Orangeman Half-Distance Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Dana Point, California
United States
65F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 45m 17s
Overall Rank = 82/458
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 17/62
Pre-race routine:

woke up at 4:40, but still managed close to 7hr of sleep. Had a yogurt and a banana, drove the 2mi to the course, parked and got to transition around 6am.
Event warmup:

Not much. maybe 200yds of swimming in the ocean, but stood around a while afterwards, so not sure if it was all that useful. Was standing on the beach awaiting race start thinking "I'm hungry".
Swim
  • 28m 47s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 22s / 100 yards
Comments:

Sitting in the 5th heat, there was probably 800 people in the water in front of me. I caught the bulk of the wave in front of me right after I rounded the 1st buoy. From then on, it was swimming through a crowd. Fortunately, I found an orange cap to draft most of the race (thank you Scott Callender), who lead the way through the masses. I didn't push it all that hard- just took it at a comfortably hard pace, and it was over before I knew it. With the wetsuit, drafting and relatively smooth water- I did a great pace on this one.
What would you do differently?:

claim to be a chick or a clydesdale so I could have started in an earlier heat. Other than that- 14th overall is killer for me.
Transition 1
  • 05m 8s
Comments:

run across the beach, then onto the trail that climbs steeeeply up to transition, which sat 100ft vert above the beach. So- a long hard transition run. I was a tad leisurely getting my socks and cycling shoes on, wiping my feet off, helmet, glasses, gloves. Hardly a fast transition, but all went smoothly.
What would you do differently?:

Most of the time was in the run to the transition area, which I did as prudently fast as was reasonable up that hill. Other than that, I probably could have taken 30 seconds out of my changeover time. I had the attitude that this wasn't a sprint and that transition time isn't as important. Perhaps the wrong attitude. Never saw where the wetsuit strippers were?
Bike
  • 3h 11m 56s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.51 mile/hr
Comments:

went out a little harder than I thought I should, with HR in the 140's a lot. Some of that due to the early steep hills, but then the course mellowed for a while. Went moderate on the beginning of the climb, but then inched it up to90% LT or higher as planned. Felt great. Sucked down a lot of water, drink and about 500 calories. Stopped twice to pee (4min) which hurt my time a bit.
What would you do differently?:

maybe drink a bit less? :)
Transition 2
  • 01m 47s
Comments:

guess my one complaint is that the run in/out was on the same side of the transition area as the cycle in/out, and the designated area for the 45+ men was at the far end. So, we old guys had a 30 second disadvantage here. I didn't attempt any flying dismount. Just got off my bike and jogged it in.
Run
  • 1h 57m 37s
  • 14.25 miles
  • 08m 15s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt pretty good on the first lap- pushing it at a bit more than a 'comfortably hard' level, let my HR rise into the 150's for much of it. The second lap, it started to get painful. a small family of blisters grew on my right foot, and they only got worse through the race. Lots of folks walking those steep hills on the second loop... so I made sure to keep running up them, but the most painful parts were the steep downhills. Finished the 2nd lap about a minute faster than the 1st.
Post race
Warm down:

eh- nothing. drank water. ate a banana and pasta. Put a band-aide on my blister.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

my bladder. 3 pee stops, each took 2 min. Other than that- I think my pacing was right on. I went out a little harder on the bike than I had planned, but still felt pretty good on the run. Sure- the last few miles were painful, but I managed to finish my 2nd loop a minute faster than my 1st.

Event comments:

The RD did a terrific job. No race is perfect, but this one was certainly well organized, clearly marked, lots of well-trained volunteers, nice tech shirt, enough porta' potties, Pizza and Lasagna at the end, etc. The weather cooperated too, and everything went off beautifully. He even sprung for a live band at the small pre-race festival in a great park. How he managed to close off Ortega Hwy- I don't know, but it was truly a great ride. The extra 1.1mi on the run- WTF?




Last updated: 2011-06-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:28:47 | 2112 yards | 01m 22s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/62
Overall: 14/458
Performance: Good
Suit: orca
Course: Straight out, right turn at the buoy then head north for 1km. clockwise swim, then left turn into the beach. Just a little bit of kelp and murky water, but no chop and surf was small and easy to deal with. Good course. Buoys could have been larger, or more of them. Lifeguard shirts were the same color as the buoys- which confused some people.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 66F / 19C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 05:08
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:11:56 | 56 miles | 17.51 mile/hr
Age Group: 24/62
Overall: 0/458
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: some narrow bike path stuff at the beginning, then ortega highway. easy climb to about 18 miles, then 18-28 is a 3-6% grade. I thought it was a great road for this race, and the long steady climb was fun. The trip back down was a hoot- not too steep or curvy so you could really get on your bars and pedal all the way down. Long sections cordoned off from the street with tight turns that made it difficult to pass- but all really really well marked with great volunteers warning you to slow down for them. Excellent organization here. 14% grade hill thrown in at 53 miles- just to add some additional fun to the course (honestly- I loved it, even though I got chicked up it). Not a course you'll PR on, but certainly a great ride.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 01:47
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:57:37 | 14.25 miles | 08m 15s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/62
Overall: 0/458
Performance:
Course: This was a ridiculously brutal course. not only was it hilly, but it was unrelentingly so. And- the hills -unbelievably steep, no, humorously so. running down them was harder than running up. A hilly course is fair game- in fact the RD threw in some extra hills by having us run all the way down to the beach, twice, and back up the pyrotechnically steep hill to the transition area. Yes- all fair game, and great scenery- but the course was 14.2mi... which wasn't fair at all. Oh- running through those tunnels was surreal.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4