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Comments: I moved near the front to start, and when the gun went off I just tried to position myself. The lead runners took off, and a second pack formed behind them. I tried to stay there and just have a good cadence and not go out too hard on the first, as I heard that is a rookie mistake! So I settle in to what I think is a decent pace but not pushing it, and my Garmin beeps after the first mile. I look and it says 6:18! D'oh! Well, there goes that plan. I wanted to slow the pace a bit but I also didn't want to lose the folks in the pack I was in, so I stayed. It didn't feel too taxing, and the 2nd and 3rd mile were similar times so it was a pretty consistent pace. Got into T1 around 20:30 and was in the Top 10, which surprised me a bit. What would you do differently?: Nothing really, I think Run #1 went pretty well.  Transition 1
Comments: I messed with my Garmin for a second to change it from run to bike mode, but that only took a few seconds. Didn't have my shoes clipped into my pedals, as I haven't really mastered that art yet. So I ran in my cleats to the mount line.  Bike
Comments: I tried to keep my power around 225 watts, as I figured this to be my FTP after a 20 minute test on TrainerRoad last week. I don't know exactly as my PowerTap head unit messed up during the test, but I think it's pretty close, within 10 watts give or take. This was my first time really pacing a race using power. It was hard to keep it at 225, especially on the uphills and downhills! But when my power crept up, I eased back. I had a harder time pushing it when my power creeped down on the downhills, which shows as my average over the course was 197 watts. I wanted to save some for Run #2 as I didn't know how I would feel coming off the bike, but I think I may have left a little bit on the course and could've pushed a bit harder. This was also my first race using an aero helmet. I liked it, but my neck was starting to cramp up a bit so I think I need more practice time with it in the aero position. I had a bottle with me, but only drank out of it once when I got out of aero on an uphill. It was on the seat tube, which I probably either should have moved it to between the aero bars, or took it off completely. I moved my PowerTap head unit between the bars though, so that made the choice difficult. I passed three people on the bike and had two pass me, moving me into 9th place going into T2. What would you do differently?: Keep my watts at a more consistent level and believe in my FTP! And don't have an un-aero, filled bottle with you that you don't need or use. Transition 2
Comments: Only hitch here really is that I tried to take my arm warmers off as I was heating up, and one caught on my Garmin which was on my wrist. Probably cost ~15-20 seconds or so. What would you do differently?: Keep 'em on! Run
Comments: Here was the true test of my pacing strategy. Could I keep a similar pace to Run #1? I had no idea. My legs felt rubbery after T2, so it took a few minutes to get a good pace going. I just tried to keep up a good cadence. I saw someone ahead of me, and tried to run them down. As they came back to me I started feeling better and kept pushing it. I was a bit surprised to see pretty good times on my Garmin in the mid 6's, so I pushed it all the way in. No one to catch after that first athlete I passed though, they all must have been several minutes ahead of me and I couldn't see them. I sprinted to the line and it was all over. A spectator told me after the race that I had the biggest kick to the finish out of everyone! I guess that means I had extra in the tank and I left something out on the course. Overall I think I paced it pretty good for my first du though, so I feel pretty good about it. What would you do differently?: Don't leave anything out there! Post race
Warm down: Walked around a bit, talked to some other racers and gave congrats and fist bumps. There was no water at the finish and I was coughing up a storm between just having raced and my allergies acting up all week, so I went into transition and grabbed my bottle. Checked my BG's and I was at 155 post-race. So overall my glucose control was pretty good. What limited your ability to perform faster: Nothing really. I felt pretty good, and the temperature was just right. For my first Du, I think I paced it pretty well. Looking at the results, there were two guys within 30-40 seconds of my time. One had faster transitions than me, and the other was 2 minutes faster on the bike but slower on the runs. So I have a few things to work on! Event comments: Overall I really enjoyed this race. I felt it was organized well and I really liked the course. Post race was nice, they had baked potatos and really good cookies, some nice giveaways and good music. It's been going on for 20+ years now, so there is a reason it's so popular. Not sure why not as many showed up this year, but I'll be back that's for sure. Last updated: 2013-02-26 12:00 AM
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United States
Seguin Lions Club - Athlete Guild Timing
60F / 16C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 8/61
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 2/5
Woke up around 6am, had some breakfast cereal and coffee and threw my gear in the car. I was watching the weather to see if any more fronts were on the way as it stormed all night and was supposed to rain again right at race time. It seemed calm outside though so I had hope that the rain had moved on. Drove out to Seguin around 7:15, just in time to have about 30 minutes to get everything in transition and do some warmups before the race. I had a banana and more coffee on the 30 minute drive.
Not as many folks showed up to the race as usual from what I could tell from previous years results. This race is pretty popular with the Austin crowd, with lots of sponsored athletes from Austin Tri-Cyclist and Jack & Adams. The typical field in the past has been about 175 athletes, but this year only 61. Pro triathletes like Brandon Marsh and Michael Lovato have won here previously, if that tells you how fast the crowd usually is. But this year not as many, although I did see a few folks from ATC and J&A show up.
I ran into Dwight, and we did an EZ lap around the TLU campus. Then a little dynamic stretching for me, high knees and butt kickers. It was about 60 degrees, so not too cold but there was a good breeze so I decided to put on the arm warmers. They felt good during the first run and bike, but cost me a few seconds down the road.
Hit the port-o-john with about 5 minutes to spare, and I was ready to go! Checked my BG's and I was at 255. Not bad considering what I had just eaten.