Los Alamos Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint


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Los Alamos, New Mexico
United States
Los Alamos County Recreation Division
64F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 30m 4s
Overall Rank = 155/301
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 10/16
Pre-race routine:

I only began training seven days prior to the race. This was a last minute
Event warmup:

Ate an energy bar 2 hours before the race and drank as much sports drink as I could get down. I arrived at the race location 1.5 hours prior to start, and set up my transition areas. (This race had a separate bike-to-swim transition and a swim-to-run transition area.) I warmed up for 5 minutes on the bike about 20 minutes before starting race.
Swim
  • 10h 50m 45s
  • 400 meters
  • 2h 42m 41s / 100 meters
Comments:

The swim went OK for me, but I did have trouble breathing. I swam freestyle for most of the time, but had to swim on my side to catch my breath a couple of times.
What would you do differently?:

More swim training.
Transition 1
  • 00m 40s
Comments:

T1 for this race was the bike to swim transition. There was about 100meters between the bike racks and the pool entry. You had to run across a pretty rough parking lot and road (which made it fun). I slipped my feet out of my bike shoes before stopping and then ran to the rack with the bike. From there, I dropped an earplug and wasted some time drinking my Gu/water mixture which I pretty much ignored on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Practice this transition before the race - especially for someone who isn't used to a bike-to-swim transition.
Bike
  • 47m 59s
  • 20 kms
  • 25.01 km/hr
Comments:

I kept my heart rate at the lower edge of zone 4 and couldn't give much more on the uphill portion. I was uncomfortable with the speed coming downhill and had to break several times.
What would you do differently?:

Get on a bike sooner than the day before the race. I trained for 4 days on an exercise bike in the gym, but borrowed my friends bike for the race and did not even ride it until the day before the race.
Transition 2
  • 00m 57s
Comments:

T2 for this race was the swim to run transition. For the swim to run transition, all went pretty well. I quickly dried my feet, put on my shoes, and donned my shirt and hat while running away.
What would you do differently?:

Since there are two transition areas for this race, I didn't have a second Gu/water bottle to put here for the run. Next time, I would have one for my bike and another here for the run.
Run
  • 31m 14s
  • 5 kms
  • 06m 15s  min/km
Comments:

I had a real hard time catching my breath coming out of the pool. Combine this with an uphill trek and I was hurting on the first half of the run. I started running slower than a 10 min pace and it took a good mile to catch my breath and get into a decent stride.
What would you do differently?:

Get more of that energy drink down on the bike. I was a little dehydrated on the run and was low on energy. (Could have been that I wasn't in very good shape either!) I was able to increase my stride quite a bit on the last half (mostly downhill), but couldn't make up the damage from the first half.
Post race
Warm down:

Simple walk off, a banana, a bagel, powerade.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Only one week of training and the altitude.

Event comments:

Overall, this was a fantastic race. Los Alamos is a nice little town tucked away in the beautiful Jemez mountains just west of Santa Fe. Although the course was short, the altitude and hills made it challenging and the scenery kept it from being boring. The unique format (bike, swim, run) was also nice. The swim allowed your legs to recover a little before the run. The only negative I have is the pre-race organization. The bike racks weren't marked and the racks were too close and didn't allow any place to put transition gear. Also, having two transition areas was not ideal because you couldn't get to the T2 area until after getting out of the pool (so you either had to have two pairs of sunglasses or not wear them on the run). Overall, it was a great race and I would definately do it again if I have the chance.




Last updated: 2006-08-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
10:50:45 | 400 meters | 2h 42m 41s / 100meters
Age Group: 6/16
Overall: 0/301
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: The swim was in the Los Alamos Aquatic Center - at about 7400ft above sea level. Very nice facility, but the altitude comes into play when trying to breathe. They had eight 50m laps set up and you swam down one, then transitioned to the next until you swam all eight.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:40
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:47:59 | 20 kms | 25.01 km/hr
Age Group: 11/16
Overall: 0/301
Performance: Average
Wind: None
Course: Tough, hilly course. The race starts on the bike and within a half mile is heading steeply uphill. There is a 4-5 mile climb at the start, then varing hills to the halfway/turn-around point. Another 2-3 mile climb after the turn-around and then a long downhill where pedaling is very optional.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:57
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:31:14 | 05 kms | 06m 15s  min/km
Age Group: 11/16
Overall: 0/301
Performance: Average
Course: Not an easy course. The altitude is about 7400ft and the run leaves the pool and is mostly up hill for the first half of the course. Its only 5k, but the altitude and hills make it tougher than a normal 5k.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5