Cactus Challenge Triathlon - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic


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Austin, Texas
United States
3D Racing
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 39m 25s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 11/36
Pre-race routine:

Pretty much standard. Got up at about 7, stopped at Einstein Bros. for my egg and bagel sandwich and Diet Coke. Got to the race site and set up. I discovered a scratch on the top of my left foot that I hadn't notice. That made my deecision for me about whether or not to wear socks. I ran into RGRBILL and triveggies and met some other folks as well.

The race start was delayed because the cones that were supposed to be there to block the bike route to all traffic supposedly didn't show up. In addition, the person at the sheriff's office who was supposedly the coordinator for this event has been on vacation for 2 weeks. How do you not know this as the RD??? I read reviews of this race that said it was disorganized, and I can believe it. To be fair, though, once the race got going, everything went well and it was a good race overall.
Event warmup:

Did about 1 mile run to get the blood flowing and then tried to stretch a bit. I didn't do as much as a I should have, especially given the workouts from this week.
Swim
  • 29m 29s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 58s / 100 meters
Comments:

One of these days I'll get the hang of drafting during the swim and make some use of it. Once we passed about 600 yards or so, I felt like I was out there damn near on my own. I could see other heads in the water, but not seemed very close to me.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. It was a decent swim overall.
Transition 1
  • 02m 48s
Comments:

Good transistion. It was a long way from the shore up to the racks, so there was plenty of time to get cap, goggles, etc. off. The racks were assigned and I was lucky to be on one just a couple away from the bike entrance/exit.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 1h 17m 1s
  • 26.1 miles
  • 20.33 mile/hr
Comments:

Today's word of the day, boys and girls, is rolling. Rolling is useful in several fun phrases like rolling hills, rolling draft, and rolling resistance. All three of these phrases contributed to posting a 2 mph faster bike split than the Texas Tri 2 weeks ago, despite my average wattage being 7% lower today. Rolling hills were what we dealt with today and they help your speed over steeper climbs and descents. I was in the bottom gear for only a short time twice on each lap. Rolling draft is what you get when you have near 1000 athletes out on a 6-mile loop. You can roll from one rider to the next and get your full 15 second draft off of each one. I was actually expecting the advantage from this to be greater, but the benefit was probably minimal because it wasn't as congested as I thought it would be. CapTex will be a different story. Rolling resistance is what you get when you don't replace your tires often enough and they get a flat spot across the contact patch. More than anything else, I think this contributed to my improved speed today. I put new tires on the bike last night and I was pretty shocked by exactly how worn the old tire was when comparing it to the new.
What would you do differently?:

If I wanted to be faster, I wouldn't ride 148 miles in the week leading up to the race!
Transition 2
  • 00m 51s
Comments:

Nice quick T2. I should have racked my bike by the bars when I came in. I wasted probably 5 seconds hanging it back up by the seat. That's how I had it to begin with and it never crossed my mind to do it differently on my return.

I pulled on my shoes and was off.
Run
  • 49m 18s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was interesting. You had to pay attention to your footing because the ground was uneven in spots. It wasn't terrible, but just enough to throw you off if you weren't looking.

I saw RGRBILL coming back by me where the course does a u-turn. He looked strong.

The last 1/2 mile of the loop is killer because you have to pay back a bunch of elevation that you came down just prior to that. It's just a cruel way to finish off the run and doing it twice really sucked.

I did manage to pass 2 guys in my AG in the last mile, which is something I never do. I expected them to check out my calf and then pick up their pace, but neither did. It's a good thing, too, because I didn't have anything I could have responded with if they had gone back by me.
Post race
Warm down:

Not much of one. Got the cold towel at the finish and grabbed some pizza. Talked with Bill a bit after the race, and then headed home to get some chores done.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lots of training this week.

Event comments:

The race starting late was a distraction and the RD should have just stepped up and apologized instead of trying to blame everyone else. Once things got going, it was a nice race. There were lots of volunteers, post-race was decent. I'll probably do it again.




Last updated: 2006-04-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:29 | 1500 meters | 01m 58s / 100meters
Age Group: 20/36
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Suit: Sleeveless Promotion
Course: Kind of triangular, but more like a loop. Down the shore for about 500 meters, back the other way for about 750, then back around towards the start for the last 250.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 67F / 19C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:48
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:17:01 | 26.1 miles | 20.33 mile/hr
Age Group: 16/36
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Wind: Some
Course: Mostly rectangular, 4 lap course. Easy rolling hills.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:51
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:49:18 | 06.21 miles | 07m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/36
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course: 2 lap grass course.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3