Life Time Tri Soma - Triathlon


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Life Time Triathlon Series
84F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = 0/599
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 0/65
Pre-race routine:

Woke up about 4 am, ate breakfast (banana and a bagel w/ Nutella), filled up my water bottles, headed to the transition area, and set up my gear. Ate a GU 15 min before race time.

I had some high hopes for this race. I spent the previous 12 weeks training hard under the guidance of a friend/coach/pro triathlete. In 2011 I completed this race in just under 5 hrs 13 minutes... was looking for a 4:45 to 4:59 this year.

Sometimes, it just doesn't go your way...
Event warmup:

No significant warm-up... just some body-weight squats and arm rotations before getting in the water.
Swim
  • 32h 05m
  • 2112 yards
  • 1h 31m 09s / 100 yards
Comments:

Everything started out OK. I made my way up to the front of the line and waited for the start. I decided to sprint to the first bridge and then settle in from there. After the sprint, I just couldn't settle in to anything comfortable. Normally, I enjoy the swim - however, this time it was struggle the whole way. I couldn't wait to get out of the water and start the bike.
Transition 1
  • 01m 23s
Comments:

The wet-suit strippers had a little trouble getting my suit off - but, nothing major. Getting to my bike and getting on it went smoothly - but, I knew I was way more tired than I should have been at this point.
Bike
  • 2h 35m 32s
  • 56 miles
  • 21.60 mile/hr
Comments:

The plan my coach had for me was to average about 210 watts for the first 20 miles and then average 215-220 watts for the rest of the ride. However, just like the swim, I was having to put in way too much effort for the results I was getting. I was managing to stay above 190 watts - but it was hard. I knew the perceived effort was too hard - but, backing off would have have surely put me at the finish over the 5 hour mark. So, I persisted, determined to give it all I had. I ate GUs every 20 minutes and drank HEED and water throughout.
Transition 2
  • 01m 54s
Comments:

At his point I was exhausted and knew that something wasn't right. My transition activities went smoothly... but, I was tired, and therefore slow.
Run
  • 00m
  • 13.1 miles
  •  min/mile
Comments:

The plan my coach had for me was to run 8 min/ mile for the first half and then finish the race with what I had had left. It took me about 20 steps before I knew that was not going to happen. I couldn't run more than .05 miles at a time without stopping to walk. My legs and HR were fine... I simply couldn't catch my breath. I experimented with different intervals of walking and running through the first loop... at the end of the first loop (1/2 way) I was "up to" running .15 and walking .10 I started the second loop knowing sub 5 hrs was out of the question. At this point, I just wanted to finish. About a mile later, I started to cough up blood - so, I quit.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked the mile back to transition.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'm convinced I was sick that day.

Event comments:

DNF was a tough pill to swallow. It took me several days to come to terms with it.. I had put in a lot of work to make that day a good one and it was a huge let down to not perform.




Last updated: 2014-10-29 12:00 AM
Swimming
32:05:00 | 2112 yards | 1h 31m 09s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/65
Overall: 43/599
Performance: Average
Suit: 2XU T:0
Course: Rectangle
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:23
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:35:32 | 56 miles | 21.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 6/65
Overall: 72/599
Performance: Average
133 Avg HR, 198 Watts NP, 87 RPM Avg Cadence
Wind: Little
Course: Three loop course around the city of Tempe. Frequent turns and turnarounds. Mostly flat with a short section of small uphills and downhills.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 87
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:54
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:00:00 | 13.1 miles |  min/mile
Age Group: 0/65
Overall: 0/599
Performance: Bad
Course: Flat 2 loop course around Tempe Town Lake.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? No
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] 4