5430 Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Boulder, Colorado
United States
5430 Sports
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 38m 58s
Overall Rank = 451/1067
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 55/94
Pre-race routine:

Got up early (4:30 - not a happy camper) after not sleeping very well. Had a yoghurt, oatmeal & Oj like always and headed for Boulder. Got some bad GI cramping on the way there. Staked out my transition spot (nice one, right on the end) and visited the bathroom, and after that I felt much better.
Event warmup:

Short jog for maybe 5-10 minutes and then a short ride of about the same. Ate a gel and went down to the water. I tried to have a good warm-up for the swim this time. Last year I didn't do much of anything and was shocked by the cold water, so this time I swam out to the platform a couple of times to get used to it.
Swim
  • 18m 38s
  • 850 meters
  • 02m 11s / 100 meters
Comments:

I was a little nervous since this was only my second OWS race and the 1st was this race last year so I started towards the back/outside of my wave (2nd wave). I really don't know what to make of this swim. About 100m out there were some waves from a boat wake and I took a big mouthful of water. This kind of became a theme. After that I just put my head down and went. Got bumped and bumped into a few people every now & then but nothing that bothered me too much. I found a couple of times I was passing people or getting caught behind them which confused me since I'm not that fast. Somehow I moved to the inside rounding the turn buoy - I didn't really want to be there but it worked out ok. Saw one guy right in front of me start heading toward the beach at the 1st turn buoy - I don't know if he figured it out, but he definatly added some time to his swim. On the way in I tried not to push too hard since my stomach wasn't liking the mouthfuls of water and I ended up breastroking every now & then when I would catch a mouthful. From the 2nd to last buoy I just sighted on the arch, put my head down and swam straight for it. There wasn't any time went I felt like I was swimming real hard but more importantly I never felt like I could get into a rhythym. Overall room for improvement but much better than last year.
What would you do differently?:

Need more OWS experience. I had alot of trouble breathing and my form suffered. Had some sighting problems on the way out due to going right into the sun so I basically used the person next to me and when I found I was swerving towards them I would try & straighten out. Work on bi-lateral breathing.
Transition 1
  • 02m 28s
Comments:

Would've liked to be faster. I had to dry off my feet to put my socks on which was the biggest slow-down. Then as I grabbed my shoe the front wheel of my bike went sideways and it almost fell over. The helmet fell off and I spent maybe 20 seconds looking for my sunglasses.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe find something to put against my front wheel to keep it straight. Learn to get in my shoes on the bike. Although - since I need to put aocks on anyway I don't think I lose that much time here.
Bike
  • 49m 10s
  • 17.2 miles
  • 20.99 mile/hr
Comments:

After the 1st roller I pushed a hard pace and passed quite a few people. Spun a good gear up Rt. 36 and tried to concentrate on keeping my back straight and staying as aero as I could. Got a bit of a cramp in my side on the flat ot of the res. Eventually I got it under control but I wanted to push somewhat hard since I knew even with a good run I would give back alot of time on the run, so the cramp ended up coming back on some of the hills. Held a good speed on the flats - its interesting to feel like you're flying at 27-28 mph and then hear the whroom, whroom of a disk and get passed like your standing still. Legs started burning a bit on Diagonal Hwy so I turned it down a notch then spun higher coming back to the res. Popped out of my shoes and did the cool moving dismount thing into transition.
What would you do differently?:

Keep working on the engine... Could probably have worked on hydrating a bit more but overall I was happy with the bike.
Transition 2
  • 01m 11s
Comments:

Transition went great. I was at the far end from the bike entrance/run exit and I was racked, shoes on and out of my spot within probably 15 seconds.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Went smooth.
Run
  • 27m 29s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

My goal was to avg better than 9 minute miles. From about the second I left transition I had a huge side-stitch. My plan was to try & negative-split but at this point I knew that would be difficult. Slowed it down going up the hill since I know I usually go out too fast and to get the cramp under control, which I did. Then it started coming back again at maybe the 3/4 mile mark and was bad enough that I couldn't run thru it and had to slow considerably. I started getting passed left and right. For about the last mile I altered my breathing to just let it go and not really control it which helped and let me pick up the pace a little bit. Even with all that I met my goal pace (although I was secretly hoping to do better than 8:30 pace) so I'm happy about that.
What would you do differently?:

I've always had problems with side-stitches when I run hard, although this one was bad enough that I couldn't run hard thru it. Not really sure what I can do to overcome that. My legs felt heavy to start with but felt pretty good for most of it. It didn't feel like they were holding me back - it was the cramp that kept me from pushing them more. I think next time I need to work on controlling my pace at the end of the bike leg so I'm a little fresher coming into transition.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank some water, walked around a bit and stretched a little bit. Found Cathy where she was cheering on the side of the course and chatted with her a bit. Got some pancakes (although my stomach was not in the mood for much), cleaned up transition and then found Erik & Cathy again & hung out with them a bit. Unfortunatly I didn't see any other BT'ers.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

A big side-stitch cramp for alot of the run and a decent part of the bike. Need more OWS experience.

Event comments:

They put ona great race. Very well organized and a great atmosphere with so many people of all abilities on a fun course. Overall the race went really well, with improvements in all three legs. I took about 11 minutes off of last years time so I'm very happy.




Last updated: 2006-04-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:38 | 850 meters | 02m 11s / 100meters
Age Group: 69/94
Overall: 689/1067
Performance: Average
Suit: Xterra Full-sleeve
Course: Out 3 buoys into the sun which made it impossible to sight, then over one and then back to the big finishing arch on the beach - basically a big horseshoe shape. Out of the water maybe a minute earlier though since you had to run up the beach to the parking lot to the timing mats.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:28
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:49:10 | 17.2 miles | 20.99 mile/hr
Age Group: 43/94
Overall: 315/1067
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course: Up a little roller out of the res, then steady uphill for the next 5 miles or so on Rt 36. Drop down onto Neva Rd. & its flat & fast with a roller or two. Then slightly uphill on Diagonal Hwy & back to the res. Big rectangular loop.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:11
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:27:29 | 03.1 miles | 08m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 73/94
Overall: 573/1067
Performance: Average
Course: Up a small hill and then down across a flat dirt road across the dams to the turnaround. Then come back the same way. All exposed with no shade at all.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5