Black Diamond Triathlon - Long Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Enumclaw, Washington
United States
AA Sports, Ltd.
73F / 23C
Overcast
Total Time = 6h 26m 31s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Usual. Bagel (note to future self: everything bagels are gross at 5AM), banana, some water then grab some nutrition for closer to the race.

This race was, um "interesting" to say the least. 3rd HIM in 3 months and this one threw a LOT of curves at me. Even though I PRd by 1 min, it could have been so much better minus some of the drama of the day. 2nd year in a row this race seems to be super unlucky for me.
Event warmup:

I thougt I'd warm up w/ a 1.2 mile swim...
Swim
  • 40m 54s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

Swim started off with somebody asking if I knew my wetsuit was torn. Well, I know now... Little did I know this was going to be just the start.

The swim itself was fine, usual scrum for the first 300 yards, cleared up somewhat after that. The real challenge in this swim was the fog. You couldn't see any of the markers very well. I basically followed the crowd, which seemed to work fine.
What would you do differently?:

Less fog, not tear my wetsuit.
Transition 1
  • 03m 42s
Comments:

My T1's always suck. Uncoordinated and slow. Something to work on this winter I guess.
What would you do differently?:

Go faster.
Bike
  • 3h 05m 55s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.07 mile/hr
Comments:

Wow, ok where to start w/ this one.

New bike (Felt B16, love it so far), but the fitter didn't tighten the seat clamps very well. The seat post fell about 4" around mile 5 and I rode like that the rest of the race (nobody I asked had an allen wrench). I have no idea of having the seat so low robs power, or just injures knees after some period of time. I'll guess I'll know more tomorrow morning..

Miles 0-30 were just fine, minus the seat post thingy. Except, either I totally blew through a bottle exchange somewhere around mile 30-35, or they didn't have one. Either way, because of that I had ZERO water to drink from for about an hr on the bike.

Somewhere around mile 32 my universal computer mount started to twist and come loose. Rather than risk losing the Garmin, I pulled it off my quick release and put it back on my arm. Unfortunately that makes it hard to read so even through I had my Garmin on the bike, I never looked at it again.

Mile 35'ish, I see a dog crossing the road - first thought was I hope he's friendly. Second thought was oh, that's a pit bull. Next reaction is "crap he's definately NOT friendly" as he got in an aggressive stance as I approached him and took a swipe at my leg as I passed. Nothing like a mean pissed off dog chasing you for about 1/4 mile to get the HR and average speed up. Unfortunately w/ the lack of water that mini interval session spent a lot of energy.

BUT, had a good bike for me - I probably outbiked my fitness given the conditions of the day (seriously, the only hot racing day I've had in all summer and it's at the end of Sept? In Seattle? I will pay for this on the run...
What would you do differently?:

Not miss, or add in another water station. Seriously if there were only 2 out there that was poor planning. If, in fact, there were 3, then missing the 2nd was is all on me and I would like to do that differently. Oh, and not have to outrun a pissed off dog would be great too.
Transition 2
  • 02m 5s
Comments:

Eh, average T2. Rack bike, shoes off, running shoes on head out.
What would you do differently?:

Not go down the wrong isle initially...
Run
  • 2h 33m 54s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 45s  min/mile
Comments:

So I assumed I blew too much of my legs on the bike but hoped I could still manage somewhere just above a 10/mi pace. For the first 4 miles or so I was just below a 10/mi pace and was feeling good. Then the sun peaked out from the clouds and that basically ended my day. I got hot really fast and wound up walking far too often.

Around mile 10 a bee apparently decided I smelled fantastic and followed me, seriously. S/He buzzed around my head about 10 times and was getting ever closer. I really dislike bee stings and by mile 10 wasn't in the mood anymore so I swatted at it. And surprise, I hit the little f'er in mid flight. Saw him crash and burn on the road and made it a point to step on him. In the process managed to stepp off the roadside and slightly twist my ankle (Karma?).

The final 1.4'ish miles are on dirt trail around the lake. I was pretty sure I was going to walk most of this trail, but just as we started this woman passed me and started talking about the race. She wasn't running super fast, but I with talking etc. we paced each other pretty well. Ran the entire last 1.4 miles w/ her and acutally wound up catching 2 people in my AG about 700 yards from the finish. Special thanks this person for being my pacer, it helped a ton.
What would you do differently?:

Make it cooler, make the aid stations more spaced and make sure the people serving know the difference between Gatoraid and water. Many times I asked for both and I'd say 99% of the time was given both Gatoraid... Or both water, or when I did receive both they mixed them up and said on was water, when it was in fact gatoraid.
Post race
Warm down:

stood in the lake for about 5 minutes

What limited your ability to perform faster:

heat, skill, talent, crazy animals and pissed off insects.

Event comments:

race was good but the post race food was lame. Wilted salad, pretzels, oranges and to the best of my knowledge no water...




Last updated: 2011-09-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:40:54 | 2112 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Two loops in a super foggy morning.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:42
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:05:55 | 56 miles | 18.07 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:05
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:33:54 | 13.1 miles | 11m 45s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 1
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]