Terrapin Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
College Park, Maryland
United States
University of Maryland
58F / 14C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 15m 37s
Overall Rank = 7/100
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

My first triathlon, and feeling both excited and apprehensive. Relieved that it was a low-key and (for me) very local race. Wandered around nervously, watching people who seemed to know what they were doing. Very happy to be racing, after a winter of injury. 4 weeks ago I thought I wasn't going to be able to take part in this.
Event warmup:

Minimal. The first swim wave had a chance to warm up, but subsequent waves did not.
Swim
  • 14m 55s
  • 770 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

First triathlon, so little idea of what to expect. I swam in the second wave, which left 15 mins after the first. Rather disoriented at the start. After less than a lap I was feeling like I would struggle to finish, had water in the goggles, form and breathing was hopeless. Realized that if I swam like a novice, I'd get tired like a novice. Settled down after 2-3 laps, and didn't have too much difficulty with traffic. Generally swimming fairly wide. In the second half I started to get relaxed enough to start paying attention to some of those aspects of swim form that I had spent the winter working on. Some I completely forgot about. I had no idea of my position, except that I could tell that some lapped me, and I lapped a couple myself. The horn for wave 3 sounded as I was climbing out of the pool, so the total must have been close to 15 minutes. Slower than I'd want, but very good experience.
What would you do differently?:

Warm-up in the water. Try to get relaxed earlier in the swim - this is probably the most important part. Pay attention to form aspects that I completely forgot about today.
Transition 1
  • 02m 45s
Comments:

Having forgotten my helmet in my first duathlon, I was sure to attach everything to the bike this time, so that I couldn't forget it. The transition didn't feel fast, but the job got done reasonably efficiently. I'd be faster if I wasn't fiddling with socks, but I'm not at that point yet.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 37m 10s
  • 12.48 miles
  • 20.15 mile/hr
Comments:

Happy to be out of the pool and on to something that I am more comfortable doing. The twists and turns of the course suited me well, as they favored acceleration, climbing etc. over a super aero position, which I don't have on my roadie. Some of the turns were a bit tricky, and I almost came off a couple of times. I was passing people all the way, but no way of telling whether they were on the same lap as me, which wave they were from, etc. Good to have people to chase. Pleasantly surprised to keep an average just over 20 mph on this course. I became slightly slower as the laps progressed, but overall felt better after the bike than after the swim.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Practice in taking corners at speed could go a long way in this race, which had 18 sharp corners *per lap*.
Transition 2
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

Worked fairly well. Practice could shave off a few seconds, but not much.
Run
  • 19m 17s
  • 3.04 miles
  • 06m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

Legs felt heavy at the start, but not too concerned, based on all the swim/run and bike/run training I've been doing lately. But I didn't loosen up as quickly/easily as I had hoped. Felt progressively better over the course of the run. 9:37 at halfway, so pretty close to even pacing. Again catching people all the way -- I guess that's one of the perks of being such a poor swimmer -- as usual with no way of telling which wave they were from. Steep climb in the last half mile was tough, but it really helped to have somebody from Wave 1 to chase. Pleased to maintain around 6:20/mile, and it certainly didn't feel as fast as that, which I guess is encouraging.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

Minimal warm down.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Confidence in the water in a race setting. Swim form more generally. I was 12 minutes behind the overall winner, and I probably lost 7 or more of those minutes on the swim.

Event comments:

Not a big event by any means. But a good one for a first triathlon. Especially for me, since the pool and the bike/run courses are so familiar to me, and it was just a couple of minutes from home. Useful that it's right at the start of the season, too. I met a lot of fellow newbies. Low key atmosphere. This year's event was double the size of last year's one, and hopefully it will continue to grow. I would certainly do it again. It would be nice to have official time splits, quick results, etc. but that is probably not such a priority for a low-key race like this.




Last updated: 2011-04-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:55 | 770 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/100
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course: 7 laps of 50M pool. So it was shorter than the advertised half mile distance.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current:
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:45
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:37:10 | 12.48 miles | 20.15 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/100
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: 4 laps of U of MD campus. Many twists and turns on each lap.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:30
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:19:17 | 03.04 miles | 06m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/100
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back. First and last half mile winds around buildings, parking lots, hills and even steps. Remainder is very pleasant on shaded bike path.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4