mini-Mussel Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Geneva, New York
United States
Musselman Triathlon
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 37m 42s
Overall Rank = 228/753
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 11/46
Pre-race routine:

I felt I was too undertrained to race, so I took a super casual approach to the whole thing. We picked up packets the night before and had a sub at Wegmans. I believe the moto of this town is "We do it slower" because I've never waited so long for a sub in a line of just 4 people when they have 4 people working in the sub shop. The transition area opened up at 7am. I got up at 6:45am thinking I'd have plenty of time to get my stuff together, cram down a bagel and set up my TA before 8:30am. We parked and I got marked. Found tons of Broome County Triathletes and we put up the club tent next to Tri Team Z... because they had a friggin TV with the Tour de France on!
Event warmup:

Warm up? I was supposed to warm up?! Had my picture taken with the Broome County Triathlon Club. Walked over to the start. Heard the pre-race briefing and realized I didn't even touch the water once and I was getting ready to start a race! Did some yoga moves-downward dog, warrior 1, warrior 2 and after our group was set into the water I swam out to the buoy and treaded water a little. Woulda been nice for me to think a little further ahead and get in the water for a real warmup. Oops!
Swim
  • 11m 32s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 25s / 100 yards
Comments:

The race results said my pace was 1:32 and I was 24th overall female I felt like I should have been able to swim faster, but I didn't want to hurt the hernias. I usually do a little better overall on the swim, but my training was lacking. Felt comfy in my wetsuit. I was swimming over a lot of people (sorry ladies, but you were in my way). Caught up to people in the wave ahead of us. This course was idiot proof, which I enjoyed tremendously because I really was trying to keep this race low-key. Plus, as usual, my goggles fogged up, so it was a relief that I didn't have to look to hard for buoys. Since we were in a channel, I knew if I turned right I'd hit a boat. I tried to exit the water too soon and hit the slippery part that they warned us about, so I dolphined once and was all set.
What would you do differently?:

Actually, my execution for my level of training was spot on. I could have warmed up, but I don't think this effected my swim too much.
Transition 1
  • 01m 37s
Comments:

I didn't mess around with socks or my shoe straps. I could have practiced the fancy way of mounting a bike and considering where I placed without much effort I could be decently competitive with training and practice with the transitions. I stayed calm when I pulled my suit off and strapped on my helmet and grabbed my glasses. I figured with such a "short" ride (in comparison to the 148 mile tour I did last month) if I forgot anything I'd be able to get over it.
What would you do differently?:

Race results say I was 72 overall, 25 female and 5 in age group in T1. Really? Cool!
Bike
  • 56m 13s
  • 16.1 miles
  • 17.18 mile/hr
Comments:

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a terrible cyclist. BUT, I'm starting to make progress. Often times I'm in the top 15-20% of the swim and then the bottom 20-25% of the bike. This bike should improvement for me! The change? Cadence up hills and staying out of the granny gears. A few months ago my husband said he'd buy me a tri bike if I could learn to climb hills in the middle ring. Guess what I learned to do?! Definitely made a difference. I never had the experience of passing people before! Many folks had their bib number on their back, which had their name, so I was able to say "Good job, so and so, keep going!" I only put a 16 oz water bottle in my aero bar bottle, and before the start of the race I knew it wasn't going to be enough, so I sipped carefully and was able to finish feeling good.

Race results also said I was 143 overall female.
What would you do differently?:

More water. Everything else I was happy with. I have been having trouble breaking the 16mph average this year, so this was a confidence boost. Last night Jon fixed the flat tire on my back wheel (I double flatted earlier in the week) and we wiped the excess grime off my chain, so I'm sure that helped. A word to the wise or the incredibly stupid... that clear stuff they call "chain lube" turns into the black gunk that smears down your leg-Sara did not know this, hence the black chain tracks I've had after each ride.
Transition 2
  • 01m 35s
Comments:

267 overall, 118 female, 15 in age group-what the hell was I doing for so long in T2?!
What would you do differently?:

Not sure why I ranked that low in T2. Perhap because I had to look through my pile o' crap to find my race belt so I had my bib #?
Run
  • 26m 45s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 38s  min/mile
Comments:

Race results say I was 71 overall female. Happy with my run. Focused on looking for yellow/green Broome County Triathlon Club members to high five. Loved seeing the BeginnerTriathlete.com folks (like Ken and Mike) at the water stop with my hubby, Jon. Kept the cadence high and easy. Kicked it up the best I could for the last mile.
What would you do differently?:

I was happy with this performance. I had no idea what I was capable of on such minimal training.

The first place chick in our AG ran a 20:59. It's unrealistic that I could hold a 6:33 pace. The third place girl held an 8:06 pace, that's totally doable.
Post race
Warm down:

Watermelon, cantaloupe, cherries, Red Apple Orchard drinks and chatting. Had to race 2 hours back to Binghamton to make my 3pm shift at the hospital. Managed to be only 1 minute late for work.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training. Hernia surgery was the last week in December and the 2nd hernia started in April-ish. I had a lot of conditioning leftover from training for the 148 Harpoon Brewery to Brewery ride back in June, so thankfully I held on to some of that conditioning.

Event comments:

I can't say enough great things about Musselman! It's a fantastic race.




Last updated: 2011-03-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:32 | 820 yards | 01m 25s / 100yards
Age Group: 6/46
Overall: 71/753
Performance: Good
Suit: Full sleeved with lots of holes from the dog
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:37
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:56:13 | 16.1 miles | 17.18 mile/hr
Age Group: 16/46
Overall: 385/753
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course:
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:35
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:26:45 | 03.1 miles | 08m 38s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/46
Overall: 239/753
Performance: Good
Course: FLAT
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5