Pinehurst International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Pinehurst, North Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 58m 29s
Overall Rank = 127/254
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 25/49
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:30 and had breakfast of brown rice, coconut milk, coconut oil, and shaved almonds before leaving the house. Drank a smoothie with coconut milk, maca powder, chia seeds, RAW protein powder on the drive in from Wake Forest. Drank Vega Pre-Workout Energizer about 15 minutes before the start of the swim and was ready to go.
Event warmup:

Not much. A little light jogging around the site then about 50 meters of swimming in the marina before my age group started.
Swim
  • 29m 30s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 48s / 100 yards
Comments:

Swim felt exactly like my open water training swims. I didn't push any harder than I did in training since this was my first open water swim in a race. The group start was invigorating but rowdy. I drifted far right and probably swam considerably longer than the required distance. Part of this was bad navigation and mediocre goggles and part was a natural tendency to drift to the right.
What would you do differently?:

Need to work on my sighting and navigation as well as pushing harder in the water. I have't spent much time working in HR Zone 3 or 4 on a swim, something I can probably correct pretty easily in the pool
Transition 1
  • 03m 43s
Comments:

Terrible transitions overall with T1 rank in the bottom 3 of age group. I didn't put any focus on quick transitions but didn't think it would hurt much. WRONG. Probably dropped 10-15 places overall due to poor transition times. Messing around with my Garmin contributed to the bad transitions as well.
What would you do differently?:

Practice transitions in training
Bike
  • 1h 31m 4s
  • 30 miles
  • 19.77 mile/hr
Comments:

I went out pretty hard on the bike right from the beginning, with my HR about 10-12 BPM higher than my target. I was a bit worried that I was pushing too hard and would suffer on the run, but I felt great and kept pushing anyway. Given my performance on hills in Velo4Yellow, a 60 mile group ride 2 months ago, I was VERY happy with my performance here. I tackled hills in training with gusto and dropped about 7 pounds due to optimal (vegan) nutrition. I've had dramatic improvements in my strength to weight ratio and it paid dividends BIG TIME. It was SOOOOooo satisfying reeling in all the 180-200 guys on the hills, then bombing down the other side leaving them in the dust.

I had a Vega bar during the ride and stayed hydrated, drinking two bottles of water. About 3 miles from the end I ate a gel and finished my second bottle of water. I paid for that on the run with cramps and a sloshy gut.
What would you do differently?:

Eat a gel for the run 5-6 miles out or don't drink so much water
Transition 2
  • 02m 7s
Comments:

Transition again was pretty bad. Had to reset my Garmin to "Running" instead of "Biking". Maybe I'll get one of those nice multi-sport models in the future
What would you do differently?:

Practice transtions
Run
  • 52m 6s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was HARD. I knew it would be from the few bricks I did in training, but the hills were punishing. My pace (from my Garmin) was so erratic that I just stopped looking and kept my HR redlined instead. I am used to running in Zone 4+ so I just put my head down and got it done. I wanted to walk countless times, but just kept moving. However, I did walk through 2 aid stations. I only took one sip of water at each aid station and poured the rest on my head because the cramps were pretty bad. I feel like I went into the run with too much water in my gut, but ended the event very dehydrated.

Given running is the only event I have ever done formally before, with a 10K PR of 58:56, I was elated when I found out I blew my former 10K PR away by over 6 and half minutes. Not too shabby training only twice weekly
What would you do differently?:

Stop drinking earlier on the bike and drink more on the run
Post race
Warm down:

Didn't leave much on the course and just wanted to lay down in a hammock somewhere. Drank some coconut water and felt better. However, started to blackout at the transition area when I stood up quickly after packing up my stuff.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I guess I could have trained more, but family and work life would have suffered.

Event comments:

I am extremely happy with my performance. This was my second tri, with the first being a neighborhood sprint that I did on a whim with no training.




Last updated: 2012-10-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:30 | 1640 yards | 01m 48s / 100yards
Age Group: 30/49
Overall: 0/254
Performance: Good
Suit: BlueSeventy Helix
Course: Triangle shaped course with big orange buoys. The course had alot of mist right before the start that mostly burned off by the time our wave started
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 03:43
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: No
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:31:04 | 30 miles | 19.77 mile/hr
Age Group: 23/49
Overall: 0/254
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Course was very hilly with a long steady climb very close to the start and rollers all the way home.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 02:07
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:52:06 | 06.21 miles | 08m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 22/49
Overall: 0/254
Performance: Good
Course: Hills on top of hills
Keeping cool Average Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5