Sylvan Beach Triathlon - TriathlonShort Course


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La Porte, Texas
United States
Tri on the Run
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 30m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 28/29
Pre-race routine:

Drove down the day before since I didn't register till that day. We stayed at a local hotel and did some swimming with our dog, and I did about 500 meters. It was pretty choppy and there was some concern about how it would be for the race.

I got up around 5 and started gettting ready. I was going to ride my bike over to the race but the dog woke the wife so we ended up going in the car. I got there and realized that I was missing a bar end cap (if you don't know these are caps that cover the holes at the end of the handle bars, having them uncovered will keep you from racing as they can cause serious punctures in a wreck).

The bike shop supplies were not there so I had to wait for a while and was getting nervous ... it also turned out I had forgotten my swim cap so I had to send my wife to look for it. Luckily I had everything I needed just about the time that transition closed.


Event warmup:

I really didn't do any warmup other than the running around looking for the bar end cap and swim cap. But I knew the water was warm and I was going to take the swim pretty easy anyway.
Swim
  • 25m 34s
  • 1094 yards
  • 02m 20s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first beach start so I had done a little practicing at dolphining the day before. The slope is very gradual so you could run quite a ways out.

As soon as it was over knee deep though I dove in, pushed off the bottom and started swimming. I was swimming next to people still running but we seemed to be going about the same speed.

Before it got too deep, but where everyone was swimming my hand came into contact with something sharp. I didn't break the skin but it scratched it pretty good and I wasn't really sure for a while. It might have been a rock, or I could have hit the watch or something else on the guy next to me, but it felt pretty solid.

By this point I knew that when I put the GPS in my hat I should have left the arm band on the bike or somewhere else becasue it was sliding down my arm fast. I caught it and stuffed it in my shorts for the rest of the swim.

I started swimming and kept things in pretty good slignment for most of the swim. I did very few stops along the way and relied mostly on the pack, and side view to tell where i was. I don't think I really sighted till about half way out.

About 3/4ths of the way out I realized I might not have started the polar so I stopped long enough to hit start and then kept swimmming.

I found myself inside the buoy's once on the way out but I quickly corrected it. I rounded the first turn buoy closely and took a hit to the goggle from one of the other swimmiers just a bit jarring. I ended up swimmming a little wide on the second buoy but came fairly straight in for the rest of the swim.

My shoulder continues to give me trouble but the only time it really bothered me was when the area was really packed and I had to swim very closely. When I let my arm swing wide it wasn't a major issue.

Coming out of the water I saw Tab and Chase (our dog) waiting for me. I walked in taking the GPS unit out of my cap and putting it in my arm piece.
What would you do differently?:

Swim more. Due to scheduling and my shoulder issue I've slacked off on swimmming.
Transition 1
  • 02m 2s
Comments:

I took my time to catch my breath and orgainze my gear on the walk to transition. While I had clipped my shoes in I didn't do a flying mount, more of just starting out slowly with the shoes in.
What would you do differently?:

hussle
Bike
  • 56m 30s
  • 18.64 miles
  • 19.79 mile/hr
Comments:

The small size of the field became apparent on the bike. As i left transition two women passed me as I was getting on my shoes. One was never seen again, the other took me 2 miles to catch and pass. No one else passed me for those 2 miles, or some time after.

All in all I think I passed more on the bike than passed me, now this maybe a false positive as there was a Duathalon as well and I suspect the Du had more first timers out there.

I don't ride a lot of hills but I think I did ok shifting for the overpasses, the down hill I never moved up into my hardest gear on my tripple so I was spinning out on the way down the hill, but hitting 28 and that doesn't happen very often so I was feeling pretty good even then.

I could tell that I was using a bit too much of my legs out there but i kept up a steady cadence and kept pushing forward. It is clear based on my rankings that my bike is a lot stronger right now than my run.
What would you do differently?:

My handling skills still need work, and my control of the sharp turns while in aero as well. But other than more training I think I executed fairly well, with the possible exception of holding off a little more for the sake of the run.
Transition 2
  • 01m 51s
Comments:

I came in fairly slow and had just come out of aero when I saw the camera guy (why do they put them where you are going to be slowing down?). I did a fairly smooth exit off of the bike though at a fairly low rate of speed and ran the bike into rack it.

Took some time moving my nutrition and drinking water before I headed out.
Run
  • 1h 04m 5s
  • 4.97 miles
  • 12m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

I originally planned this race hoping to be able to run the entire run. I wasn't feeling perfect this morning, and I burned up on the bike so I knew it was going to be difficult.

I took off and made myself go a mile without stopping. At the aid station I came to a stop, dumped water on my head, took some nutrition and drank some gatorade and went on.

I only got a half a mile before I started walking again...I wanted to go a full mile, or 3/4ths... but I gave in and walked at the 1.5 mark. After that I was running .20 or .25 and walking .05 ot .1

I ran the last mile in 2 .5 segments or so, but the damage was done. I ended up last in the run for my AG and got passed right at the end by Keri (who ended up beating me by 6 minutes because of the 5 minute wave start difference).
What would you do differently?:

More heat running, more bricks, more HTFU.
Post race
Warm down:

Water, orange, pizza, cookie.... rest.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

heat and training. Also I need a new pair of shoes.

Event comments:

This is a very small field for the area and there were a lot of volunteers. I often saw teams of medics, police at every intersection, and fair sized groups at the aid stations.

Putting the aid stations in the middle of the road for the out and back worked well with this small of a group.

I imagine I'll do it again next year.




Last updated: 2012-04-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:34 | 1094 yards | 02m 20s / 100yards
Age Group: 23/29
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
HR was 144 average.
Suit: Desoto Rivera shorts and Desoto Skin cooler top
Course: Triangular course with the majority being out and back and a short 100 meters or so across.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:02
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:56:30 | 18.64 miles | 19.79 mile/hr
Age Group: 20/29
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
LAP Elapsed Miles HR 1. 00:15:41 5.00 147 2. 00:15:40 5.00 146 3. 00:14:44 5.00 142
Wind: Some
Course: The course is quite fast with a few rough spots toward the end. You come out along a major road and turn on to the highway frontage road. Then you go under an under pass giving you a down, then up hill, U turn to the other side of the frontage road and go up and over the hwy on an over pass. Once there you go on some four lane roads till you hit and out and back that takes the majority of your course and takes you straight into transition. The last 2 miles have some rough road, but it is my fastest average todate, and I think it was largely the lack of a headwind at anypoint.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:51
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:04:05 | 04.97 miles | 12m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 29/29
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
1. 00:11:42 1.00 150 2. 00:12:03 1.00 150 3. 00:14:35 1.00 143 4. 00:13:22 1.00 147
Course: Flat course running along some 2 lane roads near the beach. There is shade over maybe 1/4th of the course and a very nice man with a water hose in addition to the usual volunteers.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4