Tejas Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Sugar Land, Texas
United States
Outloud! Productions
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 28m 43s
Overall Rank = 471/~600
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 19/23
Pre-race routine:

This was my first triathlon after signing up 10 days prior. So, very little preparation took place except figuring out what a transition area consists of, and doing a bit of running and swimming. I am an occasional gym rat with some mountain bike racing experience 10 years in the past.

I woke up at 4 AM with slight stomach aches and pains and bloaty feelings. Was it due to nerves? I don't know but I couldn't eat much. I then arrived at 5:30 and was in the first dozen or so into the transition area. My spot was set up by 5:45 so I thought: now what? So, I sat around pondering my lack of eating, and to observe all the others coming in. I finally decided to down a couple gels which seem to help a little.
Event warmup:

none except feel the water temperature. My thoughs were that I would be slow anyway and the "warm-up" will occur while the event unfolded.
Swim
  • 12m 48s
  • 600 yards
  • 02m 08s / 100 yards
Comments:

I waded in planning to stay behind the wave and outside during the start. I didn't execute that plan so well because I found myself in the middle of the wave immediately after the gun went off. I decided to just go my pace and not worry about others around me or those on top of me. The floating lake grass was sort of annoying especially the clump that got caught in my timing chip band.

I reached the turnaround buoy still in the middle of the wave but I didn't see it at first. So, after making a wide rounding I finally found myself on the outside and sort of by myself. Then the breathing got a little out of control and a mild panic feeling set it. I am extremely comfortable in the water, a lifeguard many years ago, and a scuba diver. This was a new experiance to me. I decided to go to a breastroke which didn't help much, considered rolling on my back, then my foot scraped the bottom. Oh, that's nice, I am only in 3 feet of water. That and the fact that I decided to just continue concentrate on swimming (freestyle) to the exit point got me through it.

My swim time surprised me. I thought I would be much slower. What I thought to be my weakest event turned out to be the strongest.
What would you do differently?:

Train to swim 600m continuous non-stop at a higher heart rate. Also do some open water swims before the next event.
Transition 1
  • 02m 56s
Comments:

I didn't attempt the transition with shoes pre-clipped to pedals. Maybe that is for the future. Since I didn't have a tri-suit, I pulled on a jersey which was a bit difficult being wet.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to do the transition with shoes clipped in pedals. Get a tri-suit.
Bike
  • 38m 25s
  • 12 miles
  • 18.74 mile/hr
Comments:

I thought this would be my strongest event due to lots of biking experience in my past. But that was the problem, it was in my past and now I am old and slow. I passed almost no one, and I was constantly being passed by much faster and fitter triathletes. It didn't seem to matter if they were on tribikes or mountain bikes. All I heard was "Left...Left...Left".

The ride out was into a slight headwind. I picked up a high cadence which was comfortable and allowed me to get my breathing under control again. But my pace was agonizingly slow. I was down to 15mph at times - no good. At the turn, the tailwind allowed me to pick it up to 20mph or so and I started feeling better. I actually caught someone from the wave in front, and then swapped positions a few times with a guy who was old enough to be my father.

Opposite to the swim, what I thought would be my fastest turned out to be my worst event.
What would you do differently?:

Ride, ride, ride, ride.
Transition 2
  • 01m 38s
Comments:

I thought I did good here but the keeping the shoe thing in the pedals has its obvious advantages. Again, I didn't try it here.
What would you do differently?:

Again, learn the shoe in the pedal thingy.
Run
  • 32m 56s
  • 3 miles
  • 10m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

I didn't expect too much from the run. I just wanted to trot through it without walking. That didn't happen because just after leaving the transition area, I grabbed a cup of gatorade from the water station, and the act of trying to drink it put my heart rate at max. On the other side of the lake, and hopefully safely out of sight of my family, I decided to walk for 100 yards. That helped, and I started running again which I continued to the end. The only problem with my pace was at one point I was behind someone walking and I didn't overtake him.

I guess I didn't study the map too well because I thought the course went around the lake twice. Well, after meandering east of the start area, I came to the Mile 2 marker, looked at my watch to see that my goal of 1 hr 30 min was still acheivable, and I decided to pick up the pace a bit. I made it to the finish at this pace and came across with just over a minute to spare.
What would you do differently?:

run, run, run, run
Post race
Warm down:

Found water, hugged the family, gathered my stuff and walked back to the car.

Funny story here...the night before, my daughter and I got quite a laugh out of watching the youtube video of Lance Armstrong finishing the Galveston Half Ironman and totally ignoring his daughter trying to give him a medal. So, my daughter tried to test me by yelling DAD! DAD! DAD! just after crossing the finish line. I never heard or saw her.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I only trained for this for 10 days and my results show it. I think it is obvious that more training is needed. I am extremely motivated to do another, and I signed up for my next event in 8 weeks.

Event comments:

I can't wait for the next event. I will be back to this one next year.




Last updated: 2012-05-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:48 | 600 yards | 02m 08s / 100yards
Age Group: 13/23
Overall: 0/~600
Performance: Average
Suit: none
Course: clockwise around buoys
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 02:56
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:38:25 | 12 miles | 18.74 mile/hr
Age Group: 22/23
Overall: 0/~600
Performance: Bad
Wind: Little
Course: Course was very flat with very few turns.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:38
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:32:56 | 03 miles | 10m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 20/23
Overall: 0/~600
Performance: Bad
Course: flat through neighborhoods, mostly shady
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5