Boiling Springs Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania
United States
Boiling Springs Triathlon
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 29m 5s
Overall Rank = 14/85
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 4/18
Pre-race routine:

Usual pre-training and pre-race breakfast of dry cereal or oatmeal (I can't remember which I had the morning of the race) with some black coffee. I arrived at the race just after transition opened, picked up my packet, and set up transition. Then I waited a few hours for my start time.
Event warmup:

5-10 minutes of arm swings right before my swim start.
Swim
  • 15m 39s
  • 900 yards
  • 01m 44s / 100 yards
Comments:

No flip turns were allowed. It was a time trial start from slowest to fastest with everyone staying in the same lane the entire swim. As one person finished, the next person in line would cross the timing mat & enter the pool. Ropes were placed on the bottom to follow, but there weren't any lane lines, so there was a little bit of chop from the other swimmers. This made it an interesting swim for a pool event.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Transition 1
  • 00m 56s
Comments:

This was a good transition. My time was 3rd fastest in my AG, and 6th overall.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to keep my shoes on my pedals and race without socks. If I did that, I believe this transition would have been the fastest in my AG, and probably 2nd fastest overall.
Bike
  • 48m 43s
  • 16 miles
  • 19.71 mile/hr
Comments:

The course crosses railroad tracks twice on each loop, for a total of 4 crossings. A few trains went through during the race, holding up some people, but I was fortunate that I wasn't one of them.

I drank about 1/2 bottle of 50-50 water & Gatorade mix.
What would you do differently?:

I'm pretty happy with this ride, because the time includes dropping my chain during the first loop. I estimate that I lost 30 seconds fixing it.
Transition 2
  • 00m 34s
Comments:

This was another good transition. 3rd fastest in my AG, and 10th overall.
What would you do differently?:

Start running without socks, and leave my shoes on the pedals. This could have saved a couple seconds.
Run
  • 23m 16s
  • 3 miles
  • 07m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

I didn't drink anything during the run.
What would you do differently?:

This was as fast as I could run on this day.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk around, drink some water, eat some food, and talk to friends.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fitness, dropping my chain, not keeping my shoes on the pedals, and going sockless.

Event comments:

This is a nice local race with a little bit different set up for the pool swim, making it a good race for someone who's done a few pool races, but doesn't feel they're quite ready for a race with OWS.

The RD does a decent job of keeping things moving, considering that their options are limited for getting everyone through the pool quickly.

The only negative I had was a shortage of volunteers on the bike course. There were a few intersections that didn't have any. Most notably were a right hand turn where the sign blew over, and at a stop sign with limited sight distance onto a heavily traveled road.

I will probably do this race again.




Last updated: 2011-08-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:15:39 | 900 yards | 01m 44s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/18
Overall: 15/85
Performance: Average
Suit: None
Course: Pool swim. The pool is actually approximately 48 yds, so the distance is more like 864 yds.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:56
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:48:43 | 16 miles | 19.71 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/18
Overall: 8/85
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: 2 loop course. Mostly flat-to-rolling with 1 small hill right out of transition, and a little longer moderate hill around miles 6 and 14.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Below average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:34
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:23:16 | 03 miles | 07m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/18
Overall: 24/85
Performance: Good
Course: Rolling out-and-back on paved roads with a short loop through Boiling Springs at the end.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
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? No
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3