Westside YMCA Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint


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Knoxville, Tennessee
United States
Race Day Events
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 37m 3s
Overall Rank = 5/219
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 2/20
Pre-race routine:

An ominous day. Up and rolling early. Unfortunately my Planet X is still laying in pieces in my living room, and I didn't want to ride my roadie again... so the Felt S32(!) Got some time in the sunlight again. Note that it's probably been...oh... two years since it's been off the trainer in my workout room. Yeah... it's like that. Since the boat anchor was coming out, why not throw the powertap and H3 on there and make it as heavy as possible for this hilly course... sure thing.

This is my 4 year anniversary racing Triathlons!!! This was the first race I ever did!
Event warmup:

Been kinda beaten up feeling this last week, so my warmup was longer than normal to get everything "working" correctly. I finished my run about 10 minutes before the start, jumped in and swam a little, jumped out and lined up.
Swim
  • 02m 56s
  • 200 yards
  • 01m 28s / 100 yards
Comments:

It's odd lining up towards the front. I still remember myself as a crap swimmer... but I've been holding my own the last little bit. That said, I lost a little time doing open turns at the walls, but still had a good swim. Seeded myself perfectly.
What would you do differently?:

Well duh, swim more.
Transition 1
  • 01m 25s
Comments:

slower T1 than last year :/ Not sure if my feet are just not as tough as they were (lots of gravel to run through in transition) or if it just took me a few more seconds to get grooving after a "harder" swim pace.
What would you do differently?:

Stop dawdling and get to work.
Bike
  • 17m 45s
  • 7 miles
  • 23.66 mile/hr
Comments:

So yeah, about the bike. Well, all is going as well as you can expect when you are dragging a boat anchor up a hilly @ss subdivision open to traffic and with two intertwining loops so the fast cyclists and slow cyclists move together... when what happens???

I am climbing on of the hills, out of the saddle when I pull on my base bars...and they yield to my awesomeness...oh, stems a bit loose huh. Once the immediate fear that I'm going to die or sh*t myself (or both) leaves me, I realize it's not yet to the point of failure, just a bit loose. That makes yanking on the bars a no-go, but I am not slipping much just laying low... so onward I go (ahem... this is a point I should take to say "do as I say and not as I do... this isn't safe or smart) and fortunately all holds up well.
At the last turn I notice a mountain biker coming up the (first) hill from T1 doing the "oh crap" wabbles. He cuts directly in front of me at the worst possible moment and I most certainly would have endo'd had I not been on the felt (for once being heavy came in handy) when I locked up the brakes. I yell some not so nice things at the volunteer/cops about doing their job directing traffic...
Second crisis averted. Back to Transition with me.
What would you do differently?:

Well, One last good look over the bike might not hurt when the bike hasn't been on the road in a few years :P
Transition 2
  • 00m 44s
Comments:

Again, slower than last year.
I could not get my foot into my stupid Zoot's for some reason. You know, easy entry sock racer... entry so simple a monkey can do it...
yeah, sometimes I wonder if I evolved or not.
What would you do differently?:

Figure out how the shoes I've owned for over a year work I suppose.
Run
  • 14m 15s
  • 2.49 miles
  • 05m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

Run course is vanity measured. I wasn't running 5:xx min/miles.

Out on the run. Short and hard... I won't candy coat it, it sucked. I lost my old race belt somehow, so I was forced to use my mega geeky Fuel Belt Vengeance! Which, as it turned out, was pretty f*n sweet. I could just have volunteers throw water at me while I drank out of my "pods." Yeah baby, science!

I come back down the last of the run and start sprinting... then, I remember that David had told me he wanted me to go hard in this race... hard enough that I might blow up and walk part of the run. So, 25-30meters from the finish line, I stop running and walk it in, nice and slow. I got the added satisfaction of trolling everyone there yelling at me to keep going. :P

Chris - 1
Newbz - 0
What would you do differently?:

Ok, so walking for 30 seconds probably wasn't all that intelligent as a whole.

Otherwise, hopefully not get injured this year and have a real "run focus" after Augusta. You know, to get faster and stuff.
Post race
Warm down:

Got a browbeating from the family, hung out, joked around, had a talk with timing about my time (they had me 7 minutes faster on the run... yeah... not happening) and got my award.

40" faster than last year. That's encouraging considering some of the stuff I have had to deal with since this race last year.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being a grade A Douchebag.
Getting hurt last year.
Loose Stem
Bad Transitions
Leprechaun 4: Leprechaun in Space
Any Metallica Song

Event comments:

I like RDE events. This one is one of my favorites for obvious reasons. That said, the timing confusion was a bit of a pain, but otherwise it was a good time.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2012-07-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:02:56 | 200 yards | 01m 28s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/20
Overall: 22/219
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Snake Pool
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder:
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:25
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:17:45 | 07 miles | 23.66 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/20
Overall: 3/219
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Through a neighborhood. Lots of twists and turns, big climbs and long downhills (many of them into turns) a pretty challenging course considering the length
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 86
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:44
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:14:15 | 02.49 miles | 05m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/20
Overall: 10/219
Performance: Good
Course: Sort of "P" shaped course. It's uphill right at the start, then flattens out.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4