Tri the Parks - Richard B. Russell State Park - TriathlonOlympic


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Elberton, Georgia
United States
Blue Sky Sports
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 05m 59s
Overall Rank = 29/240
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 4/32
Pre-race routine:

Elberton is way outside of Atlanta (2 hours), so we decided to go up Friday night and stay in Athens, which is about mid-way between. Gave the wife and I a chance to return to our alma-mater and eat dinner at our favorite place from 12 years ago. Didn't quite taste as good any more.

Got up at 5:00 to head to the event. At a Kashi bar - peanut butter and chocolate. It was quite good but I broke the critical rule of never trying something new on a race day. Fortunately it sat well and I didn't have any problems throughout the event.
Event warmup:

I continued my tradition of doing no warmup.
Swim
  • 21m 44s
  • 1094 yards
  • 01m 59s / 100 yards
Comments:

I don't really care for mass starts. They let off all men 39 and under first. Bodies all over the place. Couldn't find any space for several hundred yards. Didn't get hit badly but it was just frustrating trying to get around people. Never felt like I got in a good rythm.

Also didn't feel like I kept a good line. At one point it was difficult due to the rising sun to see where the bouyies were at.

Overall, I feel I've done better. But, I'm still new to the sport (this was my 5th tri overall) and I am seeing progress. Plus, I'm getting much more comfortable in the water with each race.
What would you do differently?:

Find open space sooner.
Transition 1
  • 01m 25s
Comments:

Felt OK about my time. It's getting better with each race. Where I'm finishing overall in my age group, I need to improve. The three age grouper that finished ahead of me had much quicker times.
What would you do differently?:

Practice transitions outside of events. Hard to get better at something when you don't practice it.

I spent too much time wiping off my feet. Saw another guy who used the end of his towel to wipe his feet, as opposed to me who used a hand towel to clean them off. I'm going to give his approach a try next time.
Bike
  • 1h 02m 38s
  • 22 miles
  • 21.08 mile/hr
Comments:

My last couple races I felt I could have pushed harder on the bike. I guess I was saving up for the run. For this one, I decided I was going to push it more and see what I could do. While I saw improvement, there's still plenty of opportunity to get better. Passed a few people but still got passed by a good number of people.

At one point I got passed by the female leader. I had a 6 minute head start on her due to the swim waves. Anyway, as she passed me, I noticed how efficient and smooth she looked on the bike. She didn't appear to be exerting much effort but she was hauling. It made me realize that I'm just not fluid on the bike yet. I don't have a good cadence, I don't shift well, etc. I'm basically getting by on sheer power / grit / ignorance.
What would you do differently?:

Practice more. Compared to the time I spend running, I don't put in nearly enough time on the bike. I need to work on cadence and smooth gear shifting.
Transition 2
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

Overall I was happy with this time. Transition area was pretty empty when I came in due to people still being on the bike. This helped. Did a good job getting on shoes, putting on race belt while running, getting out of transition. It would be nice to be 5 to 10 seconds quicker.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Try to find somewhere to squeeze 5 to 10 seconds off the time.
Run
  • 39m 21s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 06m 21s  min/mile
Comments:

The heat was a challenge. Didn't help that there wasn't much shade on the course. I think they might have measured the course wrong. I've run several 10K's under 40 minutes and in each of these I felt I was really pushing. I didn't feel I was pushing so much on this one.

About 3/4 of a mile into the run, a guy passed me who was really moving. Saw the age on his leg - 41. Decided I needed to try to stay with this guy. I was never able to catch him, but I kept him in my sights. He did a great job and I know he definitely pushed me to a faster time. Other than getting passed by him, I was passed by only one other person. Unfortunately, that was the leader, who was completing his 2 lap while I was completing my first. He was really hauling.
What would you do differently?:

Push it a little more. I have the running background and I've got the endurance.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around a little. At a bagel. Drank some water. Tried some sport drink that was about the most disgusting thing I've ever tried (name with held so as not to offend).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Bad swim stroke / efficiency. If I can improve on the swim I stand a good chance of placing in my age group in the future. I've decided to give TI a try.

Event comments:

A great race. I've been impressed with the Tri the Parks series. They run an efficient, no-frills event. Parks are beautiful and I get to see areas of the state that I would have never seen otherwise. Getting to Elberton is tough and this may prevent me from doing this again next year. But overall I really enjoyed it.




Last updated: 2006-08-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:44 | 1094 yards | 01m 59s / 100yards
Age Group: 9/32
Overall: 0/240
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Out about 600 meters, turn right and go 400 meters, turn right again back to the beach.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:25
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:02:38 | 22 miles | 21.08 mile/hr
Age Group: 6/32
Overall: 0/240
Performance: Average
Wind: None
Course: Lots of turns, so it's hard to describe. I'll say that the course was great. Rural roads, hardly any traffic, well paved. A couple of really monster hills.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:48
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:39:21 | 06.2 miles | 06m 21s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/32
Overall: 0/240
Performance: Good
Course: Two 5K loops. Started on a gravel path, which wasn't too pleasant. Then turned right onto a nicely paved road. Went to turn around point by the golf clubhouse. Run back along same road.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4