Woodstock Triathlon - Triathlon


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Woodstock, Ontario
Canada
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 22m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Up at 5am and 2 hr drive to get there. I'm not a morning person so this had the advantage of telling me how much I wanted to do this - woulda been sooo easy to stay and bed, but I didn't.


Event warmup:

Short swim, a little stretching.

Swim
  • 00m
  • 750 meters
  • / 100 meters
Comments:

The main reason I did this event was to try to improve my horrid swim of a week earlier (gotta get back on the horse). In that event I couldn't catch my breath for the 375m duration. It was incredibly deflating because I can do 1.5k in the pool without any issue. Some wonderful BT forum members pointed out I'd likely gone out too fast. I didn't think I had (but now see I likely did). The goal was to fix all that in this race. Breathing improved immensely, stroke timing also improved. I didn't worry about keeping up with anyone and did my own pace from the very beginning, not slow but likely a little slower than I was capable of (750m looks a lot farther in open water than I imagine it being in a pool and I was intimidated). The improvement over the previous week was very encouraging, and good decisions were made.
What would you do differently?:

Navigation was good, but could have been a little better on the return leg - was getting tired.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

Not something I was stressing about for this race. Seeing steady improvement. Suit hung up on one ankle only, but rather badly.
What would you do differently?:

I need to dry my feet and legs - biking and particularly running in wet socks is an issue for me. I'm not all that concerned about T1 time so I put on socks for comfort.
Bike
  • 00m
  • 30 kms
  • 0.00 km/hr
Comments:

I don't sweat the ride, it's the only thing I can do decently. Had a goal of 30 k/h on the bike and managed 29.6 so I can be fairly happy with that. Passed a few. Got passed by a guy with an M-dot tat but it took him until 25k to manage it so I'll view that as a small victory for my fat ass. Stayed in the drops a lot more in this race. Due to weight loss this is getting more comfortable. I passed more than was passed by, including some I thought looked like decent riders. Looking forward to seeing how I placed.
What would you do differently?:

Still so tempted to get a tri bike. Should consider using my heart rate monitor, and paying more attention to my breathing.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Fine with no major issues. Nearly knocked over the rack of bikes by leaning too hard installing socks.
What would you do differently?:

Consider dry socks.
Run
  • 00m
  • 7.5 kms
  •  min/km
Comments:

Tried using a hat for the first time and it worked great, much less sweat in the eyes and less of a head sunburn concern - when yer bald that matters. I had never run 7.5 km before, certainly not in a race, and definitely never after a bike. So I just wanted to finish without walking. I walked a few paces to take on fluids but that wasn't because I had to, so to me it doesn't count. Pace was VERY slow, but for this race I was entirely ok with that. That was my best race decision of the day.
What would you do differently?:

I need to increase leg strength and increase my stride length. Pushing off with more force should help. Had a real glute problem coming off the bike that I've never had before. Wondering if it was related to being in the drops so much, just don't know. I need to really elevate my run training, it's my worst event by an immense margin.
Post race
Warm down:

Light stretching, glute hurt quite a bit. Legs were very tight.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Severely insufficient run training. Swim and bike were fine but lack of running ability is glaring. Losing another 40 lbs would definitely help with that. Even those small hills were hard to appreciate.

Event comments:

This race was three times the length of the only try-a-tri I've ever done. It was a little foolish but a good test for me. If I keep at it an Oly late this season just took a massive step closer to reality.




Last updated: 2011-06-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:00:00 | 750 meters | / 100meters
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: full wetsuit
Course: The usual one lap of a three sided box, well marked.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:00:00 | 30 kms | 0.00 km/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Flat with some rollers. No real climbing.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:00:00 | 07.5 kms |  min/km
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Course: Generally flat over crushed limestone pathway, something I've never run on before.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4