HITS National Championship: Palm Springs - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
La Quinta, California
United States
HITS Triathlon Series
45F / 7C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 34m 56s
Overall Rank = 38/254
Age Group = M 50-54
Age Group Rank = 2/12
Pre-race routine:

Really cold at venue (upper 30s on arrival)...water temps apparently in mid-50s. Swim and T1 times were pretty brutal across the field as a result.
Event warmup:

Got some practice swim time in. Coldest swim since IMSG in 2010...lots of relatively freaked out peeps.
Swim
  • 30m 11s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

Really cold. Single men's wave with over 175 starters...way too many for narrow shallow course. Worse scrum than IMSG. Definitely lost time there.

Course is definitely long--time last year and this year, combined with readout from Garmin 310XT both years, put it at more like a mile (which would fit more with my usual pace--1:33-1:36/100 yds--plus delay due to the ridiculous scrum).
What would you do differently?:

Seed all the way at the front.
Transition 1
  • 04m 7s
Comments:

Spent extra time drying feet due to very cold temps (water and air). Most T1 times were very slow for the field...lots of jackets on the bike course, even on very fast athletes. Placement (excl. missing/invalid times): 52 of 253 (20.6%)
Bike
  • 1h 16m 27s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 19.50 mile/hr
Comments:

Rode to cadence. Avoided hammering last 8 miles or so...otherwise was mostly above 20 mph.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe pushed bigger gear more in last section.
Transition 2
  • 01m 34s
Comments:

Good. Switched shoes first, then helmet/hat, rather than the reverse, which confused me for a couple seconds, but this was way above average for the field. Placement (excl missing/invalid times): 32 of 238 (13.4%)
Run
  • 42m 35s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Killed this, even though I haven't done much training for speed. Course was short, but this was probably my 3rd fastest Oly run by mile pace (Garmin had it as 7:14/mile). Fastest run in AG by a full 2 minutes.
Post race
Warm down:

Picked up 2nd place AG plaque (finished 3rd in AG at this distance last year...guess I have to come back next year and win the AG before I move up to 55-59 in 2015.).

Event comments:

This multi-race event continues to improve year to year, but still a little under-resourced in some respects. Little spectator support, esp. for the iron distance race on Saturday. Really great individual bike stands and stools in transition, though. Nice plaques for overall and AG awards.




Last updated: 2013-12-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:11 | 1640 yards | 01m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/12
Overall: 46/254
Performance: Average
Garmin 310XT had the course as 1.07 miles (1883 yds)...that would put my pace at 1:36/100 yds, which is about right for the conditions. Placement (excluding missing/invalid times): 42 of 231 (18.2%)
Suit: Xterra
Course: 2 laps of narrow rectangle (exit water at end of lap 1)
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 58F / 14C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Good
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:07
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:16:27 | 24.85 miles | 19.50 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/12
Overall: 75/254
Performance: Average
Garmin 310XT had this at 24.87...closer to official distance than last year. Placement (excl missing/invalid times): 74 of 248 (29.8%)
Wind: Some
Course: Flat out and back.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:34
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:42:35 | 06.21 miles | 06m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/12
Overall: 28/254
Performance: Good
Garmin had this as 5.87 miles (last year was 5.9 also)...definitely way short...this would equal my best standalone 10K time. Placement (excl missing/invalid times): 27 of 239 (11.3%)
Course: Out and back, mostly dead flat. Run out of T2 on grass for about 500m, then in park parking lot, then out on roads starting just before 1 mile.
Keeping cool Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]