Mountain Man Sprint Tri - TriathlonSprint


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Flagstaff, Arizona
United States
Mountain Man Events
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 15m
Overall Rank = 46/213
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 9/32
Pre-race routine:

Poor night's sleep in a tent with two whiny dogs and an air mattress that seemed to be losing air all night. Up and down from 12:30 until 5AM, when I gave up getting any sleep and just got out of bed. Drank a diet Red Bull. Got ready while my wife took the dogs out for about the hundredth time. Ate 1/2 of the horrible Power Bar they gave us in the goodie bag on the drive to Lake Mary.
Event warmup:

Some light dynamic stretching after setting up transition. A short swim prior to our wave start.
Swim
  • 18m 29s
  • 820 yards
  • 02m 15s / 100 yards
Comments:

"That poor boy's just gettin' beat up!" I can hear the announcer muttering to himself. Gasps of horror from the onlookers. I was like a buoy for everyone to go around. Not my best swim! I have been doing a lot of OWS w/o my wetsuit lately and figured I'd go without for this race. In hindsight, not the best decision. The water was colder than they said (I'd guess high 60's) and it had more of an effect on me as the swim went on. When I got out, I was freakin' COLD!

Also, I seeded myself at the front of the churn, 2nd row middle. I had people knocking me left and right for the first 200M, and I never got into my rhythm. Probably because I was wondering if I could still go to my car and get my wetsuit.
What would you do differently?:

Wear my wetsuit. Also, seed myself better/closer to the edges. The water entry is pretty narrow, and I should have gotten to an edge to get out of everyone's way and concentrate on my stroke. Definitely my worst swim of the year. My wife actually thought she missed me getting out of the water!
Transition 1
  • 01m
Comments:

Transition was fine. Luckily I didn't have that pesky wetsuit to slow me down! My spot was all the way near the bike-out/run-out area, not that it really affected anything. I had the fastest T1 time in my AG.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 28m 49s
  • 12.4 miles
  • 25.82 mile/hr
Comments:

I was cold for the first few miles of the bike. After I got going, the bike felt good. The course was easy to ride fast, and there wasn't much car traffic. Also, with only one turn-around it made it easy to keep fairly constant power.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 2
  • 01m 14s
Comments:

I hesitated putting my shoes on for some reason. Probably only lost a couple of seconds, but it's really not very difficult. Must be old age catching up to me.
What would you do differently?:

I should have run faster with my bike. I had a long way to go with it and didn't go very quickly through the transition area. I think the small pebbles and my bare feet also affected my speed.
Run
  • 25m 27s
  • 3.22 miles
  • 07m 54s  min/mile
Comments:

I didn't push too hard at the beginning of the run. I was hoping for a better split. Based on my 310 time and distance, my overall average was about right for the altitude but a man can hope.
What would you do differently?:

Need to do some more tempo work in training. My run is getting faster slowly but I have only been doing short fartlek intervals.
Post race
Warm down:

Looked for my wife and hung out with her and our ridgeback devil-dogs. Waited for my friend to finish and chatted for a while. Put up with some ribbing from him since he beat me out of the water. Then my dog tried to pee on his leg. Spoke to a few people, gathered my stuff and packed up.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Me. I should have swallowed my pride earlier, then I wouldn't have swallowed so much lake water later. At the same time, I'm glad I tried it. I'm also not used to the narrow chute for water entry. I need to be more aware of these kinds of things as I line up to start. I didn't think I would be as slow as I was. I also think the lack of sleep affected me. Caffeine and cold water can mask it for a little while, but I'm pretty sure it hurt my performance.

Event comments:

This is a fun race. The altitude can get you if you're not used to it. It seems most people feel it on the swim, I know I did. The course isn't bad and is usually in good shape. I knocked 16 minutes off of my time from last year, so I'm happy about that.




Last updated: 2011-01-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:29 | 820 yards | 02m 15s / 100yards
Age Group: 19/32
Overall: 0/213
Performance: Bad
Suit: None
Course: Rectangular
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 69F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:28:49 | 12.4 miles | 25.82 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/32
Overall: 0/213
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Pretty flat out-and-back with one minor hill. Not sure on the actual distance, may have been slightly shorter than advertised. I didn't hit the 'lap' button correctly for the bike start of end, but it had my average at 25 MPH. Either way, it's a new PR.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:14
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:25:27 | 03.22 miles | 07m 54s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/32
Overall: 0/213
Performance: Average
Course: Out and back, small hill. My and my friend's 310XT showed just over 3.2 miles for the run.
Keeping cool Average Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4