Reeds Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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East Grand Rapids, Michigan
United States
East Grand Rapids
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 48m 47s
Overall Rank = 168/671
Age Group = 39
Age Group Rank = 26/68
Pre-race routine:

English Muffins and a banana for breakfast. Sipped on bottle of Accerlerade.

Concerns with this race was coming off a bad cold the weekend before so no training time. Spent minimal time in saddle but did run a few times. Was still congested during race.
Event warmup:

Ran for a few 100 yards and then swam for 50 yards. Took 1 Salt tab and 1 GU prior to start.
Swim
  • 16m 2s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 49s / 100 yards
Comments:

Thought I would have been faster. My goal was 14 minutes. Felt like I was swimming a good pace. Had some navigation issues mainly because the course was marked so poorly. They had 3 markers for the entire course. Two going out and one at the turn. Small markers as well.
What would you do differently?:

Pre-sight the course better, especially if they continue with minimal markers. Didn't think much of it prior to swim since I'm use to courses with more markers than three.
Transition 1
  • 02m 4s
Comments:

Long run to bike as usual.

Race used excessively large timing chips. Had to sit down to get the wetsuit over the chip. Normally have zero issues with this. Probable added 20 seconds to my T time.

Had difficulty getting right foot into shoe. Took extra 50 yards to get all strapped in.
What would you do differently?:

Work on getting feet in shoes. Never had an issue before and wasn't prepared to have an issue. Maybe practice what went wrong and how to over come it.
Bike
  • 45m 12s
  • 17 miles
  • 22.57 mile/hr
Comments:

Leg's felt weak and my time shows that. Wanted 40 minutes. Climbs seemed harder than last year. Butt hurt in saddle. Need to figure that out.

Used one water bottle between the arms filled with Accerlerade. Had aero bar on seat tube but it was empty. Just used as a faring.

1 salt tab and 1 GU on bike. GARMIN was set to beep every 15 minutes to remind me to drink.
What would you do differently?:

Spend more time on the saddle during race week.
Transition 2
  • 01m 56s
Comments:

No issues here. Put race belt on while I ran out. Race belt had one salt tab and one GU on it.
What would you do differently?:

Everything went smoothly.
Run
  • 43m 29s
  • 4.9 miles
  • 08m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Run went really well for me. I still wanted a faster pace but happy with the time I came in. The last mile was a 6 minute pace, but most of the race was around 8:30. No knee issues. Had a rock in shoe last two miles that was annoying but I didn't want to stop and get it out. Thought I'd cramp up.
What would you do differently?:

Just work on getting pace down.
Post race
Warm down:

Had a pepsi and Hammer Recoverite. Stretched a little.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Having a cold that prevented training probable held bike my performance, especially the bike. My legs felt weak on the bike and that is usually my strong part.

I can't figure out why my swim was so slow. I thought I was humming along pretty good. Looking at GPS data, my below average navigation could have caused that. A poorly marked swim course didn't help.

Event comments:

I am giving this race an average rating based on what I expect out of a triathlon. If I were new to triathlons, this would easily be a best rating. There are a ton of newbie's at this race. Few of my friends stopped doing this race because of that. It's not a bad thing it just creates some frustrations.

Example would be my rack area. It was a train wreck. The guy next to me had his helmet on one side of the bike and running shoes on another. There was another guy that set up his transition under neath the rack, in a spot another bike should have gone.

I have no issues with people learning triathlons, one just has to have a patient mentality when doing this race. 2011 was by far the worst experience, especially on the bike.




Last updated: 2012-09-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:02 | 880 yards | 01m 49s / 100yards
Age Group: 13/68
Overall: 168/671
Performance: Good
Suit: Full Xterra
Course: Poorly marked. Didn't see any markers after making the turn.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:04
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:45:12 | 17 miles | 22.57 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/68
Overall: 52/671
Performance: Good
Average HR 153 Average Power 173
Wind: Headwind
Course: Pretty strong headwind after turn-around. Road conditions were great. Didn't have any issues with newbie bikers like I did last year. Few times I had to split two riders who were just riding side-by-side. Other than that, nothing that really slowed me down.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:56
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
00:43:29 | 04.9 miles | 08m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 57/68
Overall: 441/671
Performance: Good
Average HR 151 Average Cadence: 84 (168)
Course: Around Reeds Lake. Couple hills but nothing too major.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3