Town of Pittsford Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Pittsford, New York
United States
Town of Pittsford Recreation Dept
57F / 14C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 25m 22s
Overall Rank = 37/168
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 11/31
Pre-race routine:

Last year, this was my first ever triathlon. So I was definitely interested to see how I would compare to a year ago. One would hope that 20 pounds lost would help a bit.

Pre-race was a mess. I got to the race at about 6AM, when the tent was supposed to open. The organizers weren't ready. So I unloaded my bike and went for a warm-up walk. I don't set out my full TA because its raining.

Well, when I get back from my walk, and bathroom, the line of people queuing was about 40-50. Its maybe 6:30, so I stay in the line. At about 6:50, I finally get my number and chip. I'm supposed to start the race at 7:10.

Well, run to the car to fix my racebelt. That takes about 5 minutes. The stupid race chip won't tie right. BLAH. My clothes are wet. What do I want to wear? BLAH. Go get another set of straps for my chip. Ok, get that done. Now, go try to lay out transition. Its after 7, and the race is starting.

Lay out my bike pants and bike jacket. Shoes and socks. Put a couple towels over my stuff to help keep them dry. Jog over to the pool. Ok, I have about 8 minutes. One last bathroom trip.

Get back in line and realize that I am still wearing my wedding ring. It comes off in the water. The husband of a friend doing the race is there and he holds my ring for me during the race. Three minutes til start time, so I jump into the water to test the water. So much for a real warmup.
Swim
  • 05m 45s
  • 274 meters
  • 02m 06s / 100 meters
Comments:

My goal for the swim was to keep my HR in check and not push it. Last year, I blew up on the swim and it definitely hurt me. With only 300 yards to do, pushing it won't make much difference.

I was successfull in this goal. I was relaxed and easy and just let the swim come to me. Worked perfectly.

My swimtime last year was 6:05. So I was 20 seconds faster and much more in control of my breath and HR.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Swim was darn near perfect for me.
Transition 1
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

On the way out of the gym, while running across the parking lot in only my tri shorts, I realized that I wasnt too cold. I had planned on putting on my long bike pants, but I decided against it. On the top, I did put on my bright yellow bike jacket. Nothing underneath.

I putzed around with my sunglasses too much because I had not covered them enough and they got wet. Well duh, they are just going to get wet on the ride. That was a waste of a few seconds.

Despite this messing around, I was still faster than last year's T1 time of 1:36. Not sure how that happened.
What would you do differently?:

Not mess around with sunglasses. Put em on and go.
Bike
  • 48m 45s
  • 15 miles
  • 18.46 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike was my first time riding in the rain. So I was very cautious around the turns. I found that my socks got soaked fairly quickly and my feet would squish every stroke. Oh well.

I passed a fair number of riders and got passed by a couple.

I did a decent job of using my front chain ring. I've been working on moving up to the large ring more and more and it seemed to pay off some on this leg. I was definitely using the downhills more than I have in the past.

Overall, I felt like I pushed at a decent level, harboring good strength for the run to come.

This was actually a personal best bike pace for a race for me at 18.8 mph. With these conditions, I can't complain about that. My time last year was 49:42, so I was about a minute faster this year.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Push a little harder?
Transition 2
  • 01m
Comments:

T2 worked ok. Chaning shoes with wet socks is a pain. Only a couple of seconds wasted. I was 5 seconds slower than last year on this leg when I wasn't changing shoes.
What would you do differently?:

Practice shoe swap more
Run
  • 28m 22s
  • 3.3 miles
  • 08m 36s  min/mile
Comments:

Running is normally my slowest leg relative to the field and that was the case here. But I am definitely getting better.

Bricks are normally not a problem for me, but today my legs were not happy about starting to run. The stairs coming out of T2 were a challenge. Both groin muscles were surprising sore. Strange.

I got passed by a couple of people in the first 100 yards. After maybe 1/3 of a mile, my legs began to feel a bit better. My stride improved. I was able to make decent time on a downhill in the first part of the race as well as the second part.

About 2/3 the way through the run, was a long uphill. Normally, people would pull away from me on hills. But today, I caught one guy and closed on another. As we rounded onto Barker Road, I felt pretty good. I knew the rest was flat and straight.

I picked up my tempo, increased my stride length. I closed and passed the second guy who passed me at the run start. I pulled away from these two guys. I ran hard and pushed hard and finished strong. Passing people at the end is a new experience for me. I have to say, it felt pretty good. :)

My run time was exactly 6 minutes faster than that of a year ago.
What would you do differently?:

Not stop to take a drink of water at the first water station. I didn't really need it. It only wasted a bit of time.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk off the hard finish. Settle down fairly quickly.

Much like at the Duathlon a couple of weeks ago, I did not get any ice on my feet after the race. At 10PM of race day, my feet hurt like the devil now. I suppose this being my second run on pavement in 4 days didn't help things either. These were my first runs on pavement since February. I should have planned better to get ice on my feet.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The weather definitely had a negative impact on transition times and the bike. I think it helped the run as heat was not a problem.

Overall, I was very pleased with this race outcome. Going in, I expected to be around 1:27 or 1:28. I was 1:25:22. This makes the third race in the last three weeks that I have exceeded my expectations for myself. I suppose I need to raise them a bit. :)

I beat my time from last year by over 7 minutes. Progress. :)

Event comments:

The race organizers did a poor job. This company does a number of races in the area and normally does a very good job. I don't know what happened on this one. But they should have gotten people their numbers on Saturday. Then, they compounded it by being late this morning, making check-in a big mess. Lastly, pizza at 9:30 AM isn't really what I'd call interesting. Especially for someone who can't eat pizza due to allergies.




Last updated: 2006-04-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:45 | 274 meters | 02m 06s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/31
Overall: 23/168
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: 6 25yard lanes. Down and back, then under the rope. After swim, get out, run outside of building, across parking lot, down some stairs and then hit the transition mat.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:30
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:48:45 | 15 miles | 18.46 mile/hr
Age Group: 12/31
Overall: 38/168
Performance:
Wind: Some
Course: Rain, wind, and cold. My first time riding in rain. Slower around turns, but otherwise no big deal.
Road: Potholes Wet Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:28:22 | 03.3 miles | 08m 36s  min/mile
Age Group: 18/31
Overall: 68/168
Performance: Good
Course: Rain
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? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2