Amica 19.7 Las Vegas - TriathlonSprint


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Henderson, Nevada
United States
Amica 19.7 Triathlon Series
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 05m 24s
Overall Rank = 75/109
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 9/14
Pre-race routine:

Woke up 90 minutes before race with a surprisingly good amount of sleep. Sipped some water proceeded to set up my transition area about an hour before the race. Had plenty of time to look around and chat with other competitors. A guy in the next rack over discovered a flat and I helped him change it, hoping karma would smile on me for my good deed. Took a GU 15 minutes before the swim started.
Event warmup:

Waited too long before getting in the water and had to rush to swim to the start. Guess that counts as warmup. Had about 30 seconds to float on my back before the starting signal.
Swim
  • 18m 17s
  • 875 yards
  • 02m 05s / 100 yards
Comments:

My first triathlon and I had not really done an open water swim other than a few yards in the ocean at the beach. It was much harder than I expected it to be, primarily mental. Water temperature was perfect, even without a wetsuit, but zero visibility in the water and my goggles fogged up so sighting buoys was hard.

The toughest part mentally was wanting to make sure I was swimming in the right direction, which was difficult to do while in freestyle. I did about the first 200 yds freestyle then alternated between freestyle and backstroke primarily for the advantage of navigating in a straight line while on my back, which kept me mostly on course.

I did not need a wetsuit for the water temperature, but think I would have benefited from one just for the buoyancy advantage. As I move into longer distances I'll definitely look into it.


What would you do differently?:

Enter the water much earlier so I didn't tire myself out swimming to the start. Use goggle defogger. And rent or buy a wetsuit for the buoyancy advantage, if nothing else.
Transition 1
  • 03m 6s
Comments:

Since it was my first triathlon I decided not to worry about my transition times at all, making sure I got all my equipment on rather than rushing and forgetting something. Already had swim cap and goggles off by the time I got to my spot and didn't have a wetsuit to remove (still slower in T1 than 80% of the field, who had wetsuits!). Sat down, took a GU, dried off feet and put on socks and bike shoes, gloves (probably unnecessary but race like you train!), glasses and helmet. Was careful not to knock anyone else's bike over while moving out.


Reasonably fast by my standards. My triathlon bag came with a tripod stool which I really liked sitting on and got compliments on. And if you're going to take your time changing your shoes at transition, a stool is just what you need!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing! I'm in triathlons for the athletic benefits, not overly concerned with competition and shaving a few seconds (or even minutes) off my transitions. As I move toward longer races, this transition time will be an even smaller portion of my overall time. I may be slow in transitions but I'm content with that.
Bike
  • 1h 07m 6s
  • 16.1 miles
  • 14.40 mile/hr
Comments:

Much harder than I had expected. The brutal 0.3 mile 8% grade really took its toll. I thought about giving up on the first lap, thinking there's no way I'm doing this six times! But I pressed on and made it through, and it seemed to get slightly easier for the next 4 laps. Last lap was really hard again, but I knew it was the last one and pushed hard to make it! The hill took so much out of me that I simply coasted on the downhill rather than pedaling faster. Probably wise as I was going 35 mph and just trying to stay on the road! Traffic circle at the bottom of the hill was scary to me, I probably lost a lot of speed braking there every time.

As I started the bike, about 80% of the racers were on the 2.7 mile bike course, including the leaders trying to lap the pack. It was a bit crowded with lots of "keep to the right" yelling by the faster riders. My first time down the hill and into the roundabout turn, the rider in front of me slowed quickly and I moved left to pass them, unfortunately taking up space needed by the race leader who seemed a bit miffed at me at the time (but was gracious when I apologized at the finish line). Fortunately, as time went on, the faster riders got onto the run course, and for the last 2 laps I got to be one of the "fast" people doing all the passing and feeling like a stud.
What would you do differently?:

I did not take enough advantage of clipless pedals to share the load on the muscles, having to force myself to remember to pull the pedals up on the hills. I think this is a lot of time-in-saddle experience that I'll pick up, but a good focus area for training. I also need to learn how to get out of the saddle and push up hills.
Transition 2
  • 01m 58s
Comments:

Again, I was content to take my time in transition and do it right. Took slightly longer to get my bike shoes off than in practice (I couldn't remember which lever to press!) and I took enough time to double-lace my running shoes. I took a GU and washed it down with the water from my bike's water bottle, since I didn't have the foresight to have more easily consumed beverage available.
What would you do differently?:

Preposition some gatorade at transition to swig before running. Get some of those laces that you can tie quickly and not worry about coming undone.
Run
  • 35m
  • 3.1 miles
  • 11m 17s  min/mile
Comments:

Although I can do a 25 minute 5K, I literally had nothing left after the brutal hills on the bike leg, and did way too much walking. I knew by this point that I was going to finish, and the worst part of the race was behind me, it was just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other to get to the finish. I already knew my bike time was slower than the unofficial goal I'd set for myself and I did not push as hard as I could have since the main goals were to survive the swim and experience all 3 sports, and the benefit of a faster run (shave a few minutes off an already slow time) didn't outweigh the benefit of enjoying the last portion of my race.
What would you do differently?:

Train more, to make sure I had energy left for the run! BIke more efficiently, too.
Post race
Warm down:

Wandered around the finish area and consumed food and beverage while hugging my family and chatting with other finishers near my time.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Experience. Training. Mental hurdles, especially on the run.

Event comments:

Volunteers for this race were great! Lots of energy and encouragement, plenty of water. While I disliked the 6-lap bike course, it gave me the chance to see the same volunteers 7 times!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2011-10-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:17 | 875 yards | 02m 05s / 100yards
Age Group: 9/14
Overall: 75/109
Performance: Good
Suit: None
Course: Out and back in Lake Las Vegas, clockwise around buoys.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:06
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:07:06 | 16.1 miles | 14.40 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/14
Overall: 77/109
Performance: Average
Wind: None
Course: 6 laps of a 2.7 mile loop. About 1 mile flat, 0.7 miles uphill including an 0.3 mile section at 8% grade, and then 1 mile downhill.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:58
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:35:00 | 03.1 miles | 11m 17s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/14
Overall: 79/109
Performance: Below average
Course: Out and back, following the first mile-and-change of the bike course. Run out was uphill on brick sidewalk, downhill was on the road shoulder on pavement.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4