Encinitas Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Encinitas, California
United States
Encinitas Sports Festival
64F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 03m 3s
Overall Rank = 482/488
Age Group = 50 - 54
Age Group Rank = 14/14
Pre-race routine:

We live about 45 minutes from the venue. We left the house at 4:20. Transition area opened at 5 a.m.
We met my brother-in-law, Paul in a parking lot near the venue. Pumped our tires and rode our bikes over to the transition area.
For breakfast we had a banana and English muffin with peanut butter. Steve had 1/2 glass of orange juice as well.
We set up transition, I got a great spot on the last rack right next to run out with a bunch of experienced women. They racked us by age group. We took the time to scout out swim in, bike out, bike in, run out.
Then comes the waiting. My wave was due to start until 7:36. We walked over the cliff to take a look at the beach and waves. Paul wanted to sit down and conserve energy.
I didn't feel as anxious as I did before race on the base. Course that race had a 6 am transition set up and 10 am start.
I kept getting closer to the actual beach since I can't see distance without my glasses.
The water was warm, I did go out through the waves and swam a little bit. That made me feel more confident since I was most worried about the waves.
Event warmup:

The water was warm, I did go out through the waves and swam a little bit. That made me feel more confident since I was most worried about the waves.
Swim
  • 25m 25s
  • 820 yards
  • 03m 06s / 100 yards
Comments:

Not good at all on the swim. I went ahead and took up the offer for a swim buddy. Mostly because without my glasses I was afraid I may mess up the sighting and go way off course. Thanks Eugene, you are the BEST!
It was just so weird, 4,000 to 6,000 yards a week and no fear of the water, but once I made it through the waves I could not get my breathing under control. I think my swim buddy assumed I was afraid. I kept having to stop and do breast stroke or side stroke to try and get enough air in. He said when I would swim I was fast and actually gaining on everyone, but one by one the women in my wave were passing me. I just could NOT get into a rhythm with good breathing. So unlike me since I did multiple ocean swims in Hawaii the week before last and could easily swim a good 30 minutes with my head down.
I wasn't liking the constricting feeling of my arms in the wetsuit.
As I rounded the buoy, the men in the wave behind my started to pass me. My swim buddy,kept encouraging me and said Ok, now the waves will help push us. Just a little bit more and you can stand. I wasn't concerned about standing or afraid of being out there. I just knew that if I didn't keep moving forward, the longer it was going to take and the further behind I was going to be. I'm sure all the women in my age group had passed me by now.
After reflection, the only thing I could think of was that I just had too much adrenalin pumping through me. But I though adrenalin was suppose to help you.
What would you do differently?:

Swim more in waves.
Transition 1
  • 04m 30s
Comments:

7 out of 14 for T1. Including Run up to transition. For Encinatas after exiting the swim you have to run up the beach and then up a paved path all the way up hill (probably about 1/4 mile) to the transition area. Because I was still breathing so hard, I just could not run, I had to walk it. Obviously all the men from the wave behind me started passing up the path. Once I got to the top of the hill I was able to run into the transition area and quickly found my bike.

All the women I was racked with were long gone. Actually gave me plenty of room to transition. However, my brother-in-law, Paul's bike was still racked. He didn't pass me on the swim. I assumed Steve didn't either.

I did use Tri-slide. I did not wear socks for my bike shoes. I did have a small towel just to wipe my face before putting on my glasses.
I donned my race belt at this time.

I was able to run out of T1 with my bike.
Bike
  • 51m 5s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 14.60 mile/hr
Comments:

I did pass people, but uphill I was passed a lot.
Slower people just did not know to move right, so I had to pass on the right a couple of times.
I was concerned being without my rear view mirror, but had no problem looking over my left shoulder to see before moving left.
It took me about 3 miles before I could get my breathing under control, still left over from the swim.
I just did not feel like drinking after the salt water. I rinsed my mouth several times but it was a good 4 to 5 miles before I could begin sipping water. I was afraid to eat anything because I knew I wasn't getting enough water.
What would you do differently?:

Continue to work on weight loss.
Transition 2
  • 01m 19s
Comments:

5 out of 14 T2 time. I wore my easy spirit very light shoes without socks. I'm left them tied, but since they worked out so well, I'm going to change them to elastic laces.
The rack was a bit more crunched since all the women were probably on their 2nd lap of the run by now.
Run
  • 40m 42s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 13m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

It was beginning to get hot. I could now drink and took advantage of every aid station, mostly because I could walk.
I didn't feel the normal rubbery leg running off the bike syndrome, but I know my pace was very slow.
I was continually passed, and did stop to walk several times.
When I got to about 2 1/4 miles, I finally felt warmed up and could begin a good rhythm. I didn't have a garmin to know my Pace but I would guess at this warm up spot I was about 10:45. Doesn't help much at the end of the run.
Skirt Sports had an aid station with electrolyte replacement in little martini cups. Very nice.
At one point a 69 year old and 65 year old man passed me. I caught up to a 51 year old man and told him, that we should just tell ourselves, that's OK those guys are retired and have more time to train than the rest of us.
On the run was where we noticed that there were many super sprint and duathlon athletes out there. They only had to do one lap of each the bike and the run.
It was getting hotter, but I kept moving.
If they have swim buddies, why don't they have run buddies? That would have been nice to keep me moving at a better pace.
What would you do differently?:

I should have pushed my self and not walk at all. I kept thinking about what Paul said about his first Encinatas race and how he felt like Elmer Fudge. I was able to talk and joke with people, so obviously I wasn't pushing hard enough.
Post race
Warm down:

I got some food and water. Yumm little Costco lemon cakes and a banana.
I walked around and found Paul. I was trying to decide if I should go back out and run with Steve, since I knew he was in pain with his feet. He kept going and had to walk a lot.
JC from Forma PT came over to the house to give us massages after the race. From my experience from Surf City half marathon, I knew this would be great for recovery.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

more training, just becaused I muffed it on the swim, I should have still tried to be competitive on the run instead of giving up.

Event comments:

There were lots of volunteers. They were all so encouraging.
We stopped for Baskin Robbins "31 below" peanut butter cup afterward.

Someone has to be last. If I had done a normal swim I would have placed 10th. I debated about whether to publish this race report as public with such bad results, but if it will help encourage someone else, then I probably should. I definitely wanted to document it so I could have a comparison for next year and other races.

I do my training, but I think mentally I just am not as competitive and give up and don't keep pushing during the race. I think it helps my husband mentally because he has been injured and he still beat my times.




Last updated: 2012-03-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:25 | 820 yards | 03m 06s / 100yards
Age Group: 14/14
Overall: 104/488
Performance: Below average
Suit: Zoot full wet suit, 1st tri with it.
Course: There was a large orange triangle first buoy for the super sprint athletes, and then our orange buoy was a little further out. There was current sweeping south, so the announcer suggested we run north on the beach a bit and as we were swimming out to head to the right of the buoy even though we needed to round it from the left. Then on the way back we were to sight to the left of the long Palm Tree on the beach.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 64F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:30
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:51:05 | 12.43 miles | 14.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/14
Overall: 14/488
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Two loops on closed city streets. Small inclines but not bad. A few pot holes but well marked.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:19
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:40:42 | 03.11 miles | 13m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 14/14
Overall: 14/488
Performance: Below average
Course: 1 loop city streets small inclines. The Turn around had a very short up hill.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4