Mountaineer Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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Morgantown, West Virginia
United States
HPF Racing
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 53m 55s
Overall Rank = 39/
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 5/7
Pre-race routine:

Arrived at 5:30 to pick up chip and rack the bike. I made a deposit, drank a bunch of water, laid out my shoes, helmet, etc.
Event warmup:

Walked about half a mile of the run course just to stay loose
Swim
  • 19m 14s
  • 820 yards
  • 02m 20s / 100 yards
Comments:

We started from a timing mat, two at a time. I understand why a bigger race would not do it this way, but I really liked the stretched out field. I overtook a couple of swimmers and was overtaken by a couple of others, but there was no scrum and I didn't get kicked once.

The river didn't taste too bad. The current was not strong, though it was noticeable. The cute lifeguards on surfboards made coming up to take a breath a little more enjoyable.

What would you do differently?:

Train more.
Transition 1
  • 02m 20s
Comments:

Simple and smooth.
Bike
  • 54m 50s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 13.60 mile/hr
Comments:

I wasn't able to get onto the climbing ring, and I had to pull over at the top of the first hill and dry-heave a few times. At that point, knowing there was a 1.8 mile climb that had kept me up the previous night, I was contemplating when I was going to turn around and take the DQ. On the big climb I was able to get into the climbing ring, which made all the difference. About 1/3 of the way up the big hill, I got off and walked a few feet up a driveway to get some momentum back. Coming back down the big hill was a lot of fun, and I got going pretty fast.
What would you do differently?:

Train more, train more hills. There was a fizzy electrolyte tablet in the goody bag, and I made the mistake of putting that in my water bottle before the race started and then didn't think to taste it. It was disgusting, it worsened my heartburn, and prevented me from hydrating properly, so I definitely would not do that again.
Transition 2
  • 01m 43s
Comments:

Smooth and simple again.
Run
  • 35m 36s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 11m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

I was happy with my run, untrained as I was. I had to stop at the very beginning and stretch out some nascent calf cramps, but they didn't bother me the rest of the way. Whenever I felt like it, I stopped and walked fifty paces or so. The water station had good pump-up songs (Lose Yourself and We Will Rock You) playing both times I came by. Carl, after his finish, came out and met me for the last mile, and that was huge. My ankle started to feel a little mushy the last half mile, but nothing severe.
What would you do differently?:

Train more.
Post race
Warm down:

Water, sports drink, orange slice, cookie, soda.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Spending all spring on a baseball field instead of training.

Event comments:

I really enjoyed this race, and thought it was really well run. With 4 different triathlon distances, at least two different duathlons, and 400+ participants running simultaneously, there were all the ingredients for a genuine cluster. However, I thought everything went really smoothly, and I would certainly do this race again.

I have always said that you could stub out your cigarette, finish your beer, and complete a sprint triathlon, and I put that maxim to the test at this race.




Last updated: 2011-06-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:19:14 | 820 yards | 02m 20s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/7
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: CCW lap in the Mon, starting upstream.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:20
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:54:50 | 12.43 miles | 13.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/7
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: After you exit transition, you go up to a four-lane road leading away from the south end of Morgantown. The right lanes in both directions were reserved for the cyclists and there were police at most of the intersections to make sure the drivers stayed polite. Mile 2 was a pretty good climb (5-7%)that leads to some rolling hills on a semi-rural winding road, finishing with a 1.8 mile climb (3-7%) before the turn-around. The few drivers on the road were very polite, and there were a few motorcycles going back and forth to help protect the riders.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:43
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:35:36 | 03.11 miles | 11m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/7
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: Fairly flat trail along Decker's Creek. Most of it was very pretty.
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? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4