Medford Lakes Colony Sprint Triathlon - Triathlon


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Medford Lakes, New Jersey
United States
DQ Events
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 48m 38s
Overall Rank = 154/223
Age Group = M 55-59
Age Group Rank = 13/19
Pre-race routine:

Spent the night in Marlton/Cherry Hill the night before, so was able to get up fairly late compared to what I'm used to. Ate a smoothie we'd made yesterday and frozen, and also had half a bagel with PB. While TSW slept, I went outside and pumped up tires and did other minor race prep until she was ready to go.
Event warmup:

Minimal warm-up. Set up transition, walked to the beach start, and put on the wetsuit pretty late. Didn't even get into the water until just before start, in time to pee!
Swim
  • 13m 21s
  • 440 yards
  • 03m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

This leg turned out pretty much as I expected. Longer pool workouts and longer intervals have definitely worked from a mental perspective, making this swim essentially nothing more than a workout. Stayed relaxed throughout, maintained breathing and stroke count as planned. Not much faster than previous, but I could've gone further. More or less in the zone throughout. Good swim for me.
What would you do differently?:

Start with the quick looks earlier than i actually did.
Transition 1
  • 02m 46s
Comments:

Pretty average T1, maybe a little slower than usual.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Jogged most of the way to my rack, so wetsuit removal, which went OK, was probably reason for slowness.
Bike
  • 57m 14s
  • 17.2 miles
  • 18.03 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike leg came out a little slower than I expected, and my power numbers were also lower than what I expected my race level to be. So that's frustrating. Trying to think through what caused the issue, but just not sure. Had difficulty seeing into the sun through fogged and smeared glasses on the outward portion of the first loop, so I ratcheted things down a bit there. It was actually a little scary not being able to see the road surface or much of anything else; other riders were just shadowy forms, so I stayed well back if anyone passed me.

On the second loop things were a little better, but on that outward leg it was still tough looking into the sun. I just watched the riders in front of me closely and mimicked their movements around potholes and such.
What would you do differently?:

Felt like I pushed just about right, so it was disappointing to see power numbers less than what I'd expected, indicating I potentially didn't push myself as hard as I should have. And given the way the run went, that's hard to believe. But I think biggest limiter here was the discomfort with visibility when riding into the sun, which slowed me down a little.
Transition 2
  • 02m 11s
Comments:

Would've liked to crack two minutes here. Always have difficulty fighting with my right shoe to get it on cleanly.
What would you do differently?:

Not too much. Wouldn't hurt to practice this, or get more comfortable balancing on left leg while putting on right shoe.
Run
  • 33m 8s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 10m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

Wheels fell off here. Was a humid morning and I was sucking moist air after maybe 10 minutes and struggling to breathe. Tried to keep trudging along but after the homeward water stop (through which I walked to splash water down my back), it was tough to keep going. I managed, but only at a very slow jog with intermittent walking breaks.
What would you do differently?:

I'm really baffled by the runs this year, including this one. My brick runs (although typically only a mile or so) have not been problematic. And my weekly runs haven't been problems either, although the heat and humidity this summer have been tough and likely played a role today. But I can only assume one of (or a combination of) the following: insufficient conditioning, new normal due to age (please don't let this be it), too hard on the bike (which doesn't jive with numbers there), or external factors (illness, weather, etc.). Again, I think humidity was an issue - it was very uncomfortable out there - so a slower pace would be dictated, but I wouldn't think it would make this much difference.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, drank a couple bottles of water, ate some food.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I think weather played a factor, although I've been training in similar. I'm worried maybe I'm just not adequately conditioned this year for some reason, even though I'm training similarly. Wonder if all of the flux associated with our moves and home closings and housing challenges have had an effect.

Event comments:

One of my favorite races. They were only about five minutes late starting the swim, so no biggie there. DQ does a nice job.




Last updated: 2016-08-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:21 | 440 yards | 03m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 190/223
Performance: Good
Suit: xterra sleeveless
Course: Out and back from the beach.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 82F / 28C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 02:46
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:57:14 | 17.2 miles | 18.03 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 118/223
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: Two loops from the transition area out into the South Jersey countryside and back.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 77
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:11
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:33:08 | 03.1 miles | 10m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/19
Overall: 178/223
Performance: Bad
Course: Straight out and back from transition on partially shaded street.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4