HITS Triathlon Series: Marble Falls - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic


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Marble Falls, Texas
United States
HITS Triathlon Series
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 35m 46s
Overall Rank = 15/204
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 4/20
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 3:45, made some coffee and had a banana and bagel in the car during the 90 minute drive up to Marble Falls. It had been storming all night pretty bad, and the forecast said it was going to rain again right around the start of the race. I was really not looking forward to this race actually. I signed up for it about 4 months ago, originally for the 70.3. But about a month to 6 weeks later I found out my team was sending me to Galveston in early April, so that was my focus. After Galveston, I switched this race to the Oly instead of the half so I wouldn't miss my daughters' soccer games, but I just wasn't motivated to race. I guess in years past the 70.3 had always been what I worked towards all season and it was at the end of the year. This year it was at the beginning! I also changed my goals for the year right after the Boston marathon bombing, to try to BQ in September. So no more Tri's this summer, just running.
Needless to say I wanted to crawl back into bed at 3:45, but I drug my gear and lazy butt into the car and started the 90 minute journey up to Marble Falls anyway.

Event warmup:

Picked up my packet, got my gear in transition and watched the sprint start. It was nice to be able to park very close to the transition area. The transition areas at the HITS races are really nice and very roomy. I don't really need the stool they provide, but it was nice to have a little more room for my bag and not having to knock handlbars with the guy next to me.
I didn't get a chance to warm up in the water before the race started, so I just did the typical arm circles, high knees, butt kickers and short jog. When we all got in the water I took a few minutes to get my face in the water and take a few strokes and get used to it.
I took a Gu about 25 minutes before the start of the swim.
Swim
  • 31m 48s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

I hadn't swam since Galveston 3 weeks before, so I wasn't expecting a very good swim. It was pretty uneventful, the usual diagonal swimming guy crossing my path and such, but no kicks to the face so I count that as a win. Pretty average swim for me, which is not very good. When I get back into tri's next year this is what I'll work on. Unless I just go to Du's, which may be a solution for me!
Transition 1
  • 02m 10s
Comments:

Took the wetsuit stripper a few extra seconds to get my suit off my feet, and i took a second to put on socks. It was a pretty good run from the water up to the transition area.
Bike
  • 1h 14m 50s
  • 25.2 miles
  • 20.20 mile/hr
Comments:

I took 2 Gu's with me in the DarkSpeedWorks bento box, and had my PD aero bottle full of Skratch Labs pineapple. That is some good stuff right there. I took one Gu about 2-3 miles into the ride, and the other right at the end just before the run.
The roads from transition out to 281 were a little sketchy, so everyone took it pretty easy. Then once you were on 281, you had to share a lane with the run course. I thought this was a really bad idea, but the RD told me previously that the decision was made by the city, not by him. Since the sprint went 40 minutes before us, they were out running when we got out there on the bike. So for about 1.5 miles (the run was an out and back as wel), you had runners going in BOTH directions in the SAME lane as cyclists. Yeah, that sounds safe. At least it was only for a mile and a half where I had to weave around runners and other cyclists.
The hills were pretty tough, as I hadn't been on my bike in a few weeks. My plan was to keep my power around 220, or about 95% of my FTP. I had a new PT head unit and this was its inaugural ride. I tried to zero out the torque the night before, and wasn't sure if i did it right. So when I was going up that first hill out of town, I thought maybe it was off because my power was way higher than I expected at that speed. But over the course it seemed to be pretty much the same as the other head unit, so i think it was all good. I don't think I did a great job of having an even power pace on the uphills, but I actually felt like I could have gone a bit harder and been ok. Overall the bike course was relatively uneventful, although I got annoyed by the number of people who didn't understand what "on your left" meant. I think they thought I was being rude, when in reality I was just trying to follow the rules and pass on the left while they were blocking.
Nobody passed me on the bike during the race, which was surprising to me.
I ended up with an AP of 227 and an NP of 242, I guess I paced it about what I wanted to, maybe slightly higher. Being only my second Oly, I wasn't sure if I should go harder like a sprint or save some of my legs like a HIM, so I guess this was somewhere in the middle. It felt more like my HIM pace though.
Transition 2
  • 01m 39s
Comments:

NSTR
Run
  • 45m 18s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 17s  min/mile
Comments:

This was a tough run course. As I said previously, it was the same as the first few miles of the bike course, which has very hilly. I wanted to have a good run today, even if I wasn't really in the "racing" mood. Before the race I was thinking I'd like to run 44:00 or so. So out of transition I just focused on high cadence. My first mile was a little fast (6:45), so I brought it back a little. Then the first hills brought me back a bit more! Luckily at the turn around I had some good downhills. It started to get pretty hot though, and I was just happy to get a breeze from a passing car.
With about 2 miles to go, I got passed by a runner (the only one to pass). He asked me what AG I was, and I responded 35-39. He didn't say anything, so I said "what bout you??"
I couldn't hear what he said as he was about 3-5 yards ahead by then and a big truck just passed. I thought I heard "32", but I wasn't sure. I thought about sticking with him, but that moment quickly passed as I was hot and hurting enough. I wasn't sure where I was in the standings at the time and had no idea who was in front of me. I was kinda in my own little world.

Unfortunately in hind sight, I should have stuck with him. He ended up being in the same AG as me, and that one pass moved me into 4th in my AG and off the AG podium.
Just bad racing for me. I could have had it, but chose not to. Just goes to show, you should never give up and always push to the end. AND if someone passes you with only a few miles to go, re-evaluate yourself and STICK WITH HIM.
I still ended up with an ok time, but definitely could have pushed harder.
What would you do differently?:

Race like I actually want to compete, and not just be there.
Post race
Warm down:

Found a bit of shade and walked around a bit to cool down. Finally made my way to the food tent and rehydrated with some HEED and water, some orange slices and a few ginger snaps. Went to the awards ceremony to cheer on a few friends and confirm I did indeed come in fourth (damnit!)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Just myself, not pushing at the end and not competing like I should have.

Event comments:

Nothing spectacular about the race other than the nice transition area. I thought they could have used another aid station on the run course, and they only seemed to have warm water at them. I saw sponges on the ground, but none were being given out.
So not a bad race, and for the money I'd say I got my value's worth. If they keep the prices the same next year I'll do it again. Marble Falls is a good venue. But I still think having the runners and cyclists on the same course is dangerous, and hope they fix that next year.


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Last updated: 2013-04-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:48 | 1640 yards | 01m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 9/20
Overall: 85/204
Performance: Average
Suit: full Xterra
Course: 2 lap rectangle
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:10
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:14:50 | 25.2 miles | 20.20 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/20
Overall: 8/204
Performance: Average
tpks.ws/HjId
Wind: Some
Course: Pretty hilly out and back course , south 281 to west 71 and back. Same as the Marble Falls Tri.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 91
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:39
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:45:18 | 06.21 miles | 07m 17s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/20
Overall: 13/204
Performance: Average
Course: Out and back down south 281. one word: HILLS
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3