TRI for FUN Triathlon #1 - TriathlonSprint


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Rancho Seco, California
United States
TBF Racing
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 52m 41s
Overall Rank = 194/416
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 24/31
Pre-race routine:

Awakened at 3:15AM and noted it was still raining....hard! Since I already bailed on the Uvas Reservoir Sprint due to bad weather, and I am in desparate need of triathlon experience, I decided to go this AM. So, I stretched a little, ate breakfast, packed up the car and headed out to Herald, CA - a 2 hour drive.
Event warmup:

Picked up race packet, set-up transition area, went to the bathroom, all the usual pre-triathlon stuff.
Swim
  • 28m 35s
  • 924 meters
  • 03m 05s / 100 meters
Comments:

This was my first triathlon. I begin this comment section by confessing that I do not in any way fancy myself a swimmer. At all. Although I have been practicing OWS in the designated swim lanes close to shore at Shadow Lake, I found myself feeling grossly unprepared for today's OWS and the ominous feeling of being out there so far away from the shore. After I was a mere 100m into the swim a panicked feeling set in that never really abated until I hit the last bouy and headed for the swim finish. Unfortunately, I am not especially comfortable in deep water - at all. Therefore, I could not relax, and consequently my breathing was as bad as it was when I began swimming a year ago, and I could not freestyle swim 25m without being completely out of breath. Today, I spent a lot of time rolling onto my back, but even that did little to slow down my breathing because I was so tense. While swimming, many thoughts went through my head, to include "why the f&*%^ do you sign up for stuff like this" to "I just want to this to be overwith right now". Finally, I exited the water feeling utterly spent and disoriented. I remember this woman furiously yelling, "HURRYYYY UUUuuuUUP" - the inflection and tone of her voice communicated her utter annoyance...at someone! As I stumbled up onto the sand, I wndered if she was yelling at me. I thought to myself, "I must have taken a long time to complete that swim!" oh well...
What would you do differently?:

Is this a trick question?
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

Not sure about T1 time. For my first T1, this went surprisingly smooth under the very wet, and flood-like conditions. By the time I reached T1, all of my gear laid out on the ground was sitting in about .5" of water and everything sitting inside my transition bag was dripping wet. Basically, dropped my wet suit, put on my helmet, soaking wet socks and shoes and took off. My hands were too wet and cold to mess with putting on my HRM, which reminds me I need to check and see if it can be submerged in water, and if so I might wear it on the swim next time, though my 305 cannot be submerged. One less thing to deal with in T1. Watching Youtube videos on setting up the transition area made this pretty easy, and although I experienced feelings of veritgo for a bit after getting out of the water I managed to stay on 2 feet. At least I didn't fall over causing our entire bike rack and a bunch of bikes to collapse like someone did at the rack next to mine. Heh!
What would you do differently?:

As a newbie, I was there to go through the motions and determine what works and doesn't work for me. Ideally, I'd prefer to wear my HRM, though. If I raced in similar conditions again, I would bring a small Rubbermade container with a top on it so I could store a dry towel to dry off my hands while putting on socks, shoes, etc - that would have helped a lot.
Bike
  • 51m 23s
  • 16 miles
  • 18.68 mile/hr
Comments:

As I exited T1 it continued raining very hard. For the first two miles the raindrops hitting my face felt like pin pricks. I exited Rancho Seco, made a right turn and headed toward the Amador County line & directly into a headwind. Throughout the ride, my shoes sloshed with water, and there was a constant soaking up my front side and my back as I rode over the rain soaked roads. Thankfully, this rainy day ride was warmer then the rainy TT I rode in back in March.
What would you do differently?:

I can't think of anything. Although I didn't have my HRM on today, I feel my pace was fine for my first triathlon, based on my own RPE. Next time I would push harder on the bike.
Transition 2
  • 02m 35s
Comments:

My hands were so cold, I had difficulty tying my shoes. My feet were so numb, so I couldn't feel if my shoes were laced too tightly or not. I felt very clumbsy. I brought a shirt to run in, and fortunately it was the only item in my bag that stayed relatively dry. It felt really good to put on a dry-er shirt, even if the dryness was short lived. I really do not like to be wet and cold.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I felt good about T2 - all things considered.
Run
  • 25m 48s
  • 3 miles
  • 08m 36s  min/mile
Comments:

No one told me this was the U.S Marine Corps Mud Run. WTH? It would be great if this "run course", which is really a fire break, not an actual hard packed fire road, was groomed as a running trail. There were ruts, and fist sized rocks all over the course, and the uphill portions were slippery. Since I do not train on trails & was not wearing trail running shoes, I was cautious about going too hard because I was concerned about twisting an ankle or wiping out on the slippery surface. Also, just coming off the bike, my feet were so cold I could not feel the bottom of my feet for the first 1.5 mi.
What would you do differently?:

Probably choose a different race as I am NOT much of an off road runner. I also discovered Saucony Kinvaras do not make great trail running shoes in muddy conditions. If I had to do this race again in the same conditions, I would take an old pair of running shoes instead of my new ones.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed my stuff and headed for the car. I just wanted dry clothes at that point.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Rain. Rain soaked clothing. I got too cold.

Event comments:

This was the 3rd race I've signed up for this year where it has been pouring down rain & storming on race day. The next time this happens I swear I'll reach over and hit the off button on the clock at 3:15AM & return to bed. While I understand a lot of people have a bad first swim experience, I must say I felt utterly defeated after today's race. Fortunately, everyone claims it gets better. I hope so. Thankfully, I have other events planned in the near future where I can improve my OWS skills. On another note, as I was leaving T2, the race announcer stated there were 150 no shows for saturday's race.




Last updated: 2011-05-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:28:35 | 924 meters | 03m 05s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/31
Overall: 0/416
Performance: Bad
Suit: Orca Alpha
Course: Rectangle shaped course on a fresh water lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:51:23 | 16 miles | 18.68 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/31
Overall: 0/416
Performance: Good
Wind: Headwind
Course: Out and back rolling course.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:35
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:25:48 | 03 miles | 08m 36s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/31
Overall: 0/416
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back dirt/gravel course. which did not appear to be meant as a running trail.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 3