Los Alamos Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Los Alamos, New Mexico
United States
65F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 26m 55s
Overall Rank = 91/163
Age Group = Clydesdale
Age Group Rank = 3/6
Pre-race routine:

Race start was at 7:00am so got up at about 4:15 and had breakfast. I had been awake since about 3am since it was storming all night and couldn't sleep. It sprinkled up until about 6:30 which made it nice and cool for the race.
Had 1 scoop protein powder and granola with milk, my normal sludge, cup of coffee and that was it for this race food wise. I had a Gatorade perform pre-race drink about 15 minutes before the start. This race is Bike Swim Run with 2 different transitions. I set those up and made a last minute bathroom stop. Had to weigh in for this race, no one was questionable, so no big deal. I was probably the smallest guy.
Event warmup:

Rode about 1.5 miles of hills before the race as a warm-up since the bike is first. I lined up close to the front on the outside. We started 3 minutes late waiting for traffic control.
Swim
  • 11m 29s
  • 400 meters
  • 02m 52s / 100 meters
Comments:

Okay this format is hard. You get off a huge bike ride, and my legs are solid, pumped full of blood. I jump in the pool, deep end, come to the top, push off the wall and my arms feel dead. All the blood in my legs took about 200m to get to my arms. I passed 2 people (weird) and was passed by 3. I had a huge gap between me and the next person on the bike in my wave but was being caught by the fast guys in the second wave. Swim was normal for me, slow, slower than normal because of the format. Definitely a challenge I didn't expect.
What would you do differently?:

Practice bike to swim bricks for this race.
Transition 1
  • 02m 32s
Comments:

T1 is Bike to swim. Got Bike shoes and socks off quick, grabbed goggles and jogged to the pool. It's a long jog tot he pool on asphalt. I am a tenderfoot, I wear shoes in the house. Next time flippy floppys will be in order.
What would you do differently?:

Flippy Floppys
Bike
  • 41m 33s
  • 12.4 miles
  • 17.91 mile/hr
Comments:

I started near the front and as the pack broke away I settled into the the rear of I guess the 2nd pack. There was probably 1-2 minutes between me and the next rider after the turn. The bike is tough, it starts with a huge climb and you step down tot he turn and since you are riding rollers you get the false sense it will be the same on the way back but the steps up on the way back are more difficult. I had a hard time maintaining speed on the way back through the rollers but still averaged a good pace. I stayed in the saddle for the most part and aero for more than 1/2 the ride but was sitting up on the cat3 climb and decent. Applied brakes around 40mph, near intersections on open course. Traffic control was good.
What would you do differently?:

I probably could have climbed a little harder but I don't think it would have paid off. I was high z4 on the bike climbs and I just need more time on the bike.
Transition 2
  • 01m 51s
Comments:

This was Swim to Run. Got out of pool and went sock-less for the run. I had practiced this so wasn't concerned. Had about 1/2 a cliff shot and a swig of water, put on the number belt and took off. Seemed like it took longer than it should have.
What would you do differently?:

yanks
Run
  • 29m 30s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 09m 31s  min/mile
Comments:

After pumping all that blood up to the upper body for the swim now it's time to pump it all back down for the run. The whole race except the bike felt dead. Had a decent run high z4 or low z5 so I pushed hard. I kicked a little too early at the end and struggled to the finish. Some friends said I looked strong coming in but didn't feel that way, I think they were being nice!
What would you do differently?:

Keep up the run training, I finally feel like I can run 2 times a week without hurting.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around packed up transitions and checked times. I came in 3rd for the clydes so stayed for awards but they only gave out awards for 1st place in the Clydesdales. Oh well.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Format. I didn't think changing up the format would make that much of a difference but it does.

Event comments:

Great race swag. Small logo'ed transition bag, long sleeve race tee. The race is well run, I didn't like the later start for the 1st wave and 2nd wave on time, overall wasn't that big of a deal. I think the race director was first time and there was confusion in several categories for the awards. Chasing3 timed the event and I think they do a great job.

Even though the format is different it is a challenge and a fun race.




Last updated: 2011-06-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:29 | 400 meters | 02m 52s / 100meters
Age Group: 5/6
Overall: 122/163
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Serpentine pool swim
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:32
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:41:33 | 12.4 miles | 17.91 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/6
Overall: 71/163
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Course is out and back from Pool to just past the "Back Gate". Includes 1 cat3 climb early on and stair steps down with rollers out and stair steps up back to the top of the hill and a fast decent back to the pool.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:51
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:29:30 | 03.1 miles | 09m 31s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/6
Overall: 0/163
Performance: Average
Course: Uphill, long easy down to turnaround, out and back
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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] 4