Capital of Texas Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Austin, Texas
United States
Capital of Texas Triathlon
97F / 36C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 07m 49s
Overall Rank = 1029/
Age Group = Athena 40+
Age Group Rank = 7/15
Pre-race routine:

Woke up, got dressed, chugged water and left for race.
Event warmup:

Brisk walking and a bit of stretching.
Swim
  • 34m 11s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 05s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was the only part of the day I wasn't suffering from the heat. I love the swim portion of triathlons. I do need to get a new wetsuit as mine chafes my arms horribly, even with body glide (which I forgot to pack!) Thinking about getting a short sleeve/pant suit.
What would you do differently?:

Practice sighting in open water more often - that's really the only way to get better. I can't simulate open water sighting in a swimming pool well enough to make any progress. Also, pack body glide.
Transition 1
  • 09m 50s
Comments:

First of all, I get into my shoes before I get on the bike. I'm not that good - yet ;)
Secondly, I didn't rush through this transition. It was HUGE and all sandy dirt mixed with gravel. I had to sit down and wipe the inch of crud off my feet before I could put my bike shoes on. Hated it - gross. Also, I had one of the worst rack positions. Horrible.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Maybe bring a bigger towel to wipe my feet on, and a bucket to sit on while I did all this nonsense.
Bike
  • 1h 47m 5s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 13.92 mile/hr
Comments:

This is where I'm confused. I mean...I know I was passed a lot, but I thought I'd averaged at least 15mph. I did pass quite a few people myself, but who knows what lap they were on? lol! Oh well, I guess the super strong wind slowed me down more than I thought. I also have to remember that this was a hilly course.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Maybe lose some more weight so I don't have as much fat to haul around. Now, if my hubby would buy me an aero bike I'm sure that would help my times tremendously.
Transition 2
  • 06m 34s
Comments:

Again, I do not ride with my feet on top of my shoes, nor do I jump off my moving bike. I value my life, and don't want to get injured. Perhaps one of these days when I'm a badass.

Of course I was racked by the swim in, so my run in and out of transition was a long one - with bike shoes on at that, so yeah....it took me a while.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I went as fast as I could.
Run
  • 1h 30m 10s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 14m 31s  min/mile
Comments:

They had zero ice, zero sponges, and the water cups were tiny. This pissed me off as my strategy involved ice.

I'm slow and the only way I'm going to get faster is to lose more weight and practice my run a LOT more. Who knows if I'll ever get faster....I'm sure I will at some point.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I didn't push it due to overheating concerns.
Post race
Warm down:

I collapsed into a chair underneath a tent.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Inexperience, slow runner, HEAT, wind, and still 20lbs overweight.

Event comments:

I won't be back to this race. It's like the organizers didn't care about anyone but the pros/elites (who had carpet down around their sandy transition area). They also ran-out of finishers towels before I could get one. But mostly, and I'll quit complaining about the race organization, the heat in Austin is just too much. Maybe if they held this in early April. But the final straw was the horribly huge transition. It was just awful. Horrible. Nasty. Crowded.

It was fun swimming in the river and riding the streets of downtown Austin. Next time I return to Austin it will be to enjoy their music and art scene, though. Very hip city.




Last updated: 2011-04-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:11 | 1640 yards | 02m 05s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Suit: Sleeveless Wetsuit
Course: In a river (lake?) in downtown Austin, TX. Swam out to buoy, right turn to another, right turn then long swim under a bridge with lots of spectators (cool) down to another buoy, right turn to another, then swam to finish.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 09:50
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:47:05 | 24.85 miles | 13.92 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: 4 loop course through downtown Austin around the Capitol Building and over a lake. Very beautiful, but hilly and too windy!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 06:34
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:30:10 | 06.21 miles | 14m 31s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course: Hot, no trees, on asphalt in downtown Austin in the freaking 90+F heat.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2