Parris Island Triathlon - Triathlon


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Parris Island, South Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
66F / 19C
Overcast
Total Time = 57m 55s
Overall Rank = 14/220
Age Group = Military
Age Group Rank = 1/14
Pre-race routine:

Biggest per-race effects this year were the loss of 8 pounds. started the year with advocare 24 day challenge and then maintained the weight off with constant training and a diet free of carbs from bread, mostly gluten free. Got to Beaufort Friday afternoon, checked in to the Holiday Inn and suites(where I used the AAA discount to save $20 a night), my king suite was $104 per night, then we hit the base for packet pickup. At the hotel shaved my head, arms, and legs. Drove the bike course to show my wife where the ride was going to be; this was my 3rd year doing the race but first fro her. Next we hit the upper crust for a mandatory chicken fajita pizza. Got back to the hotel rested and took a 10 minute soak in the jacuzzi. Went to bed at 10:30, got up at 6:40. Ate some steel cut oats and a coffee at the hotel and was out the door at 7:00. Got to base about 7:25 ate a banana and drank skratch and anti fatigue caps. Setup with the normal stuff, body marking and was ready to go. Took a gu rocatane 15 minutes prior to going off on the swim start.
Event warmup:

Took the bike out for an easy 2 mile ride on the first section of the tri, flipped it around and brought the bike back in. Then threw the speed suit on and jumped in the pool for 100m swim warmup.
Swim
  • 08m 43s
  • 500 meters
  • 01m 44s / 100 meters
Comments:

8:26 was true swim time, took :17 seconds to get swim skin unzipped and into transition area. I had talked to the guy at the pool door to help unzip my swim skin when I was exiting the pool. Based on my expected swim time I seeded myself at 1:30/100 meter which put me as 65th swimmer going off but actual results had me as the 43rd fastest swim after comparing men, women, and relay teams. I passed 4 people and was passed by none. This year I focused on trying to nail the rope line transitions between lanes. In years past I would reach the wall, breathe, drop under the rope, breathe again, then push off and start the next swim. this year I hit the wall, took a breathe, pushed off the wall why swimming under the rope and started the swim in the next line. This saved me a huge chunk of time in the swim compared to years past.
What would you do differently?:

one of my best swims ever, wouldn't change a thing.
Transition 1
  • 01m 5s
Comments:

1:22 was true T1 time from the pool ladder to the exit to transition. Got my swim skin off mostly during the long run through transition. Dunked me feet in my bucket to get all the gravel off (the parking lot is rough and the gravel hurts the feet and will stay on your shoes and the bottoms of your feet if not shaken/washed off. Put bike shoes on in transition and started running, at the line did a great running mount, clipped in and was off.
What would you do differently?:

56th best T1 but lost small amounts of time due to swim skin removal and feet cleaning, but I wouldn't change a thing.
Bike
  • 28m 9s
  • 10.6 miles
  • 22.59 mile/hr
Comments:

I got the bike tuned up at Charleston Bike Company at the start of the week and they let me demo a Mavic CXR60 front wheel for free, the wheel was crazy fast and handled the wind amazingly. I wanted to drop the hammer the whole way. I knew I was out fast and didn't bother moving the garmin 910xt to the bike mount I just hit the hammer. I passed 15-20 people and was just in the zone. There were section when the wind was hitting sideways and I had to lean the bike slightly but was able to keep the speed high. I took corners slow and was carefule passing people because the road was wet. 1st 5 miles speed was 21.7mph after reaching the golf course and the turn around I felt the wind was favorable at my back and was able to nail 24.3 mph for the second 5 miles. At mile 9 took a gu roctane and finished my bottle of advocare rehydrate and carb pro.
What would you do differently?:

maybe tried to hammer down just a little more since my cadence was 94 but my average heartrate was 177bpm so there might not had been anything I could have done.
Transition 2
  • 00m 59s
Comments:

65th best T2, I chose to not flying mount at this course because the ground was bad and gravel was rough, just unclipped, jumped off the bike and ran to transition. I pulled socks on and but on my newton MV3 shoes and was off. I took 1 more anti fatigue caps and was off.
What would you do differently?:

Slightly slow but was strategic to keep feet in good shape.
Run
  • 19m 2s
  • 2.9 miles
  • 06m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

I came out at a 6:00/mile pace for the first 1/4 mile and realized that I needed to back it down of a would blow up, so I settled into a 6:40ish pace and was comfortably making my way through the run. I peeled the top down of my pearl izumi octane tri suit and with the overcast conditions, the run felt amazing. I made it to the turn, took a cup of water, and knew I was ready to kill the rest of the run. Mentally I decided to make the move at mile 2. So I wanted to hold 6:40ish until then. The whole time I was thinking about Steve Prefonatine's quote "Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it." I crossed the finish line with nothing left in my tank but was able to get a good GO NAVY! yell
What would you do differently?:

Nothing this was my best run ever on a sprint triathlon.
Post race
Warm down:

Stretched out and got some food and water in. Found my friend who was cheering and the we cheered my wife Melissa back into T2 and then out on the run. Then found my buddy Jason and cheered him through T1, T2, and the finish. Packed up transition and hung around for awards. Later that day drove down to Hilton Head and did the zipline course, came back to Beaufort, ate at Dockside, then hopped back in the jacuzzi. Sunday morning ran 4 miles through Beaufort waterfront, downtown, and the bridge.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The wind may have limited the bike.

Event comments:

Great race but bring the bug spray, the gnats were out in force biting hard. It was awesome representing AAA tri team, Malone coaching, and the US Navy. I won military division but also would have taken the win in 35-39 year old age group; that was special to me because our age group has a special friendly rivalry. I have never beat both Stephen Shenal and Steven Bradley so it really made the training feel worth it. USAT scored the race as 85.502 for me, new record high! Also, this qualified me for 2015 age group nationals which I most likely will not be able to attend.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2015-03-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:43 | 500 meters | 01m 44s / 100meters
Age Group: 1/14
Overall: 34/220
Performance: Good
Suit: Speedsuit
Course: 500 meter of swimming, 10 lanes of 25 meter are open and there is 2 way traffic in each lane.
Start type: Dive Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:05
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:28:09 | 10.6 miles | 22.59 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/14
Overall: 11/220
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: website lists ""The bike course is fast. Depending on the wind you may find a few sections of headwind and a few sections of tail wind. Either way this is a great chance to see just how fast you can go on a bike."
Road: Rough Wet Cadence: 94
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:59
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:19:02 | 02.9 miles | 06m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/14
Overall: 20/220
Performance: Good
1st mile - 6:47 - 178bpm 2nd mile - 6:41 - 179bpm 3rd mile - 6:29 - 183bpm
Course: The run course also is flat and fast. A very simple out and back course. All turns are marked on the pavement. The course is mostly closed to traffic.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %1
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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