Contact Tri Series Takapuna - TriathlonSprint


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Takapuna, Auckland
New Zealand
Contact Tri Series
25C / 77F
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 03m 26s
Overall Rank = 91/150
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 10/13
Pre-race routine:

Show up 20 minutes after openning of transition, be told transition is closed and don't get bike racked and transition area set up until 15 minutes before race start...oops! I don't know what happened to me here, I'm usually good at staying on top of these things but I didn't realise how much time had passed while I waited for transition to re-open.
Event warmup:

Ran down to beach from transition (200-300m) for race start with wetsuit under my arm to try and get there in time for the start-line briefing, upon realising the race has been declared non-wetsuit at some point without myself or my mate realising, ran back to transition to drop off wetsuits, then ran back to beach again. Arrived at start line with less than 1 minute until race start, no time for warm up swim
Swim
  • 09m 21s
  • 500 meters
  • 01m 52s / 100 meters
Comments:

Time includes a 200-300m run up the beach and up a hill to T1. Considering I've never done a non-wetsuit OWS I was actually pretty happy with how it went. I started near the back which saved me from getting too roughed up at the start, but it also put me toward the back of the pack from the beginning, and I didn't overtake too many. Couldn't draft anyone because everyone I caught up to was too slow, and all the people a more appropriate speed for drafting were too far ahead I think
What would you do differently?:

I got up too early and even though I knew I should be duck-diving I ended up running/walking through water that was too deep to do so, which slowed me down and tired me out a bit. If I'd even considered the possibility it might be non-wetsuit, I might've considered a one-piece suit too
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

No separate time given for T1 (pretty sure it's included in bike leg). I'd modified my shoes a little to make them easier to do up while riding - helped a lot but I think there's some more changes I could make. Otherwise T1 went very smoothly, especially thanks to the lack of wetsuit
What would you do differently?:

More practice with jumping on the bike with shoes on and rubber-bands holding shoes in place.
Bike
  • 31m 35s
  • 16 kms
  • 30.40 km/hr
Comments:

Didn't go anywhere near as well as I'd hoped. Was very tough, and I completely failed at getting into any draft packs, whenever one caught up to me I just didn't feel like I had the legs to get on the back of it, partially because I'd been pushing hard by myself. I did find a draft-buddy for a couple of laps, but a faster rider came through and he managed to get onto his tail
What would you do differently?:

I think my strategy was all wrong, and my lack of race experience cost me a lot of energy. In hindsight, I would've been better off taking an easy pace initially to conserve energy, then getting onto a pack and doing everything I could to stick with them.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Very smooth, except I had my HRM watch attached to the bars of the bike and had forgotten to put it in my pocket before the end of the bike leg, so after racking bike I struggled with it a little to get it off the bars, probably only cost 10 seconds or so but was frustrating.
Run
  • 22m 30s
  • 4.2 kms
  • 05m 22s  min/km
Comments:

I felt absolutely terrible for the first 2-3km, bad stitch and my insides just general felt bad, although my legs weren't too bad, but I still was very slow. Eventually I started to feel better and my last lap actually felt really good, and I finished very strong and fast, overtaking a handful of runners in the last km.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure what I could've done differently, although now I'm thinking about it, I do wonder if I was a bit dehydrated and perhaps the water I took on during the run is why I started to feel better.
Post race
Warm down:

A bit of walking around and a gentle swim. I'm sure the swim was a bad idea without warm-down stretching or similar, but I needed to cool down

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Bad time-management at the start cost me a good headspace for the start, poor strategy on the bike cost me heavily in bike and run, I think.

Event comments:

It's a good and interesting race, very competitive compared to the first tri I did. I'm not sure how the wetsuit/no wetsuit decision is usually communicated, but I was disappointed that in the 45 minutes or so between when I arrived at the venue and the race start that I didn't hear anything. I was overall disappointed with my performance, but as this wasn't an "A" race, and only my second tri, I'll take it as a learning experience.





Last updated: 2011-02-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:09:21 | 500 meters | 01m 52s / 100meters
Age Group: 12/13
Overall: 80/150
Performance: Good
Suit: Orca 2 piece tri suit
Course: Box-type, probably 150m out to first buoy, 200m parallel to beach to second buoy, and 150m back in.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 23C / 74F Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:31:35 | 16 kms | 30.40 km/hr
Age Group: 12/13
Overall: 106/150
Performance: Below average
Time includes T1, HR 165-175
Wind: Some
Course: Criterium-style, 1.6km course through a shopping district/beachfront, 10 laps, draft legal, mostly smooth tarmac but some rough paved sections and a few potholes
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
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
00:22:30 | 04.2 kms | 05m 22s  min/km
Age Group: 9/13
Overall: 86/150
Performance: Average
Time includes T2, HR 165-180
Course: Around the outside of bike course, but with a diversion down a grassy hill toward the beach, with a painful but short climb up again on the grass
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? No
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