Chinook 119.1 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Calgary, Alberta
Canada
Chinook Triathlon Festival
15C / 59F
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 58m 41s
Overall Rank = 41/100
Age Group = 40-49
Age Group Rank = 14/28
Pre-race routine:

Well, here's my Chinook Half race report. Better late than never!

Nothing special about the routine. Up at 5:00AM. At my usual PBJ sandwiches and a banana and waited for mother nature. Race time was 8:00, transition opened at 7:00, so I left at about 6:30 to get there a bit before 7:00. Started sipping my Infinit when I got in the car.

Got to transition early and set up a few bikes away from Grant Burwash, the event winner. I'll be keeping an eye out for my photo (in the background behind Grant ;-) ).
Event warmup:

A quick ride in the parking lot to make sure the bike was running smoothly, some strides after setup in transition was complete, and jumped in the water for 5 minutes to loosen the limbs.
Swim
  • 32m 22s
  • 2000 meters
  • 01m 37s / 100 meters
Comments:

When the gun went off, I swam pretty hard for the first 150 or so meters and then let off and waited for someone to draft to pass me. After about 4 speed demons passed, I found someone at the right pace to draft. Even better was that he left just enough bubbles to easily follow, but not too many to make it hard to see his feet. I drafted him for virtually all the swim except for one point when he seemed to veer too much off course. I ended up on the heels of someone else that was kicking up a storm and I couldn't see at all. I searched around for my original draft and had to swim a bit harder to re-acquire that draft.

I came out of the water with a good time and feeling that I could have gone faster (but glad I didn't). So it was a good swim. The ironic thing is, I only swam once a week for training and swam faster and easier than my previous HIM or Olympics. Go figure.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

T1 time was included in either the swim or the bike time. I don't know which one. But it went well. It was the first time I've taken my own wetsuit off. Every other event I've race I've used the available wetsuit strippers. It was actually pretty easy.
What would you do differently?:

I started pulling on some arm warmers because it was cool and windy. But when they got stuck, I abandoned that. I was a bit cold for the first half of the bike, but okay after.
Bike
  • 3h 16m 39s
  • 96 kms
  • 29.29 km/hr
Comments:

I knew I was going to have trouble with the bike and the run. I had food poisoning 3 weeks before the race, dropped 8 pounds (and I didn't need to lose them), and was pretty tired. I rode the course in training a week after the food poisoning and found the hills quite tiring. That and I didn't put as much effort into training as I should have meant I just had nothing in my legs. It was all I could do to go 30km/h. Oh well.

After bonking during my last HIM, I decided to keep my nutrition plan simple. 3 bottles of Infinit and water as necessary from the aid stations.

If I wore socks, I guess I'd be a member of the yellow sock brigade...but I don't. First time I've done that tho. :-O A couple squirts of water from the aid station and all was good again.
What would you do differently?:

Ride more! Not get sick.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

T2 times are included in the bike or run times. I don't know which.
Run
  • 2h 09m 41s
  • 21 kms
  • 06m 11s  min/km
Comments:

My worst of the 3 disciplines was made even worse by having no energy left. This was mostly a mental challenge as I had no legs for speed. I ended up running this one faster than my other HIM, but had I bonked 6km into that one. I'm glad my nutrition plan worked better for this one.

I walked each aid station, alternating drinking a sports drink at one and a gel at the next. I walked up the one hill out of the valley as planned.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Sickness and less training than desired. The lack of a tail wind for me and only me.

Event comments:

This is a well organized race with lots of great volunteers and some good loot bag items.

The race shirt was quite thin compared to other shirts from other events, but they also provided a nice fleece vest (in addition to race hardware).

I went vegetarian this year, so I really noticed the meat only dishes at the pre-race dinner and post race event. I could have sworn I saw vegetarian lasagna at last year's pre-race dinner! But the lack of vegetarian fare is just a small thing given it's all about the race.




Last updated: 2011-05-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:32:22 | 2000 meters | 01m 37s / 100meters
Age Group: 3/28
Overall: 9/100
Performance: Good
Suit: Nineteen
Course: 2 laps around a triangular course, running up on the beach once to round a buoy.
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 16C / 61F Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:16:39 | 96 kms | 29.29 km/hr
Age Group: 11/28
Overall: 30/100
Performance: Below average
Wind: Strong
Course: A hilly out and back along highway 22.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:09:41 | 21 kms | 06m 11s  min/km
Age Group: 21/28
Overall: 66/100
Performance: Below average
Course: 2 laps through Fish Creek.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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