Hammonton Sprint Triathlon - Triathlon


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Hammonton, New Jersey
United States
DQ Events
52F / 11C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 25m 17s
Overall Rank = 141/210
Age Group = 55-59
Age Group Rank = 5/8
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:30, made a banana and peach smoothie with tart cherry juice, and ate half a toasted bagel with almond butter. Packing and bike prep had been done the night before, so the morning was pretty easy. Targeted a 5:30 departure, got off about ten minutes late.
Event warmup:

Save for a jog from the registration area back to transition, my only warm-up consisted of getting into the water to swim a little bit and sticking my face into the water to get used to the cold. All I can say about that is BRRRRR!!!
Swim
  • 12m 30s
  • 440 yards
  • 02m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

Generally OK swim. Had hoped for better - had hoped to beat 12 minutes - but my guess is the course was a little longer than 400m. Overall I swam, with minimal dog-paddle breaks. But I was kind of forcing it too, pushing too hard instead of relaxing and swimming with good form. As I swam I noticed some of the faster swimmers looking very relaxed with almost slow, languorous strokes. I was trying to push too hard, and that never seems to work.
What would you do differently?:

The cold water had me gasping as I turned to breathe. Race director said before the race, "Wetsuits are allowable and, given the water temperature, recommended." With an air temp less than 50 when we started, the lake actually felt close to warm (even moreso when I peed in my wetsuit...and no way was I the only one to do that). But it was still cold when the water seeped in; one older guy, wearing only tri shorts, said, "OK, it just hit my nether regions, and this lake is cold." So, altogether, I'm not sure what I could've done on race day to make a difference
Transition 1
  • 02m 43s
Comments:

Slow T1, even though I was first rack in from water. Struggled to get the wetsuit off, but that shouldn't have made me this slow. Probably the run out, with bike shoes on and jogging in soft ground, made for the difference. Still, I was 103rd, pretty much middle of pack.
What would you do differently?:

Not really anything.
Bike
  • 40m 24s
  • 12 miles
  • 17.82 mile/hr
Comments:

Thought I was headed for a record, like i was a major biking stud, running generally over 20mph the whole way out. Thought, "I'm not only going to beat last year, I'm going to smash it completely." Secondary thought, a few minutes later, "Is there a wind? And is it maybe giving me a little push?" Didn't want to believe it, but when I turned around and immediately dropped below 17mph with similar effort levels, I knew it had been too good to be true. My Garmin measured this at just over 12.5 miles, with an average speed of 18.7mph; actual results reflect a 12 mile ride, with an average speed just under 18mph.
What would you do differently?:

Not a whole lot. Felt pretty good about this bike ride and the effort level.
Transition 2
  • 01m 24s
Comments:

Pretty decent here.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing to change really.
Run
  • 28m 18s
  • 3 miles
  • 09m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

Managed fairly well here. Coming out of T2, took mincing little steps, probably looked like an arsehole, but a glance at the Garmin showed I was making sub 9:30 so I kept it up. Walked about 30 seconds after turning into the neighborhood, and again for 30 or so after getting water. Aside from that, tried to maintain a pace that kept my overall pace around 9:30 or so. At the end, in sight of the finish, I stepped it up a bit, to below a 7:00 pace for the last 200 yards.
What would you do differently?:

This is tough. On one hand, I'd say nothing, since I was pleased with the overall effort here. On the other hand, I'm almost as slow running in relation to the pack, as I am swimming. Seems like making running improvements would be easier than swim improvements, and make for a more significant impact on race results. I'm just not sure what to do to make a difference. And given I'm in my mid-50s, I wonder if it's even possible.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around with TSW to get water and over to the food and snack shelter. Rewarded myself with a banana...and half an iced Dunkin Donut...with multi-colored sprinkles. Come on...I deserved it...Garmin says I expended 1,000 calories! So what if we went to the Golden Coin Diner on the way home and I ate three scrambled eggs, bacon, and two pancakes?

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Mediocre swim. Just recently starting into swimming this year, and I need to do more. But I'll say this: given I felt like I'd not trained enough, I managed to beat last year's time by about half a minute. So I must be doing something right, either through luck or time at it...which is approaching nine years now.

Event comments:

Another solid DQ effort. They have it down pretty good, and it's great to do their events. I'm going to miss these when we move, whether that's to MD, TX, or both.




Last updated: 2015-05-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:30 | 440 yards | 02m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/8
Overall: 187/210
Performance: Average
Suit: Zone 3 Aspire
Course: Out and back in Hammonton Park Lake
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Bad
T1
Time: 02:43
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:40:24 | 12 miles | 17.82 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/8
Overall: 103/210
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong
Course: Out from transition into the South Jersey farmlands to Atlantic Blueberry and back again.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 79
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:24
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:28:18 | 03 miles | 09m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/8
Overall: 166/210
Performance: Good
Course: Around the ballpark on sandy paths to a sidewalk beside the bike route. Then into a neighborhood for a bit, turn around and come back the same way.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Bad
Race evaluation [1-5] 4