Elephant Man Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Elephant Butte, New Mexico
United States
elephant man triathlon
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 45m 8s
Overall Rank = 34/149
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 7/15
Pre-race routine:

Up at 5 am. Took a quick shower to wake up and ate a bagel with peanut butter. Arrived at the transition area about 6:20 am to rack my bike and set up area. After that, I just sat in the car with my wife relaxing until the race meeting. Ate one GU during race meeting,
Event warmup:

Quick out and back swim followed by some light stretching, knee bends, and jumping in place.
Swim
  • 29m 22s
  • 1760 yards
  • 01m 40s / 100 yards
Comments:

The plan was to just take it easy here and conserve energy for the bike and run. I found a nice stroke rhythm and kept it. Bilateral breathing except for times when wakes/waves prevented getting good breaths. The wave action was very irregular and timing anything to them was impossible. Sighting was good I did find myself heading towards the wrong side of an intermediate buoy on the last leg - but, wasn't too far off before I corrected.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe push a little harder. I came out of water very fresh and, if there was any place I could have probably gained some time in this race, it would have been here.
Transition 1
  • 02m 32s
Comments:

Socks On > (MTB) Shoes On > Head Sweat On > Glasses On > Helmet On > Grab Bike > Go. Overall, I thought this went pretty smoothly. The T1 time included a fair amount of running before entering the transition area - so, time reflects that.
What would you do differently?:

Non-MTB Shoes. I can't wait for my Specialized TriVents to show up so I can start practicing with them.
Bike
  • 1h 24m 52s
  • 26.5 miles
  • 18.74 mile/hr
Comments:

Tough course. I was glad I pre-ran it the week before (knowing when the bike pain would end was half the battle....). My plan was to go hard until mile 16.5 and then gauge the rest of it (downhill) based on my assessment of my legs and my ability to run on them. Everything was feeling good - so, I managed to get quality effort in for the whole course. Two GUs on the bike as planned - one 45 min into the race, another at 1:30 into the race.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I was hoping for 18 to 20 mph average and hit just under 19. I do have aero goodies coming - so, I hope to see some speed increases there.
Transition 2
  • 00m 49s
Comments:

Crashed and burned on the dismount! I got a good sized strawberry on my left thigh / buttock to show for it... I almost did the same in another race because during my rolling dismount the foot remaining on the pedal was still clipped in when I set down the other foot to run. So, this race I made sure both feet were un-clipped before I swung my leg over the saddle. The unfortunate part was that my remaining foot clipped back in just as I was setting my other foot on the ground. Other than that, great transition.. Bike Shoes Off > Running Shoes On (Elastic Laces) > Helmet / Head Sweat Off > Gloves Off > Grab Number Belt and Hat > Go.
What would you do differently?:

Again... Non-MTB Shoes. I can't wait for my Specialized TriVents to show up so I can start practicing with them.
Run
  • 47m 31s
  • 6 miles
  • 07m 55s  min/mile
Comments:

I was hoping for 8:30 / mile average - so, I am more than pleased with my 8:00 / mile average - especially with the hills involved. The dirt hill before the pavement was downright cruel - I wasn't sure if my "running" speed up that hill was any faster than I could have done it walking. The temperature was hot and I easily poured more aid station water on me than I drank.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I am pleased with my run performance. I did have a plan to eat a GU on the run - but, kept forgetting to do it before the aid stations came so I could wash it down.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk - Eat - Drink - Cheer Fellow Finishers

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing - I had a plan and stuck with it. I am happy with my performance given my current fitness, training time, and equipment.

Event comments:

It was a well run event with lots of nice volunteers.




Last updated: 2010-09-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:22 | 1760 yards | 01m 40s / 100yards
Age Group: 6/15
Overall: 0/149
Performance: Good
Suit: Tri Top and Shorts (No wetsuit)
Course: Triangle pattern in Elephant Butte Lake
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:32
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:24:52 | 26.5 miles | 18.74 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/15
Overall: 0/149
Performance: Good
Avg HR: 145 bpm, Max HR: 158 bpm
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: A lolipop which began with a nice step climb right out of transition followed by about 2.5 level-ish miles through town and about nine miles of large rollers (large enough that momentum couldn't take you all the way up the hills). The 4.5 or so miles following the rollers was generally up-hill which was kicked of with a 17% grade hill (ouch). Miles 16.5 to 26.5 were generally down hill.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:49
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:47:31 | 06 miles | 07m 55s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/15
Overall: 0/149
Performance: Good
Avg HR: 158 bpm, Max HR: 171 bpm
Course: Tough course. An out and back that started with a dirt/sand section that ended in a short steep hill before hitting the pavement. Once on the pavement, the course crossed two dams, and contained several significant hills (up and down) before hitting the turn-around point.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4