Swim
Comments: Great swim!! Improved from 600 to 700 yards since march. Got a little lazy in the middle (100yd times approaching 1:35), but finished strong. What would you do differently?: Nada. I just hope to continue to hit the pool 3-4x/week from now till spring, with hopes of getting to 750 (30 laps) by the next indoor tri. Transition 1
Comments: Set time, easily got set up and loosened What would you do differently?: nothing. i actually felt a little silly running from the pool to the locker room and then to the cycle studio. Bike
Comments: I honestly felt very bad for several of the other racers. The "bike" portion of this is set up in their cycle studio, with speedometers duct taped to the frame and flywheel. At least 5 bikers (while I was there) had their sensors come loose, so that a portion of their bike wasn't counted, and then they had to switch bikes (and set it up again) while I continued to spin away. Never mind that spinning at 150-160 reps/min in no way simulates a real race, but it is what it is. There was not a real clear "start time" or countdown to begin our wave. After about 20-30 seconds after the official start, one of the organizers said "OK, you should be racing now" even though they were still resetting people's odometers. Additionally, the 1st place finisher somehow went nearly twice as far as everyone else (or they forgot to reset the odometer?) The helpers were good at getting people towels or water if they needed, and they certainly were enthusiastic, and apologetic to the racers whose odometers got messed up. What would you do differently?: I didn't do a good job of staying focused when people around me were having their odometer issues, and my "speed" would drop from the mid 40's to low 40s or even upper 30s. I did have a good kick at the end, but I certainly saved up too much Transition 2
Comments: straight forward. Get shoes on, go upstairs, stretch on treadmill, go. Run
Comments: Good run for me, just exceeding my goal distance of 2.85. Had to slow down from sub-7 pace to 7:15 from 13:00 through 16:00, though had a strong kick at the end, running it up to 6:00 over the last minute, and 6:30 for the 2 minutes before. What would you do differently?: Maybe try to push that middle a little more (keep at pace instead of slowing down). It seems to be as much a mental toughness issue as a physical toughness. Otherwise a great run for me, and nice to see improvement (went a 7:51 pace in March!) Post race
Warm down: light stretching, then just got ready to go. Knew my kids were waiting... What limited your ability to perform faster: A little more mental toughness is needed (especially for such a short race), but otherwise exactly met my goals. Event comments: I'm not sure what a good solution is for the bike portion, but the duct taped speedometers just don't work. One of my friends finished 3rd on the swim and 1st on the run (3.18 miles, and the only person to break 3 miles), but had a bad bike and finished 24th (out of 54) after having to switch. It would have come down to the bike for him and me to win it. I'm pretty sure my cadence (and thus, speed) was faster anyway, but at least he should have had a fair shot. Otherwise, the race went very smoothly. The workers were well organized and directed people through the facility well. It was also nice that we had a choice between red and black tech T-shirts (as I got a black one in the spring). While short, these races are a great way to assess progress over the course of the year. I'll definitely continue to do at least one each season, if not two (particularly if they're only $25). Last updated: 2011-11-21 12:00 AM
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United States
Lifetime Fitness
Overall Rank = 1/54
Age Group = Open/Male
Age Group Rank = 1/10
Mini-wheats and some water, pretty low-key
Swam about 250 yards to loosen up prior to the swim, then a little light stretching on the deck