Holliston Lions Triathlon - Triathlon


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Holliston, Massachusetts
United States
Firm Racing
80sF / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 30m 35s
Overall Rank = 15/104
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 7/12
Pre-race routine:

Ran a 5k the day prior (15 OA/3AG - so a good one). I think that helped me freak out way less than normal. I also think because I only signed up on Wednesday for it, as this was a "rest and test" week and this was close by, there was just less pressure. So, much less time to work myself up into race-day frenzy. Got up a few hours before race, three slices of whole grain toast with almond/maple nut butter (Jason's rocks) and some honey spread. Coupla cups of coffee and the morning ritual. Then sip some power-liquid stuff on way to race. One gatorade liwuid pre-race thing (100 cal) 10' before. Soak in the beautiful setting and GO.
Event warmup:

Not a ton of time, so set up transition and only got a quick ~100yds swim in. Enough to be ready for the swim, but no time on bike or running (except to portajohn and back right before…). Said hello to Scott Brown (friend introduced me or I'd have never known), wished my buddy who agreed last minute to race with me good luck, national anthem (Mr. Brown's daughter - nice voice), then off we went.
Swim
  • 11m 57s
  • 990 yards
  • 01m 13s / 100 yards
Comments:

Surprised myself on this one. I purposefully took a wide line to the turn, didn't get right into the mix, breathed such that I didn't get winded - just swam smoothly. And, my pace was much better than I expected. Had I pushed, I could have taken a bit more time off - but didn't want to mess up my first race of the season (and third since coming back from a looooong time away) by overcooking the swim. Felt great getting out of the water!
What would you do differently?:

Probably will try getting out with faster folks, getting on their feet and try to hang on next time. Not sure I have the fish ability to do that, but worth a try - hey, it's all about having fun...
Transition 1
  • 00m 41s
Comments:

First time I've ever tried elastic banding the shoes on the bike. Worked really well - although I still don't have the b@11$ to try jumping on (precisely because I want to keep mine where they are and NOT pick gravel out of my teeth when I fall over). Could save a few seconds there, but I thought this was a good fit for me. Ran with the bike, paused only briefly to get my leg over and on top of the shoe, and was off.
What would you do differently?:

Not much - I was pretty happy with this one!
Bike
  • 40m 18s
  • 15 miles
  • 22.13 mile/hr
Comments:

Could've gone a bit harder on this one, but then not sure if I'd have blown up on the run. As it was, I was about 10 sec/mile slower than I wanted on the run, so probably about right(?). I'm DEFINITELY still getting the hang of pacing for a tri, which was a big part of why I did this race.
Also, took a GU with caffeine at the end of the first lap (mile 5.5ish)
What would you do differently?:

Might try pushing a bit harder. Would like a bottle with a straw (even with the 3W I'd lose!) so it's easier to drink. Need a bit more time on the tri bike, as I'm not as confident on corners as on the roadie. Otherwise, I was very happy with the bike leg (actually, very very!).
Transition 2
  • 01m 20s
Comments:

Helmet was fine, but I didn't put yankz on the shoes and just pulled them on. Problem was that my feet were soaked from the bike and it took an extra… probably 20 seconds to work my left shoe on. ARGH! Didn't make any difference to my place, but it's frustrating to miss a little thing like that. I did think about talcum powder, but the kids are now old enough that we didn't have any at home! Overall, still pretty happy with it.
What would you do differently?:

Yankz. Light powder in the shoes. Might also come into the dismount just a BIT hotter for the dismount…
Run
  • 36m 18s
  • 5 miles
  • 07m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

I think I need to work a lot more on my bike fitness - as I am normally comfortably sub 7m/m at 5 miles and thought I could hit about 7m/m even after the bike. It was a bit hilly and QUITE hot and humid, so that is also certainly a factor.
I felt my legs loosen up at between 2 and 3 miles, and the back half of the course felt much more comfortable.

The 5k I ran the day prior also probably took a little starch out of my legs (but it's a local race that we do as a family, so I wasn't missing that one! 15 OA, 3AG, so it was a good one, too).
What would you do differently?:

Maybe not race the day before. LOL - actually, that's not true - I'll totally do the same thing next year!
Work on my bike, and perhaps longer anaerobic threshold intervals on the run.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed a bottle of water and went back to the finish to cheer others on. Should have done more stretching and a cool down jog, but it's just too cool to cheer folks across the line!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My three legs were all about the same place in my AG and OA, so that's better than last year, where my run was definitely my worse. Working on it over the winter helped. So, I think I need to work on all three areas. My swim technique needs to hold for the whole distance at a faster pace, my bike speed and fitness both need to come up so I can hit the run, and my run needs to improve. So, good news is I'm in balance, bad news is I'm uniformly slower than I'd like!!!

Event comments:

Beautiful swim. Nice course. Great volunteers. Speedy old dudes (my AG was insane!), so, there was good competition. A nice course to test fitness for upcoming Oly's, as it's a bit longer than a standard sprint. Nice people at the race. Overall, I had a great morning and will likely do this one again. Quite happy with my performance (if boggled about how many really speedy guys there are from 45-49… I have WORK to do)! Great day, great people, good race.




Last updated: 2013-06-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:57 | 990 yards | 01m 13s / 100yards
Age Group: 5/12
Overall: 16/104
Performance: Good
Suit: 2xu T3 (R3? - I forget.. one of them)
Course: Out and back. They occasionally get the distance wrong, I've heard. Watch showed 990yds. Big bouys.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 00:41
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:40:18 | 15 miles | 22.13 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/12
Overall: 14/104
Performance: Good
157 average HR. Was shooting for 160, as that's 2 beats into threshold for me. So, could've pushed a bit harder, but was concerned about overcooking the bike (sound familiar to the swim?).
Wind: Strong
Course: 3 loops. Mostly roller hills, although I was feeling two of them. Stayed in aero even up all but the end of those two - and used that time to drink, as well. A few tight turns that I am not confident enough to totally bomb through, as this was my first time on a tri bike in a race and there were CARS coming the other way. ;) Would recommend a pre-race ride around the circuit for anyone doing this race, as it's a good warmup (5 miles) and you get a feel for the corners. I hit them faster each time through, so you could start faster than I did.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:20
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:36:18 | 05 miles | 07m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 7/12
Overall: 18/104
Performance: Average
HR was about 162 (Garmin stunk up the joint on this one - the 910 doesn't seem to like racing!). Not sure I could have pushed too much harder on the run, though. Barely into threshold and might have even dipped under it a couple times… I think the 5k the day before had an effect - if small...
Course: Counterclockwise (opposite of bike) lap on the course. a little hilly, but not terrible. Some shade, but it was hot and humid, and there haven't been a lot of those days yet, so could have made it feel hillier than it was!
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4