Triangle Triathlon - Triathlon


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New Hill, North Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 57m 23s
Overall Rank = 249/303
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 33/39
Pre-race routine:

I arrived quite early and dropped my stuff. Body marking and chip pickup were very fast. Listened to some music on my headphones and set up my transition area. I had a gel right before heading down to the swim start area.
Event warmup:

Basically consisted of getting my face wet in the lake and then spitting in my goggles to keep them from fogging up. Water was about 15 degrees warmer than the air, so I squatted down in the water to keep warm while waiting for our wave to start.
Swim
  • 21m 10s
  • 750 meters
  • 02m 49s / 100 meters
Comments:

My first OWS since 2006, but I knew what to expect with the wave start. My previous 2 OWS races went quite well, so I didn't worry too much about it. Previously, I've always waited 15-30 seconds or so for the wave bunch to get going and then joined in at the back. That worked quite well in the past. This time, I was estimating that my swim time would be the only one of the 3 events where I might be relatively competitive in my age group. So, I slid up near the front of my group at the start, with about 2-3 people in front of me. Bad move. All of the kicking and arms flailing, combined with the water being muddy/dark enough that I couldn't see anything under water, really got me off my game. I was never able to settle into a groove, as I kept swimming into people and had to stop to change directions. It was a lot of extra effort at the beginning of the swim and I quickly got worn out. It felt like I had completely forgotten how to swim aerobically. I was out of breath the entire time. I eventually had to roll over on my back and kick for a good part of the swim distance. The pack never seemed to thin out until the last 1/3 of the swim. It could have been much worse, though. I still finished ahead of a few people in my swim wave, and was only passed by about 10 of the fast women in the wave that started 5 minutes behind us. LOL
What would you do differently?:

Lesson learned. I'm going to continue to start all my OWS's 15-30 seconds behind the group. It's much more important for me to get into my aerobic groove early. I'll keep it slow, smooth, and steady as I pass the others when there is more room.
Transition 1
  • 04m 14s
Comments:

There was a pretty good run from the water to the transition entrance, and my spot was at the opposite end from the swim entrance. I was still a little out of sorts after the poor swim, but not too bad. Shirt got stuck on my wet back a little bit, but my organization and pre-race walk through of each transition paid off as everything else went smoothly. My time will be a little slow as I really didn't hurry much. I had basically the shortest run with my bike, as I was in the last row, closest to the bike start/finish. I was glad for that!
What would you do differently?:

When I decide I want to try to make my transitions faster, I'll practice more. These days, I just want them to go smooth and to not forget anything important. LOL Mission accomplished for this race.
Bike
  • 59m 2s
  • 17.5 miles
  • 17.79 mile/hr
Comments:

I was thrilled with my bike segment! For me, this was a great time. I had ridden the course 2 times before, so I knew to expect the hills in the first 2/3 of the course. After my poor swim, I decided to try to flex my bike fitness that I've been building over the last 5 months. I was good on the uphills, pushing harder than I normally would have, and shifting gears as needed quite well. I figured having the hills early, my legs would be up to the challenge and they were. For the last 1/3, I was really cruising on the mostly downhill parts. I turned back into the park entrance road with a mile left to ride and still felt strong. I hoped to get close to about 1:04 for the bike time, and I finished in under an hour! Now, it would be time to find out if I pushed too hard and killed my legs for the run or not.... LOL
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I think I came close to my best performance for my current bike fitness level.
Transition 2
  • 01m 23s
Comments:

T2 went pretty smoothly and quickly. Dropped helmet, shoes off, shoes on, grabbed the race belt and decided to leave the hat. Off I went....
Run
  • 31m 36s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

I was expecting my run to suck, based on my only brick training workout. Legs started off quite heavy as was expected, and both of my calves told me they were thinking about cramping. LOL I focused on a high cadence without pushing off much for the first mile or so and my legs and calves loosened up. They never did cramp enough for me to have to stop and stretch them. One small splash of water to drink at mile 1 and then I focused on keeping my effort level just above my aerobic zone, around 160 hr for me. Mile 2 stayed nice and steady at that level. I waited until about 2.5 miles before bumping the effort level up a bit more. Saw Dale cheering at the 2.75 mark and said Hi to him. That really boosted me for the last bit and I finished with a strong run pace.... not quite a sprint. LOL Overall, I might have had just a bit more in me than I used for the run, but I'm very happy that this run didn't suck, and that I didn't kill my legs with the hard bike ride. I'm sure the run time won't be all that impressive, but overall I'm really happy with it!
What would you do differently?:

I always have to start this section out with "more brick training workouts." LOL Other than that, I think I got close to my best run result for my current run fitness level. I probably had just a bit more I could have pushed over the second half, but not much.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed water, then a coke and a slice of pizza. Caught up to Dale and chatted for about 20-30 minutes. After that, I stretched my legs pretty well before packing up my transition area.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I let the swim start get in my head. i'll be smarter next time. Bike and run were good at my current fitness levels.

Event comments:

It's taken me 10 years since my first Tri to finally do my "hometown" race. I had a blast, and really hope to work it into my schedule again for next year!




Last updated: 2014-07-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:10 | 750 meters | 02m 49s / 100meters
Age Group: 36/39
Overall: 261/303
Performance: Bad
Suit:
Course: 750m triangle shaped course.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 84F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Bad Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:14
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:59:02 | 17.5 miles | 17.79 mile/hr
Age Group: 32/39
Overall: 221/303
Performance: Good
Avg HR 153 Max HR 171
Wind: Little
Course: First half to 2/3 of the course is rolling with mostly an uphill average. The last 1/3 is mostly downhill and a good place to make up some time. A couple of the back roads had a few pot holes, but they were well marked and the rest of the road surfaces were in good shape. An entire traffic lane was set aside for the bikers along Hwy 55 for that short stretch. Good, challenging bike course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 79
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:23
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:31:36 | 03.11 miles | 10m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 34/39
Overall: 239/303
Performance: Average
Avg HR 161 Max HR 176
Course: Part pavement and then mostly gravel roads through the park, with some gentle rolling hills. Finishing .25 mile was back on the pavement.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5