Black Fly Tri - International Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
United States
Endorfun Sports
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 58m 22s
Overall Rank = 175/430
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 19/31
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4 with Z and it was pouring out. Had some toast with jelly, honey, and PB. Got in the boat and headed out, then drive up to the event hoping the rain would stop. By the time we got there, the weather had really improved and it was clearing up and starting to get hot. The road was a bit wet, but nothing bad. Super weather really.
Event warmup:

Didn’t do a lot of warm up, just a little running with some strides and get the bike set up correctly. Everything felt awesome from the get go – Achilles was fine from the start of the running. I should have taken the hint that all was well with it and the running time off was a good thing.
Swim
  • 08m 16s
  • 440 yards
  • 01m 53s / 100 yards
Comments:

Weird start, time trial by bib# letting us go in every 5 seconds. There was a short run down a ramp and a rocky start. More on that in the post-race comments. Saw some people wipe out going down the ramp, so I started down very gingerly. Dove in, and my goggles immediately filled with water. Possibly due to not having them wet and sealed right, or possibly due to diving in. Stopped to readjust since I didn’t want to deal with water for the entire swim. Then I just settled in and moseyed around the course. Passed a lot of people but it wasn’t because I was going quickly. I really didn’t want to tax myself too much in prep for that uphill bike. Left the water with pretty low heart rate.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure, I’ve been doing no swimming so I suppose I could be swim training and definitely could go a bit harder. I didn’t think this through since the first 8 miles of the bike is downhill you really can afford a little higher heart rate on the swim. There’s plenty of chance to recover if you overcook the swim.


Transition 1
  • 02m 45s
Comments:

Ran up the ramp to the wet suit strippers. Love it when there are suit strippers! I took my time getting socks on and everything in order. The run out to the bike start was pretty long, though the T1 time stopped before most of the run out. I also had a really hard time clipping in for some reason.
What would you do differently?:

Another super slow T1. I have to work on these and get this time down. I’m losing 1-2 minutes in transition to other people at my level. Pretty bad.
Bike
  • 1h 04m 14s
  • 20.5 miles
  • 19.15 mile/hr
Comments:

I actually started my bike computer when I mounted and dismounted and the time on the bike was 1:42 less that the official bike time due to the run out. I really held back on this bike to have something left for the run. Took the downhill fairly easy and just coasted once the speed got over 31. Not sure why I picked that number, but it was what I did. Once the hills started, I just sat and kept the effort low. Even on the constant uphill all the way back, I just geared down and really spun at easy effort. Drank about 20 ounces and 200 calories, so I think that part was right. Hard to judge the bike since I went just about HIM effort.
What would you do differently?:

Driving to the event in the morning we went over the last 8 miles of the uphill part, and I think that made me believe this course was a lot harder than it actually turned out to be. I’m not sure how much time I could have picked up by pushing a little harder, but there’s no doubt I held back too much.
Transition 2
  • 01m 21s
Comments:

Again, just too much wasted motion here. I need to work on the transitions as there is no reason to be this slow. This would have been a great race to get out of the shoes on the bike since the run was awkward in bike shoes. I got passed quite a bit on the run into transition.
What would you do differently?:

Get out of the bike shoes at the end of the ride and run in bare feet. In general just go through the entire process with a little more urgency.
Run
  • 41m 48s
  • 5 miles
  • 08m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

I knew I went too easy on the bike as soon as the run started. My legs didn’t even feel weird at the start. Still, since I hadn’t been running for a few weeks with the Achilles issues, I tried to really hold back. My effort was about half marathon effort for the first few miles, though I was constantly slowing the pace after checking the GPS and seeing I had crept down to 8:00 or under. At about 3 miles, I still felt great, no Achilles pain at all, not really laboring, so I sped up some. Finished with 7:52 and 7:42 miles and really running at the end. I wasn’t particularly spent went I crossed the finish line, so I knew I left time on the course.
What would you do differently?:

Forget the technology and let my body decide how it wants to run. I think for an event of this length, it’s not as important to hold back. I guess I have to accept that even though I’m still not a speed demon, I’m improving on the run and at a minimum my endurance is adequate for a 5 miler.
Post race
Warm down:

Not much really, I wasn’t overly taxed at the end. Stretched the Achilles but it was fine the whole race. Met up with the Gnomies and shared lies about the race. Thanked my faithful Sherpa and his friend who came along.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of swimming, a few weeks off running, but mostly my own head and the fact that I just gave a poor effort really. Paced everything way too conservatively. I’m planning to do this again one next year if possible.

Event comments:

Great race in a great venue with a great organization.

This was my first race with Team Gnomies, and that part was a blast. It’s fun to race with a team and the fact the one of us placed 2nd AG was great. This is a fun distance and I wish there were more like it around here. I’d like to have a chance to push this one a lot harder.

Interesting postlude - after putting my flip flops on, someone commented on blood dripping out from my foot. I checked and sure enough there was a nice gash on the bottom of my foot. I figured I must have cut it somewhere after the race, but that didn't make sense. I figured if I cut if during the race, it would have to be getting into the water on the swim since the start was full of pointy rocks. But if that was the case, it's hard to imagine I wouldn't have noticed and if so my sock would have the evidence. Sure enough, I pulled the sock out of my bag and it was soaked in red! My own bloody sock story (Red Sox fans will get that!). I'm not adding this as an aside for any of my split times - it had absolutely zero impact on the race, but it was just interesting to me. Adrenaline is a great thing.




Last updated: 2011-02-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:16 | 440 yards | 01m 53s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/31
Overall: 0/430
Performance:
Suit: Full
Course: Tiny pond and the course mostly follow the shoreline. The course has a gazillion buoys and a few sharp turns. There were a few spots where it was a little confusing as there were buoys off to the right marking a beach, otherwise it was tough to get off course. Overall a very strange swim course.
Start type: Run Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:45
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
01:04:14 | 20.5 miles | 19.15 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/31
Overall: 0/430
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Bike included a long run out. The course is a lollipop downhill the whole way out and uphill the whole way back. There were a few short steep climbs but mostly just a gradual, relentless uphill after the turn around.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:21
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Bad
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:41:48 | 05 miles | 08m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/31
Overall: 0/430
Performance: Average
8:38, 8:49, 8:47, 7:52, 7:42
Course: Out and back with a few minor hills. Lots of shade which helped as the temps were going up.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 1
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Ok
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] 4