American Triple T - Race #2: Olympic AM - TriathlonOlympic


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Portsmouth, Ohio
United States
HFP Racing
68F / 20C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 11m 13s
Overall Rank = 292/347
Age Group = Co-ed Senior
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Hardly anything. Rode bike to transition and set up. Put on sunscreen. That is about it. The idea of "racing" had already started to lose its luster as we began the second race in less than 20 hours. The previous evening had been fairly relaxing, though. I still felt tapered and good.
Event warmup:

None. The water is far too freaking cold. I splashed a little on my face to brace myself and cut down on the shock factor.
Swim
  • 25m 7s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 32s / 100 yards
Comments:

Good swim. This time I was able to get into a breathing pattern sooner because the cold wasn't quite as shocking. The cold water in my ear was still annoying, though.
Saw Amy and Tim and several other friends at the swim start again.
Surprisingly, I got out of the water before David on this swim.
What would you do differently?:

nothing except wear earplugs. (See swim #3)
Transition 1
  • 02m 34s
Comments:

It's only race #2 and already I'm starting to not care much about transition times. In the grand scheme of the weekend, it's not really going to matter, so I'd rather take my time and not have a wrinkle in my sock.
Bike
  • 1h 38m 8s
  • 24.8 miles
  • 15.16 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt I did very well handling the hills, but I notice my rank relative to the field is not good. I had my road bike for ease of shifting, but it is older and quite heavy. I also don't have a great deal of power, despite training on the hills. Power is just not my forte and never has been. I was quite proud of my performance for me, but the field at Triple-T is very humbling. It seemed every other person I saw had an IM tattoo. My shifting was impeccable, and I didn't even stand up to climb very significant grades. Thompson's Hill was very steep, but it "leveled off" to a regular climbing grade and kept going for at least a half mile, so that I couldn't really catch my breath from the tougher section.
The descent was handled very well by HFP. They had flaggers yelling to slow down, and everyone was very well behaved. It was disheartening to do all that climbing and then be required to brake hard all the way down, but it would have been suicide to do anything else. I felt pretty confident with my technical skills, but I still had to really concentrate to avoid braking and turning at the same time (which can lead to a skid).
David passed me about 75% of the way through the bike. I had been worried something happened to him, but he was concentrating on riding conservatively. I should have been doing the same, but I was happy I held him off for so long.
My mental focus was very good and I never felt myself wavering or thinking about anything but the present.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 2
  • 01m 10s
Comments:

Even though I continued to not care about my transition times, I was starting to get into a rhythm with it.
What would you do differently?:

nothing
Run
  • 1h 04m 12s
  • 6.55 miles
  • 09m 48s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt good about this run.
I caught up with David, who was walking the uphills to be conservative. I told him that was a nice idea, but it could lead to a mental trap because at some point it all starts to look like an uphill, and then you are only running the descents which is not really enough.
I'm surprised I was at a sub-10 minute mile, because I know I did some walking. I was moving briskly, though, and still feeling good. David and I stuck together after I caught him. At times I felt I was taking it too easy, but I knew that was just money in the bank for later in the weekend. After all, we were hardly more than 25% finished, distance-wise.
What would you do differently?:

nothing. Well, maybe go a little slower.
Post race
Warm down:

ice bath in the creek. Food.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Power on the bike.

Event comments:

By this time, people were really starting to get to know each other and enjoy socializing and seeing each other out on the course.




Last updated: 2011-05-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:07 | 1640 yards | 01m 32s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 210/347
Performance: Good
Suit: full wetsuit
Course: counter clockwise circle, but this time a for-real distance. Twice around, getting out and walking around the buoy for a second loop.
Start type: Run Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:34
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:38:08 | 24.8 miles | 15.16 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 297/347
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Loop course on fire roads and country roads through the state forest. Beforehand, the announcer warned us about two things: 1) Thompson's Hill, which is a severe grade of 22% or 26%, I can't remember, and the approach is a 180-degree turn, so you begin the hill at a near dead stop; and 2) the descent from Thompson's Hill, which contains extremely dangerous switchbacks and requires hard braking
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:10
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
01:04:12 | 06.55 miles | 09m 48s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 293/347
Performance: Good
Course: This was the full out-and-back on the fire road. It was the first of many trips out there for the weekend. There are a lot of hills. On the way out, mile 2 to mile 3 is a descent. Which means mile 3 to mile 4 is a climb. It's difficult to stay running all the way up, and not many people do it. At least not the people who are around me by this point.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5