Tower Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Niles, Illinois
United States
Leaning Tower YMCA
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 04m 31s
Overall Rank = 25/194
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 5/22
Pre-race routine:

Woke up early and had a quick PBJ and some UCAN. Drove over and got set up in transition early.
Event warmup:

I rode the course as a part of the warm-up for the first time. If was good to get my HR going and loosen up, but even more important, it was great to get my wheels on the course even though I've done this race a few times in the past. It's very technical, so I was able to get a sense of which corners I could stay aero. Also, with a lot of turns and short legs, getting into the right gear at the right time made a big difference, especially with the wind. After two warm-up laps, I knew when to drop into a faster gear and which turns to lead with an easier gear and some spinning to maintain some speed going into a headwind. I reeled in a lot of people right after the corners, so I think this helped pick up some time here and there.
Swim
  • 08m 9s
  • 450 yards
  • 01m 47s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was out of the water at about 7:05, so the swim itself was at about a 1:34 pace. I had targeted a few seconds faster, but I wanted to make sure that I was not pushing too hard on the swim, so I think this was the right pace for me this morning. I spent about 75 yards trying to stay right with the guy next to me, and then realized I was pushing too much and that I needed to swim my own race so eased back. Within another 50 yards, he petered out and I wound up about a length ahead of him anyway. Lap splits showed that I went out too hard and deviated from (or, if you prefer, completely ignored) the plan to negative split.
What would you do differently?:

I need to work on not going out too hard. Based on some of my recent pace test, I should have been able to knock this out closer to a 1:30 pace without tiring out too much.
Transition 1
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

Great transition. I was hoping to make it in under a minute. I had a little bit of trouble getting the Garmin started up on the bike (it froze on my battery %!!!), but didn't cost me too much.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. Next time, if I notice that the Garmin isn't responding after starting it up, wait to get up to speed on the bike before messing with it.
Bike
  • 29m 46s
  • 11.18 miles
  • 22.75 mile/hr
Comments:

This was a great ride. Per my warm-up comments, I felt like my shifting and handling on this course really allowed me to keep moving and take all of the turns and handle the wind with a minimum loss of speed. I was able to nail the right gear for each leg at the right time and was never grinding to get back up to speed or spinning too much when I should have been in a faster gear. Given my bike fitness at this point in the season, I was very happy with this ride.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 2
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

This was a good transition. Again, I wanted to be in and out is less than a minute. I really like the Pearls as race shoes. Great in transition and really comfortable to run in.
What would you do differently?:

I fumbled a little getting my bike seat under the bar and racked back up. Not a big deal, but could have been a little smoother.
Run
  • 24m 59s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 07m 51s  min/mile
Comments:

I can't say that I felt great on this run, but it was hot, I didn't blow up and kept moving along at a decent pace. I felt like I had a good handle on just how hard I could push. I was really trying to keep my pace under 8:00, but when I felt like the tipping point (in terms of blowing up) seemed like it might be around the corner, I eased up a bit and kept a pace that was still unpleasant, but not implosion-inducing. I wouldn't say that it felt like a "strong" run, but it's the best that I've done in a race yet, so I'm happy with it. This is also the first time that my run rank wasn't a glaring weakness in my race (it was actually better than my swim rank, which is almost unfathomable to me)
What would you do differently?:

As far doing what I could with what I brought into the race, nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, stretched a little.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Fitness level. It's good and getting better, but there weren't any race-day or pre-race injuries, mistakes or other idiosyncrasies that threw me off.

Event comments:

This remains a great race to kick off the season. They need to monitor the run better, though. Much of the run is adjacent to the bike route and runners were all over the road (either trying to take inside curves or stay in the shade). The bike was not too crowded, so it never became obviously unsafe, but it could have lead to an accident (especially as people on both foot and bike were getting tired) and could have been managed better.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2012-04-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:09 | 450 yards | 01m 47s / 100yards
Age Group: 9/22
Overall: 31/194
Performance: Good
Splits on 1st 400: 1:22, 1:34, 1:37, 1:41. Not sure of last 50.
Suit: De Soto Shorts and 78 degree Top
Course: Pool swim with split lanes.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Waves
Water temp: 83F / 28C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:48
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:29:46 | 11.18 miles | 22.75 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/22
Overall: 16/194
Performance: Good
HR was running FAST after the swim. Probably up in Z4 for most of the ride, but I felt good and went with it.
Wind: Some
Course: About .25 mile out to a 5-lap loop and then back. Very technical with lots of turns. Mostly smooth, but a few stretches of very choppy asphalt.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90+
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:48
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:24:59 | 03.11 miles | 07m 51s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/22
Overall: 37/194
Performance: Good
I didn't want to mess with the Garmin, switching from bike to run and saving and starting for different legs, so I had the watch on a 1 mile auto lap for both bike and run. As a result, I'm not sure exactly what my pace was going out of transition, but on the whole, I seemed to stay right around 8:00 throughout. HR was high in Z3 or Z4.
Course: Out and back.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4