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 Swim
Comments: Swim was OK. I felt like I had a good start but even after 200 yards I could tell there was a group WAY ahead of me. There was minimal contact and it completely cleared up after 100 yards or so. Turns were fine. The swim time includes a long (150-200 yard) run to transition with a steep hill to run up. So actual swim times were quite a bit less than what is listed. Looking at results, a few of the top guys were 2 or more minutes ahead after the swim. There were some uber-swimmers at this event. The guy who had the top swim time a Lake Placid last year was here today. I expect to be behind these guys after the swim....but to lose 2 minutes in a 500 meters swim in a tough pill to swallow. I need to get better at swimming if I want to compete for the top 1-2 spots. Not sure if that's gonna happen though. What would you do differently?: Not much really.  Transition 1
Comments: T1 took more time than I wanted. Had trouble getting my suit off. I opted to put my shoes on in transition and run through rocks/grass with the bike shoes on. Others carried the shoes to the mount line and put them on there. Not sure what is best. What would you do differently?: Need some practice removing wetsuit. First triathlon since Lake Placid so I'm a bit rusty at this transition stuff.  Bike
Comments: I got up to speed quickly and was feeling pretty good. There is a group of hills that start at mile 2. There isn't much time to catch your breath before you're cranking up a steepish hill. Started passing bunches of people. Most of these people were in the duathlon that started before the tri. Hit the smooth part of the course around mile 5 and slowly started reeling in some of the faster guys. There is another section on the back side with some rather tough hills. Caught more people on the steep parts and started putting some distance between me and them. The last few miles are fast with some tricky turns. I made up about 30 seconds on 2 guys during this section and entered transition with them. Just goes to show you that you can make up time by being a better bike handler just as you can by being a better climber. I took a bottle with me on the bike but honestly didn't need it. I took about 2 drinks from the bottle and most was left over. Really don't need anthing for a 1 hour race when it's 60 degrees. That sure didn't stop some people from carrying tons of stuff with them. I saw as many as 3 bottles on some bikes and even aero-drinks. Just not necessary for a sprint tri unless you plan on bike the 15 miles in more than 2 hours. What would you do differently?: Fairly good bike. Not in the best bike shape so I would expect to be 30-60 seconds faster on a good day with a more focused training. Transition 2
Comments: Decent T2. 13th best time. Had some trouble getting my race belt on and lost a few seconds. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Run
Comments: I could tell right away that my running legs felt good. I have been running very consistenly (150 miles/month) for the last 4-5 months. I left T2 with 2 other guys and they were 200 yards behind me in the matter of a minute or two. I saw a few guys ahead of me who appeared to be running quite well. After 1/2 mile or so, I really started picking up speed trying to catch these guys. I ended up passing 2 people on the run but could catch the other 2 I saw ahead of me. They ended up finishing less than 2 minutes in front. Of course, these were the swimmers who outswam me by 2+ minutes. I was under the impression that this was a legitimate 5K course. I had no idea I could run a 5K in 17:22, especially after biking. The course is quite easy and I had rabbits to chase so I suppose it could be a legitimate distance. Not sure really. What would you do differently?: Nothing Post race
Warm down: Hung out and talked with other competitors. Ate food. Awards ceremony started promptly at 9am as advertised so I was able to get on the road by 10:15am or so. Ended up with 1st in M35-39 age group. What limited your ability to perform faster: Haven't been as focused on triathlon as I normally am lately. Training has been going well but I really have no focus right now. Have no complaints though...good race overall. Event comments: Very well organized local race. A bit pricey for a sprint triathlon but very well put together. This is definately a bikers triathlon as the bike course is difficult. Volunteers did a great job. Would definately consider doing this again especially considering it is so close. Last updated: 2011-04-26 12:00 AM
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United States
Piranha Sports
60F / 16C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 5/300
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 1/25
Up at 4am and had the usual breakfast. My family had other obligations so I was on my own for this race. I packed up my stuff and left around 4:30am. It's about a 45 minute drive but I still had to check in and pick up my packet. As usual, I was one of the first people there and walked around in the dark for a while watching them get organized. Picked up my packet around 5:45 and set up transition.
Short race so there wasn't much to think about. No nutrition needed. No spare tires. No socks. Just one bottle on the bike. Don't need much for a sprint. It was only about 60 degrees but I still opted for a tri jersey. No arm warmers or socks. If it were 50, I might have gone with a long sleeve jersey.
Got in the water about 10 minutes before the start and swam around. Water was chilly and took a while to get used to.