North East Triathlon - Sprint Course - Triathlon


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North East, Maryland
United States
Piranha Sports
79F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 55m 42s
Overall Rank = 179/228
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 8/17
Pre-race routine:

Woke at 3:00 to drive down to the race start with my training partner and a friend. Packet pick-up at 5:30. Had half a peanut butter sandwich and my standard cherry coke zero for breakfast while driving down.
Event warmup:

Rode a short distance from the parking area to the packet pick-up/transition area. Went to check out the swim to transition area route and discovered the route was rocky. Went back to transition and got a pair of extra running shoes to leave at the swim exit. No other warm up other than my usual pre-race freak out fest. :)
Swim
  • 22m 49s
  • 750 meters
  • 03m 02s / 100 meters
Comments:

This was the "roughest" start I ever had in a triathlon with lots of contact between swimmers but it didn't really bother me. I was kind of surprised that it didn't bother me. I did about 20 strokes of backstroke at one point but managed to swim the rest of the time without stopping. Sighting was better than average for me - slightly below average for the "most" swimmers - and I only ended a little off course a couple of times.
What would you do differently?:

Keep working on my swimming and sighting. I'm getting stronger but have a way to go! Leaving shoes at the exit point really helped me, I think because I was able to run almost the whole way to the transition point instead of having to walk gently over the rocks.
Transition 1
  • 01m 55s
Comments:

I felt like I had a pretty smooth transition other than having a bit of trouble getting my bike shoes on. I just bike in my running shoes on flatter courses and hadn't trained enough on putting my shoes on.
What would you do differently?:

I tried something new (which you should never do) and just put my wet feet into my socks which had baby powder in them. A fellow competitor said that it would help the socks just slide on. It worked like a charm. But, by the time I got to the run my feet were really uncomfortable because of the baby powder. I think I'll skip that next time. I also need to practice more if I'm going to use my bike shoes.
Bike
  • 50m 7s
  • 13.5 miles
  • 16.16 mile/hr
Comments:

I was able to do the whole route in my big ring although it was a struggle a few times to keep my pace up. I went a little too long between drinks and really bonked at about mile 8. (My pace dropped to about 8 mph after climbing a short hill that I should've been able to do in at least 10 mph.)
What would you do differently?:

Force myself to drink a little sooner, other than that I had a really good ride.
Transition 2
  • 01m 59s
Comments:

I stumbled again getting my bike shoes off. I also had a little trouble racking my bike because the racks were too tall for me and my bike. Once I got my bike shoes off I rushed to jam my running shoes on and ended up tying the right one too tight. I also forgot to put on my race belt with my race bib pinned to it.
What would you do differently?:

Keep practicing with my bike shoes if I'm going to wear them and remember to put on *all* my running gear.
Run
  • 38m 51s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 12m 32s  min/mile
Comments:

I lost about 45 seconds about a quarter mile in when I realized I forgot to put on my running belt with my race number. I dithered going back and forth on whether to return to T2 to get it. Because this wasn't a USAT sanctioned race I decided eventually to forget it and plug on. About half a mile in my foot was going numb from the shoe being tied too tight. I decided that I would just push through since it was a sprint race. I ended up doing 30/1:30 run/walk intervals and struggled the whole time. I was wheezing after each run interval and felt like I was just barely hanging on. I was surprised when I saw my final results because this turned out to be a faster fun than I expected since my training paces are about a minute per mile slower.
What would you do differently?:

Tie my shoes correctly in T2 and remember to wear my bib so I don't waste time and energy going back and forth trying to decide what to do. Other than that I pretty much ran this leg as I planned. I need to get better on running but I did the best I could for my fitness level.
Post race
Warm down:

First thing I did was change shoes and relieve my foot pain. Then I walked around and rehydrated and waited for my friend to finish. No other special cool down other than walking/biking back to the parking area.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The quickest improvement I can make is to practice with my bike shoes - on and off. The biggest improvement is that I need to get better at running. That's where I lost the most ground in the standings.

Event comments:

The swim instructions were a little confusing at the start, but we all figured it out before we actually got into the water. (The course was only laid out for the sprint, they were going to lay out for the Olympic after our wave, but no one told us that so we couldn't figure out ahead of time what the swim course looked like.) There was a mix-up in the medal delivery so some people had to wait to get their medals mailed to them but the organizers were straight up about it. I didn't come close to medaling so I didn't care too much. Overall I really liked this race and wouldn't mind driving back to do it again.




Last updated: 2015-08-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:22:49 | 750 meters | 03m 02s / 100meters
Age Group: 12/17
Overall: 180/228
Performance: Average
Suit: none
Course: Pretty much a rectangle - swim out, turn right, turn right, last leg was actually a left turn to exit point.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 79F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:55
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:50:07 | 13.5 miles | 16.16 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/17
Overall: 107/228
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Loop route with rolling hills. The shoulders/roads were in pretty good shape for riding. The hills were a little more frequent and slightly tougher than I expected.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:59
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:38:51 | 03.1 miles | 12m 32s  min/mile
Age Group: 14/17
Overall: 220/228
Performance: Average
Course: slightly inclined out and back along the main road
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4