Pumpkinman Triathlon - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic


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Boulder City, Nevada
United States
BBSC Endurance Sports
74F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 25m 53s
Overall Rank = 233/374
Age Group = M35-40
Age Group Rank = 18/28
Swim
  • 34m 4s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 05s / 100 yards
Comments:

Swim went better than expected. Water temp was wonderful, with no gasp reflex in sight. I started slowly, and kept wide of the first buoy to minimize impact. I kept my pace very moderate, and found a nice pair of feet to follow for awhile until I got knocked off. Sighting was great on the first stretch, with one small boo-boo (I miscounted, and tried to turn at the sprint buoy). However, once I rounded the back of the course I started breathing left, which meant not only could I not sight buoys to my right, but because of some sort of mechanical inefficiency in my stroke, I had a hard time sighting straight ahead. I probably added 1-200 meters by tacking left and right on the back stretch. The only other difficulty was a bad calf cramp in the last 200 meters. I've never had cramping issues during my swims, making me suspect that the wetsuit was the underlying cause.
What would you do differently?:

more sighting practice, more time in the wetsuit, more time in open water.
Transition 1
  • 05m 9s
Comments:

Lost an ear plug, but otherwise all went fairly well. I struggled a bit with the wetsuit, but not too much. The transition seemed like it was about 4 miles long - my computer actually recorded .12 miles before I hopped on to the bike. First hill of the day was immediately out of T1, so a running mount didn't seem like a good idea. Calf was continuing to cramp, so running with the bike wasn't happening either.
What would you do differently?:

not much.
Bike
  • 1h 37m 22s
  • 24.8 miles
  • 15.28 mile/hr
Comments:

I was able to maintain a low tuck through all of the downhills and most of the shorter climbs during the first half, and a high tuck (choked up on the bars) through all of the other rollers. The climb up to the visitor center was tough. The bike path made entirely avoiding drafting virtually impossible, but the speeds were low enough that it probably offered only limited benefit. The last leg of the climb (once you got off of the path and onto the road) was pretty gnarly. My calf was still threatening to cramp, and after severe quad cramping during the run portion of my last two bricks, I was intentionally backing off to ensure that I had something for the run. When I got to the top, I looked for a restroom (I have a very small bladder, and had been hydrating very well). My first thought was the visitor center, but the bathroom door was locked. Luckily, there was a porta-john on a trailer on the far side of the parking lot. These two detours probably cost me 2-3 minutes, minimum.
What would you do differently?:

Go harder, pee in transition.
Transition 2
  • 02m 35s
Comments:

Spent way too long taking shoes off. Running shoes/visor went on quickly.
What would you do differently?:

Get Tri shoes?
Run
  • 1h 09m 20s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 11m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

Like my previous two bricks, my quads were threatening to cramp. Luckily, they never did. I jogged the whole thing, exposing my need for more (and harder) bricks. For a hot day, I managed to keep pretty cool - drink one gatorade, 1/2 of a water, pour the rest over the head. Repeat as necessary.
Post race
Warm down:

hang out at the Michelob Ultra booth waiting for my T1 bag.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

lack of intensity in training, and a large falloff in volume in the month immediately preceding the race (due to school resuming for my wife and daughter)

Event comments:

I'll give it a four, but with the qualifier that it probably should have been a 5 because I can't imagine how it could have gone better.




Last updated: 2011-10-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:04 | 1640 yards | 02m 05s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/374
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Farmer John
Course: Skewed rectangle
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 05:09
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:37:22 | 24.8 miles | 15.28 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/374
Performance:
Wind: Some
Course: The course was a hilly out and back, with a long steep hill at the end. Overall, none of the rollers (even those at 8%) were especially bad, and the final climb, although steep and long, was entirely doable.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:35
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
01:09:20 | 06.21 miles | 11m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/374
Performance:
Course: Out into the desert and back with lots of small hills; net decline on the out portion. Water stations every mile, well stocked with gatorade and ice cold water.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
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