Giant Acorn International - TriathlonOlympic


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Bumpass, Virginia
United States
Set Up Events
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 34m 30s
Overall Rank = 163/454
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 5/12
Pre-race routine:

I tried to bump up the amount of sleep I was getting during that week as well. On race day I made sure to allow plenty of time to get to the venue early as to set up my transition adequately. Once I got set up I spent a lot of timing just resting in the car (it was a little cool and breezy outside before heading over to the start of the swim portion.
Event warmup:

The only warm up I did was a quick swim out to the first buoy and back to test out the water. This was my first triathlon with an open water swim (only my second triathlon ever) and I had rented a wetsuit just in case. After my warm up I was confident that I could do the swim portion without a wetsuit (the water temp was 73 degrees).
Swim
  • 20m 50s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 16s / 100 yards
Comments:

In the weeks leading up to this event I had been swimming about 6500 yards per day so I knew the swim was not going to be too much of an issue. Of course none of the swimming I had been doing was in open water, it was all done in a pool. I hadn't done any open water swimming for about seven years so the waves were a big of a shock. Overall I was very pleased with my swim as I performed much better than I thought I would.

Also, I think I might have gone a little too hard on this section. As it was only my second triathlon and I STILL had done NO research into race technique whatsoever I had no idea what I was doing. Since swimming was my best event by far I naturally went balls to the wall.
What would you do differently?:

I would definitely work on technique swimming at that distance. Most of the swimming I had done was short distance, high yardage type sets. I had only done one practice mile and that was in a pool. I feel like I really should have tried to work more on swimming at the actual distance that I was going to perform.
Transition 1
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

Up to this point I had still never practiced transitions. As such, I didn't really know what to do/how to make it faster. The pedals on my bike don't need shoes that clip on so I just wear my tennis shoes that I'm going to run in. This makes T2 faster but T1 much slower as I have to stop to put on socks and shoes before heading out.
What would you do differently?:

I need to invest in some good biking shoes that clip on to the pedals of the bike. I've really been neglecting this fairly important aspect of the bike portion.
Bike
  • 1h 13m 17s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.35 mile/hr
Comments:

This bike was brutal for me. Most of the training I had been doing was on a flat course with little to no hills. The gears on my bike were not suited for serious hills (or perhaps it is user error!) so I struggled tremendously while I foolishly tried to keep up with all the people passing me (remember, I was third out of the water in my wave for the swim portion). I fried my legs during the bike portion of this race.
What would you do differently?:

TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN! I had not biked NEARLY enough in preparation for this triathlon. Like my first, it was more of a spur of the moment sort of thing and I had signed up only a few days prior to the race. It was pretty clear during the bike that I needed to prepare before I took on another race at that distance. The sprint triathlon I had done prior was easier because it was shorter and I was able to muscle through it. The international distance really opened my eyes to the importance of proper preparation.
Transition 2
  • 02m 19s
Comments:

My legs were absolute jelly and I knew that the second I got off the bike. I struggled to run my bike in to my rack and was fairly slow to get going back out of transition.
What would you do differently?:

Again, it's all about training. I'd never practiced the transitions before and I'm sure with more bike practice this would have been a much easier transition.
Run
  • 56m 34s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 07s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was abysmal; there is no other way to describe it. My legs were absolute jelly from the bike and there was little if anything left for the run. I was purely in survival mode at this point. The only highlight of this run that I can claim is the fact that I ran (albeit trotted at points) the entire time -- no walking!
What would you do differently?:

TRAIN! I'm finding a pattern here. I did not run enough in preparation for this race. I only ran immediately after biking ONCE! TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN!
Post race
Warm down:

I hobbled over to the food stand in my post-race stupor. I felt like I was on the brink of passing out for about 10-15 minutes. As a result I did not get in an actual warm down.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

TRAINING! I don't even need to explain that one anymore.

Event comments:

This event was very well organized. I just wish I had trained more!




Last updated: 2012-03-29 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:50 | 1640 yards | 01m 16s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/12
Overall: 4/454
Performance: Good
Suit: Tri Shorts and Tank
Course: Rectangular course: in water start, out to first buoy then 90 degree right turn, out to next buoy then 90 degree right turn, in to the finish at the back end of the transition area.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Average
Waves: Below average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:30
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:13:17 | 24.85 miles | 20.35 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/12
Overall: 233/454
Performance: Below average
Wind: Some
Course: This was a two lap course with a nice flat bridge crossing toward the end. There were some rolling hills here and there (more than the triathlon I did back in May).
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Bad Hills: Bad
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:19
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Bad
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:56:34 | 06.21 miles | 09m 07s  min/mile
Age Group: 12/12
Overall: 332/454
Performance: Bad
Course: This was a two lap out and back run with some very gentle/rolling hills.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4