Ballwin Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Ballwin, Missouri
United States
City of Ballwin
90F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 59m 53s
Overall Rank = 11/129
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 2/16
Pre-race routine:

Day before: Ride race course once. Met a really nice guy (Jim) there who was doing the same thing. We rode the course together, at a pretty good clip, in just about 13 mins. Jim has 3 little kids, and told me he didn't get to train much. Low volume stuff. He was a very strong cyclist, though. And it turned out he was in my 8:45 wave... in the lane next to me.

Wake up too early. Pretty standard. It makes me feel more relaxed, I guess. Had my bowl of cereal, and made a made a PB&J sammich for a snack. I like the fact that at this point, it really is a "routine." It's something I can count on to make me feel comfortable. Next step was getting to race venue ridiculously early.
Event warmup:

It was hot, so I didn't plan a warmup. But I accidentally did one anyway. No better way to get your heartrate up than by realizing you forgot to put water bottles on your bike with less than 6 minutes until your swim wave starts. So I ran from the pool to TA, grabbed my keys, ran back to my car, got out the bottles, ran back to TA, then ran up to pool. Whew... plenty of time to spare.
Swim
  • 04m 40s
  • 300 yards
  • 01m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/2b04607f.jpg
All I know is that I was 6th out of the water in my wave of 30 or so. I'm thrilled with that. I really can't ask for much more from myself.
Brandon - 1
Pool - 0

:)

Jim told me he was shooting for a 3:45 time in the pool. 10 seconds before the start, as both Jim and I were poised with our fingers on our watches, I looked over and said, "Jim, don't let me beat you in the pool." He replied with a sly smile... and we were off!!!
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/d42644e1.jpg
My wife told me he was right on his time estimate. So he had 1 min on me at the finish of the first leg. I would try to catch him the rest of the way.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/ad6a8601.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/5d50629a.jpg
What would you do differently?:

I supposed I could have gone a little harder. I prefer to stay in control, though.
Transition 1
  • 01m 14s
Comments:

I was kinda dizzy coming out of the pool, but I ran as fast as bare feet and asphalt would allow.
I quickly got my biking gear on and pulled the bike off the rack. I took to big steps and hopped on, but didn't have the most graceful start. It took me a few extra seconds to get clipped in. Luckily I didn't bite it in front of all the people in the TA who seemed to be intently watching me to see if I would so something dumb. No luck this time, suckers!
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/c9945633.jpg

What would you do differently?:

Practice the running bike mount a bit more. I still had my "sea legs."
Bike
  • 27m 7s
  • 9.2 miles
  • 20.36 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt like I had a very strong bike leg, passing lots of people. Not just passing them, really, but blowing by them. woohoo. but in retrospect, I went to hard and gave too much on that portion. My wife tells me that Jim still had that 1 minute lead on me through the first lap of the bike. He had opened it up to 1:30 by the end of the biking portion. I saw him going out of the TA running as I was riding in.
What would you do differently?:

Be more controlled on the bike. My HR was already so high, there was nowhere for it to go when I went to start running. It needs to be lower off the bike, to compensate for what it will inevitably do while running.
Transition 2
  • 00m 23s
Comments:

Another smooth transition. And yes, you read it right. About 23 seconds, give or take a few.
The thing about these little local races, is there are no rules. You can rack your bike anywhere and everywhere. And you can mount/dismount wherever the hell you please. I think it's unsafe and dumb, but literally EVERYBODY was doing it. "when in rome." So anyway, little-to-no running with the bike makes for a speedy T2. I'm damn impressed with how quickly I can change my shoes, though.
Free speed, my friends, free speed.
What would you do differently?:

Swap out my heart for a fresh one, and win the whole damn race.
Run
  • 26m 34s
  • 3.2 miles
  • 08m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/a5134dbe.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/1c19e2ce.jpg

I said I drank too much because I think I had too much ICE WATER. that wasn't a good idea. It was great that the water they served on the course was cold, but for me, it was gut-wrenching cold. I got cramps on both sides of my ribs about 1.5 miles into the run. They never really eased up. Of course, this is where Jim maintained a stong pace, and I fell way back.
I'm frustrated because I can easily run 7min miles, or at least 7:30's in this situation, but I didn't exectute a great race plan.

Still, a solid, strong finish.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/6a7b092c.jpg
It would hold up to be good enough for 2nd in my AG again.
Smiles all around, baby!
What would you do differently?:

Ease up on the bike. I didn't use discretion. I couldn't hold myself back. I think that's just my nature. I don't do things at anything less that 100% effort.
So this points to a decision-making issue.
Have a plan, and execute it.
Post race
Warm down:

Just wandered around and chatted with wife and other racers. Lots of nice folks out there. Congraulated Jim on his 3rd place overall finish!!
Got to meet another BT'r, KTriathlete, so it's always fun to put another name and face together.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The extreme heat surely took its toll on those of us who had the disadvantage of racing 2 hours later than the very first wave.

And of course, some lack of self-control on the bike. But I'm learning, and that's good.

Event comments:

Turn on the A/C, please.

oh, worst race packet ever. the shirt is nice. let me say that i like the shirt a lot.
but the rest of it?? lame.
1) an ad for a research project looking for twins to fill out a questionaire. let me check. nope... not a twin.
2) other piece of junk that i promptly threw away. yeah, it was THAT important.

that was it. no coupons, no gels, no further race instructions.
where are all the sponsors?




Last updated: 2006-07-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:04:40 | 300 yards | 01m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/16
Overall: 0/129
Performance: Good
My HR was up there already when I got in the pool, but it was VERY refreshing. You see, by this time, I had already been at the venue for 2hrs 45 mins. It was hot. Very hot. Turkish prison sauna hot. So of course, the pool felt good.
Suit: tri shorts: check!
Course: 25 yard pool. I estimated my swim time based on a 25m pool, so I was excited that I would be getting out of the pool quicker than anticipated.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:14
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:27:07 | 9.2 miles | 20.36 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/16
Overall: 0/129
Performance:
HR 167 for this leg. That's up there. But I was willing to do that, knowing that it was all going to be over so soon. Didn't want to save anything for later.
Wind: Some
Course: 2 Loops of an approximately ~4.5 route. Therefore, 2 lengthy climbs, but otherwise flat and fast. Going out http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/73e30424.jpg Coming in, actually telling Jim that I'm coming to get him. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/Super_Suby/bd3b6f69.jpg
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 95
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:23
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:26:34 | 03.2 miles | 08m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/16
Overall: 0/129
Performance: Below average
At mile 1 : HR avg = 166: time = 6:32... but I don't believe it. There's just no way. So you can kinda disregard this. The next 2.2 miles: HR avg = 160: time = 20:02. I dunno.
Course: Out and back along fairly hilly neighborhood.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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] 3