Rev3 Knoxville - Olympic Rev - TriathlonOlympic


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Knoxville, Tennessee
United States
REVOLUTION3 Triathlon
Precipitation
Total Time = 3h 53m 16s
Overall Rank = 308/356
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 41/45
Pre-race routine:

Woke up, ate a bagel, dressed and made my way to transition
Event warmup:

I was running a little late the morning of the race, just had enough time to setup transition, put on my wetsuit and walk to the swim start.
Swim
  • 33m 17s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

The water was cold, about 57 or so that morning. It had been raining for a couple of days prior to (and on) race morning, so the river had a good current. This made the upstream leg a bit more difficult but the downstream leg was wonderful.

At the start, I was trying to get as far upstream on the dock as I could. The actual start line is just upstream from the end of the dock. I finally heard the announcer counting down the final 5 seconds until the start of my wave and I was still on the dock! So, I quickly jumped in. I heard the air horn for the wave start as soon as my head came back out of the water so I started swimming. It was probably for the best that I didn't have time to think about how cold the water was and just got into my swim rhythm.

As it was, the water was shockingly cold. My swim rhythm was ok, but bilateral breathing went out the window. I was breathing every other stroke just to catch my breath. Once I warmed up a little, I got back to better form. It seemed to take forever to get to the turn around point on the swim due to the current but, once I made the turn it felt like the afterburners were going! Seemed like as soon as I rounded the turn around, I passed by the swim start. About 100m from the swim exit, my right calf cramped up and I had to stop for a second or two to sort it out. A support guy in a kayak was about 5 feet away and made sure I was ok. Made it to the exit and my calf cramped again as I was getting out. Had to just sit on the dock for a couple of minutes. The volunteer that helped me out of the water was also helping me to stretch my calf to work out the cramp, so a big "thank you" to him.

Once out of the water, it was about 1/3 mile run to T1, mostly over road and side walk.
Transition 1
  • 13m 1s
Comments:

I intentionally left my wetsuit on for the run into T1 just to stay warm. Then took some extra time in T1 to warm up and put on extra layers, namely arm warmers and a bike jacket.
What would you do differently?:

I was going to be wet and cold anyway, so there was no need to towel off and warm up. Just throw on the arm warmers, jacket and other normal stuff and go.
Bike
  • 1h 43m 54s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 14.35 mile/hr
Comments:

I have only ridden in the rain once before this, so my confidence in wet roads and racing tires was not too high. So, I backed off the bike speed a little bit to make sure I could finish. It was a good thing that I planned that as my legs felt completely dead after the swim until about mile 10. After that, I felt like I could pick up the pace a bit and had also gotten more confident on the wet roads.

By the end of the bike, my toes were completely numb and my body was soaked and very cold from head to toe.
Transition 2
  • 03m 54s
Comments:

T2 was at least faster than T1. At this point, I knew that I was going to be wet and cold no matter what, so just lose the bike stuff and throw on the shoes and go. I kept on the arm warmers and bike jacket for the run to keep what warmth I had.
Run
  • 1h 19m 10s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 12m 45s  min/mile
Comments:

The run course was pretty soggy because of all of the rain. It seemed like I was constantly going through puddles that were about ankle deep. This made for some heavy shoes. At least I started to feel my toes again after the first couple of miles. I didn't feel like I had anything in my legs the whole time. I just turned out the only pace I could and tried to keep it steady.

The volunteers on the run course were great! Encouraging, making a lot of noise to cheer us on, all while standing in a downpour.
Post race
Warm down:

Cooling down wasn't really a problem on this day. My problem was being too cold. After finishing I got some food and found the mylar blanks that were being handed out. I was waiting for my wife to finish the race and started to shake quite a bit. At that point, I made my way to the car to get into some warm, dry clothes and thaw out.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The cold and wet conditions made this race a lot more difficult. This was my first olympic distance race and after this one, I think I won't have any problems with being able to complete others :-)



Event comments:

While the conditions of the race were terrible, Rev3 did everything in their power to make it a good event. There was lots of support on the race course. They handed out mylar blankets at the finish to help racers warm up. They even had a couple of rooms at the hotel that you could go into and warm up after the race.

A huge thank you to all of the Rev3 volunteers who were so supportive and stood in the rain all day so that we could race!




Last updated: 2012-09-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:33:17 | 1640 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 38/45
Overall: 265/356
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Upstream for 1/3 of the course and downstream for the rest. Swim entry is from a high-ish dock. High enough that you can't get out that way once you get in, so you are committed. Swim exit is at a very low dock with volunteers there to help you out of the water.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 58F / 14C Current: High
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 13:01
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:43:54 | 24.85 miles | 14.35 mile/hr
Age Group: 41/45
Overall: 289/356
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course: A beautiful course out of Knoxville and into the countryside. There is a ridge line that the course crosses over and back that make up the two main climbs. Otherwise it was just rolling. The two ridge climbs are not too bad, they drag on for a few miles but are not too steep. The descents can get a little twisty, but again not overly technical.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 61
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 03:54
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:19:10 | 06.21 miles | 12m 45s  min/mile
Age Group: 41/45
Overall: 308/356
Performance: Average
Course: An out and back run into a park next to the stadium. Pretty flat overall with the last half mile up to the finish line being mostly up hill.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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] 5