 miles and I averaged 20.9 mph
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:23
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
00:22:23 | 03.1 miles | 07m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/19
Overall: 17/191
Performance: Good
Course: Mix of paved trail/road and cross-country-type trail running. Few little hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3