Hudson Valley Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Ulster, New York
United States
New York Triathlon
?F / 0C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 54m 43s
Overall Rank = 46/80
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 6/6
Pre-race routine:

DISCLAIMER - This was a first race, so not much of review of THE race, as much as MY race. I dont have a decent frame of reference to judge by, so hopefully other seasoned athletes will give a more full picture of the the race.

I was a bit of a nervouse wreck in the week leading up to it. The race was a 1 hr drive so got up at 4:30am, had some eggs and toast, rechecked the gym bag that was packed the night befor and showed up pretty early.
Event warmup:

Streched and walk a nearby trail. Not much, since I had left my running shoes and socks in T1/T2. Next time I'll bring a spare pair of shoes for a warmup.
Swim
  • 12m 7s
  • 586 yards
  • 02m 04s / 100 yards
Comments:

There were no waves since it was a pretty small race. I started out trying to stay out of the way as I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Started out nervous and I thought I had settled down by the end, but you couldn’t tell by my heart rate. I started the bike with a way higher heart rate than I have coming out of the pool or training OWS. My sighting was terrible, and I went way wide on the parallel portion, but was able to settle down and pleased that finishing the swim at all wasn’t as big a concern as I thought. I didnt get mangled too much since the faster folk were in the water before me.
What would you do differently?:

Look for bouys more often and swim lots more in training.
Transition 1
  • 02m 25s
Comments:

As a first timer, I wanted to keep some things a surprise. For instance, I consciously decided not to practice transitioning or check out the bike course before the race. My goal was to finish only, so I wanted to embrace the chaos and leave transitions for another day. It wasn't as chaotic as I thought it would be and took less time than I figured on.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe get some bike shoes to wear on bike rides. I just wore running shoes throughout. When time allows, I'll investigate the benefits that clipped in bike shoes provide over the straps that came with my bike.
Bike
  • 1h 08m 41s
  • 18 miles
  • 15.72 mile/hr
Comments:

This race starts with a pretty steep hill that you only have to do once. At the top you start two loops. I think this was my faster bike rides and I didn’t feel like I was pushing it too hard since I still wasn’t sure I'd be able to finish the day. This race confirmed for me that hills that I do most of my training rides on are more than "rolling" and I can stop beating myself up over not breaking a 13mph average while training on them. The hills on the race were very manageable, even the first steep one. The roads were wet with a light rain falling and I was all torqued up, so my first downhill was a bit of a disaster. I started to do a crazy wobble that I tend to do when I tense up and feel like I'm going to spill. The only other mishap was popping off my chain once, costing maybe 1 minute. I tend to finish each bike ride feeling like I can do more miles, but can’t go faster. This is the first time I've ever rode with other people so one thing I noticed is that I spend a lot of time out of the saddle with slow, hard cranking, while others were keeping a fast cadence. At first I thought maybe they had way more power, but since we were near each other (they had not already blown past), it must be proactive gear changing. All and all the bike ride was a lot of fun and traffic control was great.
What would you do differently?:

Try to get out and ride with people who know what they are doing and pick up some technique.
Transition 2
  • 00m 47s
Comments:

Since I had my running shoes on, there was really nothing too it except that I had to double back when I left my watch/hrm on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing much
Run
  • 30m 45s
  • 3.5 miles
  • 08m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was the same rolling hills except for the start and finish. I started by walking a few hunderd yards to get the rubber out of the legs and I think pushing a run would get me up the hill much faster. Overall, I felt like I was pushing it hard, but in the last 1/2 mile I went WAY too fast for someone who was really pusing it. Felt good and got to see a lot of good people be supportive of each other.
What would you do differently?:

Next time, push harder, especially in a race that ends on a hill that you could basically roll down with gravity. That's not to say I should have done that this time. I was in no mood to risk a DNF.
Also, shut off the alarm on the HRM. I had to stop my watch since the constant beeping was a nuisance. In training, it tells me to take it easy but didn't serve much of a purpose in a race.

Post race
Warm down:

Felt pretty good. I hung around to clap for the fast folk and went home for a barbeque and a few too many beers.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training time. I started this year and am building a base. I plan to add some intensity in the Winter since I hate long workouts inside anyway.

Event comments:

It was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday morning. I felt so good I signed up for an Olympic in October. I better get swimming since there is a big difference between 0.3 miles and 0.9 miles for a novice swimmer. Thanks to all of the BTers out there. This site has been a huge help for me this year.




Last updated: 2011-07-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:07 | 586 yards | 02m 04s / 100yards
Age Group: 6/6
Overall: 58/80
Performance: Good
Suit: Neosport Full
Course: A Triangle in Hudson with a small beach to enter
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:25
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:08:41 | 18 miles | 15.72 mile/hr
Age Group: 6/6
Overall: 55/80
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course: 2 loops after an uphill start.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:47
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:30:45 | 03.5 miles | 08m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/6
Overall: 34/80
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back starting and ending with the same hill as the bike.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %?
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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]