Caveman Triathlon - Triathlon


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Flower Mound, Texas
United States
Dallas Athletes Racing
55F / 13C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 10m 38s
Overall Rank = 86/329
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 10/26
Pre-race routine:

Ate eggs, bacon, and toast. An Ensure and a little bit of green tea for some caffeine. Picked up Jennifer on the way to the race. Even though I knew the temp was like 50 degrees, I had it in my head that the morning was going to be warm. The race organizer said that we'd be staying in transition until it was time to go to the pool and asked us to wear masks until such time. Luckily, I was called to go into the pool in the first group of 100 people, so I didn't have to wait outside much. And because of that, I got to keep on my sweatpants/sweatshirt until time to walk to the pool.
Event warmup:

Not much since I had not swam in over a year (except maybe 1/2 mile in Lake Michigan the previous June while on vacation). I also had not done any race specific training whatsoever. Just normal rides & running. I jogged a bit in transition and tried to stay warm & loose.
Swim
  • 05m 8s
  • 275 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

Well, I hadn't swam in a long time and surprisingly I felt pretty good. Until about 3 laps in and my left pec started to cramp. I thought that was really strange, so I made sure to back off the pace a little. Guess that's what happens when your muscle doesn't get used for a long time. Only maybe 2 people passed me, so I waited at the edge so they could pass. Didn't swallow any water and felt tired at the end, but not overly tired - what a relief. I wasn't really worried about the swim because it was so short, but I was still curious how I'd perform. I was happy with how I felt and then seeing the results afterwards, I was even more happy.
What would you do differently?:

If there wasn't a pandemic going on for the last year I would've been in the pool a lot. Wouldn't have done anything differently for this race.
Transition 1
  • 02m 2s
Comments:

Kind of surprised that T1 took so long, but probably just a little rusty. Also, the volunteers were telling me to take the long way out. Wish I hadn't listened to them. Probably only added 5 seconds or so, but still.
What would you do differently?:

One of these days I'll learn to run barefoot with shoes already clipped in. I practiced it a little several years ago, but never tried it in a race.
Bike
  • 36m 45s
  • 11.5 miles
  • 18.78 mile/hr
Comments:

I've ridden this course before a couple years ago and knew what to expect. Last time it was rainy and wet, this time it was nice and dry and I knew I could corner faster. It was soo cold starting out - 50 degrees or so and being wet. I was worried my quads were going to cramp, but they never did. I also made sure not to kill myself on the bike because I wanted to have a good run. I tried to just maintain a fast steady pace. I am extremely happy with my bike performance. It set me up nicely for the run. Again, I didn't do any race specific training, so my kind of lackluster 18.78mph average is just meh. Had a water bottle that I sipped from a little bit throughout. I think I drank just the right amount.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Transition 2
  • 01m 16s
Comments:

My dismount seemed kind of clunky, but was probably fine to any observers. When I got to my rack, whomever was on the other side of me just like threw their water bottle down and it was making a puddle all underneath my bag. I was irritated (maybe it wasn't their fault) and so I moved my bag out of the way so it wouldn't continue getting more wet. I sat down to put my shoes on. Hadn't raced in these sockless shoes in several years. I was hoping my feet wouldn't instantly hate them. Love my Zoot shoes.
What would you do differently?:

Same as T1, learn to leave shoes clipped in and dismount barefoot.
Run
  • 25m 28s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 13s  min/mile
Comments:

I started out feeling excellent. There was a younger woman who started right behind me and I heard one of her cheerers saying to go sub 7:30/miles. As she quickly passed me, I laughed to myself and wished I could keep up with her and that if that's what 7:30/mile looked like, count me out, haha. I stayed calm and had really good breathing. Just kept telling myself to take it easy and that if I felt good at halfway, then I could ramp it up. The whole time up to the halfway point I was feeling really good and started telling myself to negative split the run. I almost never look at my watch while running and just go on RPE and the same was true for this race. I just turned up the intensity and passed a lot of people. After the race was over, I realized I probably had a lot more in the tank and could've gone harder the first half, but oh well. I was so happy with my performance.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Post race
Warm down:

Jennifer saw me finish, although I didn't see her. She caught up with my seconds after. I caught my breath and drank a little water. Stretched and then we actually just headed to transition. I didn't think I was getting an award and the RO had already said they would be mailing awards. Luckily, they opened transition even though people were still out on the bike. I guess in an effort to get people dispersed more quickly than normal.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training, training, training. Not swimming for a year had its effects and so did not doing any race specific cycling and running. I didn't care though. I just wanted to see how I could do in a race right now. The race got postponed last year to this year.

Event comments:

So glad that this race didn't get cancelled and that I got an opportunity to race. Haven't really thought about racing in almost a year anyway. This makes me want to get signed up for some races now.




Last updated: 2021-04-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:08 | 275 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 10/26
Overall: 58/329
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Up 1 lane, down the next serpentine style.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:02
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:36:45 | 11.5 miles | 18.78 mile/hr
Age Group: 13/26
Overall: 116/329
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: 2 loop course. Little bit of downhill, I think I got up to about 27mph in those sections.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:16
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:25:28 | 03.1 miles | 08m 13s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/26
Overall: 76/329
Performance: Good
Course: Out & back through the park and on paved trail/sidewalk. More downhill going out and uphill coming back.
Keeping cool Good Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
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:
Race evaluation [1-5]