New Jersey State Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon


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West Windsor, New Jersey
United States
CGI Racing
80F / 27C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 08m 37s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Since this is very close to my house I can sleep in some and arrive a little bit more well rested. Woke up at 5:30 grabbed my stuff and was out the door in about 20 minutes. I had already had all my gear and nutrition all set and ready to go so not much to do in the house. At the park I got set in transition (they had numbered slots this year so no over crowding/arguing over bike placement) grabbed my swim stuff and went to hang out at the Ryan's Quest tent since my wave wasn't for 1 hour after transition closed.
Event warmup:

Hung at the tent for awhile drinking some fluids and eating a bit. Folks were nervous as quite a few new Oly participants in preparation for the Princeton HIM at the same venue in 2 weeks. I was strangely calm especially given this was the least trained/fit I've ever been for this race. At about 7:30 walked to the swim start to catch a few RQ mates getting started then did about 10 minutes of swim warm up. I mainly did this since it was wetsuit legal i wanted to get a bit used to it again as hadn't used it in 2 years.
Swim
  • 36m 58s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 28s / 100 meters
Comments:

Now no matter what i'm not a fast swimmer and frankly I didn't train much for it. Probably 6 or 7 times to the pool and 2 OWS at another local race location that starts in June. Being able to wear the wetsuit and just being calm I actually had a great swim for me and actually PR'd by almost a minute. I was able to pass some folks which is rare for me and i just remained about 10 yards right of the buoy line in order to minimize having to break my rhythm. Because of this and the fact that I breath left anyway I didn't have to site much or break stroke as I could just follow the splash when I took a breath to ensure I was staying where I wanted to. In reality I could've pushed harder on this as felt great getting out of the water but given my traiining there was no way I was going to risk blowing up.
What would you do differently?:

Find time to train as only haveing about 10,000 yards in prior to the race is no way to do this! Of course that's the same refrain for all 3 disciplines but given my life and lack of support I just try and make do with what I can.
Transition 1
  • 04m 22s
Comments:

Well I was determined to have a good T1 after really not showing any urgency in years past and then I get to my spot and 1 of my socks just isn't there. Now I had put one in each bike show when I left transition and now nowhere to be found. After about a minute I spot a sock 4 bike slots down and there it is. I'm guessing someone knocked my stuff around in their haste and put the shoes back but didn't notice the sock. Oh well at least I know i'll be able to beat this time next year.
What would you do differently?:

I debated just going on the bike without socks as I've done that before but didn't want to then run the 10K without them since I haven't done that in years and didn't want to invite blisters since I need to be able to continue training after the race for the HIM.
Bike
  • 1h 23m 42s
  • 25.5 miles
  • 18.28 mile/hr
Comments:

Here's the part of the race where I let my concern over my lack of training impact me. I had a good uneventful ride but never pushed or challenged myself. As I came around the 2nd loop I knew I should've made more of an effort to gain some time as no matter what I wasn't going to be great on the run given my lack of bricks and overall fitness level.
What would you do differently?:

One of these years just go for it on the bike and not worry about it.
Transition 2
  • 02m 48s
Comments:

Ok transition but need to hustle more through the long stretches you need to run as this is a long transition. Made sure I took in a GU and some water as I left.
What would you do differently?:

Run!
Run
  • 1h 00m 45s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 09m 48s  min/mile
Comments:

About what I expected. It wasn't real hot so I hoped maybe I wouldn't experience any cramping that I have at this race in the past but in reality that had to be offset by my lack of training. Started out with a guy from my age group and we got to the 2 mile mark just under 17 minutes and to be honest I felt pretty comfortable as we did hold a decent conversation for a lot of that run. Somewhere between miles 2 and 3 I told him I was going to drop back a bit as I could feel my right hamstring starting to grab. I was really able to run without much incident until about 4 miles (albeit much slower) when it grabbed big time and I had to walk it out. For the rest of the time I had to listen to my leg and do what it took to not really hurt it. At about 5.5 a nice woman asked if I wanted to run as she really wanted to but needed someone to push her. So we ran to the 6 mile mark and she said she needed to slow a bit so i kept moving forward. I could really feel the leg now so tried to keep a pace and gait that would allow me to keep running and once on the grass downhill shoot to the finish I was able to at least run in like I wanted to.
What would you do differently?:

I need to figure out something nutrition wise about cramping whether its bananas or something to stop this from always happening.
Post race
Warm down:

Nice walk through the misting tent and over to the food tent. Food looked and smelled terrific but I was pretty spent and warm and hot food just didn't appearl to me. Walked over to the RQ tent to see how everyone did, get a group photo and hang out for awhile.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I just don't get the time and/or support at home I need to properly prepare for these races. I don't want to compete to win anything as those days are long gone but being able to reach my limits would be nice.

Event comments:

Larry and Michele absolutely rock at putting on an unbelievable race. I don't know where they find the volunteers but they are so energetic and inspiring and every year they continue to fine tune and add little things to make all of our lives easier. It's a no brainer since it is only 5 minutes from my house but I'll continue to do this race as long as they continue to have it.




Last updated: 2014-07-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:36:58 | 1500 meters | 02m 28s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: Yes
Course: Sort of a reverse R shaped course in a nice lake.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 04:22
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:23:42 | 25.5 miles | 18.28 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Wind:
Course: 2 Loops of real flat roads that I do ride regularly when I get out for training.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:48
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:00:45 | 06.2 miles | 09m 48s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5