Cooper Fall Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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McKinney, Texas
United States
Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch
65F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 00m 48s
Overall Rank = 10/304
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 5/41
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 5:25am and got out of the house at 6:00am. Got there around 6:15am with plenty of time to set up transition. Had some powerbar gels for breakfast. Forgot to rubber band my shoes today! I did remember to pump up my tires right as I got there.
Event warmup:

No warm-up as it was chilly and I didn't want to get in the water and start shivering.
Swim
  • 07m 23s
  • 383 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

I definitely messed up on the swim. I thought I seeded myself correctly but I guess I swam it to easy! I was cruising along and passed one person on the 2nd length then another person on the 4th length, but also got passed by a couple of people. I ended up drafting the people that passed me but didn't realize that they weren't really swimming all that fast...I really just need to start getting more comfortable at exerting a bit more effort on the swim.


What would you do differently?:

Swim harder/faster. I am consistently right around 6:40/400 yds which is 366m - 16m longer than the distance for this try (though it was at at 25yd pool. I would expect to be slower at a 50m pool due to less wall push-offs, but not almost 50 seconds slower! I think I just don't want to push harder on the swim (especially a sprint) as I'm worried about getting too tired for the bike/run. I think that preparing for my next sprint, I will swim more 500 yds at a faster pace just to get myself more used to that feeling.

Comparing results over the first 4 races on this course (since the swim course was the same):

2010: 9:28
2011: 7:34
2012 (summer): 7:08
2012 (fall): 7:28
Delta from last race: 20 seconds slower!
Transition 1
  • 00m 51s
Comments:

I forgot to rubber band my shoes so took a few more seconds to get them on. Also needed to get used to twisting the boa lacing system. Overall, it wasn't a bad transition as I was 4th fastest in my age group!
What would you do differently?:

Rubber band my shoes and practice getting straight into them vs pedaling with feet on top (at least for the first shoe). I may even need to start learning how to jump on the bike next year.


Comparing the last 4 races (since I was racked about the same):

2010: 0:54
2011: 1:04
2012 summer: 1:08
2012 fall: 51
Delta: 17 sec faster!
Bike
  • 31m 46s
  • 12 miles
  • 22.67 mile/hr
Comments:

I was able to average my target watts (226W) which was about 8W higher than the race during the summer. Average HR was only 137bpm though - way too low for a race. I think I was a bit too conservative and really should have pushed a lot harder. I didn't look at HR at all when racing and if I did, I may have tried just a little bit harder because I should've been closer to 150-155 bpm for a sprint. I think I unwittingly did a Half-iron bike split. Something to fix for later.. My HIM bike split earlier this year was 144bpm so this was 7 bpm lower today.
What would you do differently?:

I need to do a HR check also as I was just way too comfortable on the bike. While this gave me energy for the run, it's not how you race a sprint.

Comparing my last 3 races on this course:

2011: 31:28
2012 summer: 31:41
2012 fall: 31:46
Delta: 5 seconds slower!

I also probably should've calibrated my powermeter. I forgot that and was wondering what the effect would be of not zeroing. Last time I zero'd it was probably 20 degrees warmer so I wonder if that made the power numbers lower or higher?
I was also reading about recommended tire pressures for my tires and I have been slightly under-inflating my tires. They need to be right around 120-122psi.
Transition 2
  • 00m 35s
Comments:

I had a very clean T2. I saw the dismount line pretty clearly, and didn't have anyone around me. Did my cyclocross dismount, and remembered to unbuckle my helmet as I entered transition. Racked the bike, put on shoes with no problem, grabbed cap and racebelt and I was off and running. I put on my cap as I was leaving transition and had my racebelt clipped on as well!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. This was pretty clean and I was 1st in my AG!

Comparing the last 4 races:

2010: 0:45
2011: 0:50
2012 summer: 0:56
2012 fall: 0:35

Delta: 21 sec faster!
Run
  • 20m 11s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

I thought this course was a tiny bit short but I'll take a new 5K PR (either Open or tri). I'm confident I can break 20:00 at a stand-alone 5K now. I just need to do more speed workouts as I have been focusing on training for the marathon and this was not an "A" race for me so I didn't fully taper. I ran the first half-mile a bit too slow compared to last summer (about 10 sec slower) so could've picked it up there, but I ran the rest of the splits faster!
What would you do differently?:

Pick up the pace on the first half mile by a little bit. I probably could've also gone a little harder - HR average was 156bpm which is close to my half-marathon effort! I think more speedwork leading up to sprints at least in the last 4-5 weeks before a taper would be good.

Run course was the same the last 4 races:

2010: 24:01
2011: 21:48
2012 summer: 20:41
2012 fall: 20:11
Delta: 30 sec faster!
Post race
Warm down:

Not much - just walked around, cheered people on and got a massage.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Didn't fully taper and was training for marathon distance. I think I need more threshold work to get used to efforts at that level both for swim, bike, and run. Fitness is definitely improved as I was faster than 2 months ago at less effort. The cool temperatures helped, but I just wasn't mentally executing well at threshold effort.

Event comments:

I still think the Cooper sprint triathlons are the best sprint triathlons in the DFW Metroplex in terms of venue and organization. This was smaller than the summer but still attracted 300 people!

I was very happy with this race as I got a Top 10 overall finish, but my AG is just so competitive that 6 out of the Top 10, including the overall Masters was from my AG! I need to drop another 1:30-2:00 minutes to be competitive on next year's podium. I think that is doable and I believe I have the fitness to get that now, but just need to have the mental experience to race at threshold. I left about 20-30 sec in the swim with poor decision-making and too easy of an effort, and the low effort on the bike was probably another 30-45 seconds at least.

Last 3 races on this course:

2011: 1:02:46
2012 summer: 1:01:36
2012 fall: 1:00:48
Delta: 48 sec faster!




Last updated: 2012-08-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:23 | 383 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 16/41
Overall: 86/304
Performance: Bad
Suit:
Course: 7 lengths snakeswim at a 50m outdoor pool. Wide lanes.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current:
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:51
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:31:46 | 12 miles | 22.67 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/41
Overall: 17/304
Performance: Average
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/222996058
Wind: Little
Course: 2-loops
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 83
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 00:35
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:20:11 | 03.11 miles | 06m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/41
Overall: 15/304
Performance: Good
Course: 1 loop
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5