Texas Man Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Irving, Texas
United States
80F / 27C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 38m 16s
Overall Rank = 190/415
Age Group = 24-29 M
Age Group Rank = 15/28
Pre-race routine:

I spent my time dodging raindrops. Unfortunately I'm not very good at it, so I was pretty wet. Other than that it was a whole lot of waiting.
Swim
  • 10m 36s
  • 500 yards
  • 02m 07s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first OWS triathlon, and nothing can prepare you for dealing with a bunch of overcompetitive 20somethings crawling over you. I tried to stay to the outside but my spotting sucks and I ended up on the inside of the lane. 500 yards isn't really enough to separate people out either, so I was getting hit for most of the swim. It doesn't help that I'm still not comfortable in the open water, and a couple times I had to turn onto my back and just kick to calm down. I was swimming too hard(partly because I didn't know who was about to crawl over me or who I was about to crawl over) and couldn't navigate well at all. Just a bad performance, though my time was reasonably good, all things considered.
What would you do differently?:

Stay to the outside, try to keep a straighter line. Throw more elbows than I receive.
Transition 1
  • 03m 40s
Comments:

I could have been faster obviously, but the swim left me shaken so I was trying to calm myself down and I took my time as a result. Transitions aren't really an area I push myself on too much anyway(I still have plenty of time I can save elsewhere) so this wasn't a big deal.
What would you do differently?:

Bring a towel. I left the towel in the car because it was raining when we went to the setup(so having a towel seemed pointless) but by the time the race started the rain had stopped so it would have been nice drying off my feet before I put my socks on.
Bike
  • 53m 1s
  • 18 miles
  • 20.37 mile/hr
Comments:

Sweet Jebus, where did that pace come from? I was hoping for 17mph+ and ended up over 20. I don't think that race was a full 18 miles either, because my average on my bike was 19.3(which is still great, but not 20+). I started slowing down towards the end of the 2nd lap because I knew the run was coming up, but pushed pretty hard otherwise. I even got the "leaving your shoes clipped in and jumping off the bike" thing to work this time, which may not have saved me an ounce of time but made me feel like a real triathlete. ;)
What would you do differently?:

Nothing comes to mind. The ride really went about as well as I could have hoped.
Transition 2
  • 01m 46s
Comments:

Good transition, very quick. No complaints.
What would you do differently?:

Dry socks would have been nice.
Run
  • 29m 16s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 09m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

The run went reasonably well; I wish I had run a little faster early on but I finished really strong(probably did a sub-7 minute/mile for the last 1/4 mile, wheee 2nd wind) and aside from having to retie my shoes a couple times things went pretty well. It was a nice course, a paved trail through a wooded area that was very scenic. There were a lot of people on the trail but it was wide enough that I never really felt squeezed.
What would you do differently?:

Double-knot my shoes.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

1) The weather. I was a little hesitant in some spots because of the water on the ground. This was mainly in the bike section of course.
2) Anxiety. I'm not sure I'll ever be completely comfortable in open water(due to a longstanding fear of it since I was a child, thank you Steven Spielberg) and I was gasping for air on my swim for most of the course. I need to learn to settle down.

Event comments:

I didn't miss the sprint turnaround but I heard more than a couple people did. It was easy to miss if you weren't looking, maybe they could mark it better next time. Also the bike racks weren't very organized. I'm probably spoiled by Ironhead and their OCD tendencies, but setting up the racks organized by your bib number is a nice touch. I'm giving it a 3/5 because of the weather, which is obviously completely out of the organizers' control. They did the best they could in the circumstances. If there hadn't been any rain this race would get a 4/5. Tom and crew did a great job dealing with the weather issue, and they held up well when everything could have(literally and figuratively) gone down the drain.




Last updated: 2006-08-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:10:36 | 500 yards | 02m 07s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 153/415
Performance: Below average
Suit: Trisuit, not wetsuis
Course: A glorified pond. I put 'deep water', but honestly it's only that because it was deeper than I could touch.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 03:40
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:53:01 | 18 miles | 20.37 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 180/415
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Hilly, but I was used to it since my Wednesday night ride is in the same area. The leftover rainwater made some parts tricky, but overall it could have been much worse.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 90s
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:46
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:29:16 | 03.11 miles | 09m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 206/415
Performance: Average
Course: Paved except for a 30yd mudfest at the very beginning.
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? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 3