Jacksonville Sprint Triathlon Series #2 - TriathlonSprint


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Fernandina Beach, Florida
United States
DRC Sports
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 31m 14s
Overall Rank = 147/279
Age Group = F 35-39
Age Group Rank = 4/11
Pre-race routine:

Up about 5:15, 1/2 a banana, PB&J waffle and a cup of coffee for breakfast. Dan and I had packed our bags the night before so we had everything ready. He finally got up about 5:40. We left the condo at 6:15 - totally dig being 2.5 miles from the start.

Once we arrived at Main Beach park we picked up our packets and made our way in to transition. Set up our stuff and hung around waiting for the pre-race meeting.
Event warmup:

None to speak of, transition was supposed to close at 7:15 and my wave wasn't supposed to go until 7:39. We got in the water but there was a lot of waiting for the start of the race. The Olympic athletes were going first so the 1st sprint wave didn't even start until 7:45 and I was in the 3rd wave.
Swim
  • 11m 15s
  • 440 yards
  • 02m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was more difficult than I anticipated even though I started way to right to account for the current. Dan and I had both spent a lot of time in the ocean while on vacation leading up to the race and thought we had a good feel for getting through the waves - not so much.

For a couple minutes it didn't seem like the first buoy was getting any closer. I was happy to reach it because I expected to catch the current going over to the 2nd and 3rd buoys but it wasn't as strong as it had been, not strong enough to make a difference. It was disappointing but not so bad because everyone had a similar swim.

I swam until I started to hit bottom with my hands. My feet hit the beach at 9:59 and then it was a long run up the beach to T1. There was a freshwater shower leading in to T1 which was nice.
What would you do differently?:

I'm not sure, this went as well as it could have. I have good swim base but I didn't try to push the pace, it was comfortably hard. Almost everyone had a swim time between 8:00-12:00.
Transition 1
  • 01m 34s
Comments:

This felt faster, time flies in transition.

I ran in T1 and actually ran past my rack. Oops. You'd think the green bike would stick out more but I ran right past it.

I found my stuff and got moving. Helmet on, glasses on, shoes on and I was off.
What would you do differently?:

Not run past my stuff? I only missed it by about 3 racks but it cost me time.
Bike
  • 47m 33s
  • 16 miles
  • 20.19 mile/hr
Comments:

This is my strength and I knew I could catch people. I passed a lot of women right from the start and caught some men from the earlier waves. I kept an eye on the men coming back to watch for Dan and was relieved to see he made it out of the water okay.

Dan and I had ridden the course the day before and on that ride there was a headwind on the way out but not on race day. There was very little wind to speak of, maybe a bit of tailwind on the way back.

This ride went very well and I averaged higher than I expected. I felt strong throughout and actually felt like I held back some so I didn't burn all my remaining matches.

Drafting is rampant but hard to avoid on this course. It's tight and there are people all over the place. The road was open to cars so we were supposed to stay to the right.

With about 1/3 of a mile left I got out of my shoes and came in ready for the flying dismount. I've practiced the dismount but this was my first time doing it in a race. I got out of my shoes without a problem and off my bike but I misjudged the bottleneck at the entrance to T2 and came in hot and had to slow down quickly. When I came off the bike I slammed the brakes and the bike almost did an endo (ass over teakettle) next to me hitting my hip and the spectators made a collective Oooooh but I tried to ignore them.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I am very happy with this ride.
Transition 2
  • 01m 13s
Comments:

I was running with my bike to my rack for some reason I couldn't decide what side to rack it on. I ended up racking it on one side while my stuff was on the other side. I'm not sure why, my brain just wasn't working. So, that meant I racked my bike by the brake levers and had to run around to get my shoes. D'oh.
What would you do differently?:

Rack my bike on the side where my stuff is located.

Move faster. This felt faster but again, time flies.
Run
  • 29m 39s
  • 3 miles
  • 09m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

I tried to start slower to keep my HR down. I ran out of T2 and my watch said 1:01 so I knew my time frame to hit my goal.

We ran on a short road and sidewalk before turning in to Fort Clinch. This run course is one of the shadiest courses I've ever done, I really liked it. There were false flats with inclines and declines but coming from a hilly area it was barely noticeable.

Coach said to try and pick up the pace in the middle of the run and I tried but it was not happening. My breathing felt okay but my legs just did not want to go any faster. There were faster runners who caught me but this was a decent run for me. I felt good and never felt like I needed to walk, definitely an improvement.
What would you do differently?:

For this race, probably nothing. I was as well trained for the run as I could have been up to this point.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and drank some water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing specific limited me - I feel like this went as well as I could have hoped with the amount of training so far this season.

Event comments:

I've done other DRC Sports races and they are always well organized even if they don't always start on time. I probably would have rated this race a "5" if it had started on time.

I liked this course and would definitely do this race again.




Last updated: 2012-07-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:15 | 440 yards | 02m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/11
Overall: 0/279
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Out from the shore about 100y, left turn to next buoy and about 100y in to the beach.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:34
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:47:33 | 16 miles | 20.19 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/11
Overall: 0/279
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: An out and back course on the main road by the beach, through 2 roundabouts and the 3rd roundabout is the turn-around.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:13
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:29:39 | 03 miles | 09m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/11
Overall: 0/279
Performance: Average
Course: Out and back run in to Fort Clinch, almost entirely shaded.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4