Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Sprint - TriathlonSprint


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Galveston, Texas
United States
EndorFUN SPORTS
70F / 21C
Precipitation
Total Time = 1h 14m 35s
Overall Rank = 62/863
Age Group = 25-29 F
Age Group Rank = 3/61
Pre-race routine:

I always seem to get really nervous about getting to the race early enough, but then I end up having too much time to sit around and get even more nervous. Oh well. Ate a baby Cliff bar and a Vitamin water while my half-comatose boyfriend drove to the race. All the way there debated about whether or not to wear my wetsuit. Heart rate was probably already around 150.
Event warmup:

Took a jog following part of the run course - bummed to find out that there was a decent hill involved. Made many laps back and forth between transition, car, and port-o-pots (definitely adequately hydrated). I figured that counted as leg warmup :) Got mom and boyfriend to trek with me to the swim start with my wetsuit so I could make the decision. Ended up opting for the wetsuit and splashing around.
Swim
  • 08m 42s
  • 550 meters
  • 01m 35s / 100 meters
Comments:

Definitely glad I opted for the wetsuit - not for water temp sake, just for leg flotation and overall comfort. About 100m away from the finish, it started pouring. Fantastic. I was really nervous that the thunderstorms we had seen off in the distance (and that were forecasted the night before) were rolling in and that the race would be called. Thank goodness it wasn't.
What would you do differently?:

Not die on the swim. I was noticeably winded when I came up the ramp.
Transition 1
  • 01m 59s
Comments:

Holy cow, wetsuit strippers are the most brilliant idea EVER. That woman stripped my wetsuit off like it was her life purpose. God bless her. It got somewhat hung up on one of my ankles, but shoot, I can't imagine it made more than 0.5 seconds difference. What was worse were all the people from the waves in front of me who were walking and blocking the path. I had to run off the nice carpet so that I didn't get hung up. Transition walkways should be like all traffic - left lane for passing only! And please don't just chill out in the middle of the carpet!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, really.
Bike
  • 40m 6s
  • 12.5 miles
  • 18.70 mile/hr
Comments:

Maiden voyage on the new hot K-Factor was quite a success!! I clearly have room for improvement, but overall, not a bad ride. I passed way more people than passed me, so that's always encouraging. Not sure about my pace or cadence, but it felt fairly reasonable. I'm bummed that the weather and location conditions have left their mark on my new beautiful bike (some small rust forming that I can't get off for the life of me). I've also made some mental notes about fit changes that I need to make. And for the love of God, I MUST have a new seat - the one I have currently was miserable.
What would you do differently?:

Be stronger on the bike so I don't have to change gears as often.
Transition 2
  • 01m 5s
Comments:

Luckily my racking spot was very close to the bike in/out. So I didn't have far to run in my shoes. Overall satisfactory, I guess.
What would you do differently?:

Go faster? I don't really know.
Run
  • 22m 41s
  • 3 miles
  • 07m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

TONS of volunteers along the route (good job and THANKS to everyone at the BT station!). Unfortunately, my plan from last time backfired. I turned my footpod on before the start of the swim, but wouldn't you know it, the stupid thing is too smart... it turned off after x amount of time without movement. So all along the run I had no clue how fast I was going - so apparently I just figured, run faster. Ha! I think I got a lot of motivation from comfortably passing a decent amount of people. Unfortunately, I saw the two girls from my age group FLY by me. No one had their age written on their calves, but I recognized the girls when they picked up their awards later. Oh well - no way do I think I'm ready to run a 7min mile yet (what it would have taken to fend them off - or a faster bike, of course). I think I should simply be thankful that I finished the race before the sky literally opened up. I'm not kidding when I say all of a sudden, buckets of rain were falling from the sky. It was miserable. I feel incredibly sorry for anyone (A LOT of people) still on the race course. Visibility was decreased to probably only a few feet, so I can't imagine what it would have been like to have been on the bike course.
What would you do differently?:

Figure out a way to simultaneously put my shoe on and turn the footpod thing on. This might take practice.
Post race
Warm down:

Sadly, just walking around in the rain and eating pizza/drinking tea/beer.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of leg strength.

Event comments:

My amazingly supportive Mom (to anyone who was there, she was likely one of the loudest bystanders) and my boyfriend (who took some great pictures) were SUCH troopers. We were all completely drenched by the end of the event, but no one complained and was so positive. I can't describe how awesome they both were and how thankful I was to have them both there.

As for the race, it was absolutely fabulous. I have never seen so many volunteers lining a race course with such enthusiasm. The pre-race expo was AWESOME. Tons of very worthwhile vendors with samples and great sales. It was terribly unfortunate that the weather clearly spoiled some of the post-race festivities (Budweiser had a really cool mini-patio area set up). But even despite the weather, the effort that was put into the race definitely showed. It was outstanding.

PS - if anyone else stayed at the Ramada... did your room feel like a swamp also? I know it was very humid outside, but man... our room never felt dry - no matter what I did. Also, our door didn't even lock properly - every time we left we had to jiggle it just right or it'd open right up. Note to self, don't stay there again.




Last updated: 2006-12-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:42 | 550 meters | 01m 35s / 100meters
Age Group: 1/61
Overall: 11/863
Performance: Good
I don't have a clue what my heart rate was, but I felt the ill effects of not enough swimming lately. I noticed my stroke got shot to hell after about half way, but I managed to suck it up.
Suit: Nike training polyester + Zoot sleeveless wetsuit
Course: Start in the water about 50m from the shore, swam in the bay (?) around this cool paddle boat, hard left, and then into shore. Water course wasn't hard to navigate, but there was only 2 buoys, which with the weather conditions were somewhat hard to spot. Ramps were well-marked and easy to traverse.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:59
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:40:06 | 12.5 miles | 18.70 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/61
Overall: 163/863
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: Pretty nice course with two speedbumps and some rough road (I got AminoVital all over me when it splashed out of my aero water bottle over one of the rough patches). Very well marked and well protected course along Seawall Blvd. - not to mention scenic. It was too bad that how overcast it was.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: ~90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:05
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:22:41 | 03 miles | 07m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 8/61
Overall: 132/863
Performance: Good
HR was around 190 almost the whole time.
Course: Very interesting WINDING route through Moody Gardens. Kind of a nice change of pace from an out and back on pavement.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5