Pantanella's Flat As A Pancake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Staten Island, New York
United States
Green Brook Racing
82F / 28C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 17m 49s
Overall Rank = 61/369
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 10/44
Pre-race routine:

Got up around 4:30, had a peanut butter on whole wheat and a cup of coffee, gathered my stuff, and drove to the site.
Event warmup:

Got there really early. Transition was supposed to close at 6:30, even though the race didn't start until 8:45. Set up my spot, met Tim (1stTimerinNY), which was cool, then just kinda milled around. Went to the bathroom about a million times. More boredom than nervousness, I think. Watched the Oly start, then put on my suit. As I was heading to the line, I saw my wife, dad, and son. Wife took a really dorky picture of me.
Swim
  • 10m 26s
  • 440 yards
  • 02m 22s / 100 yards
Comments:

This swim was tough. I went out really fast, which was part of the plan, then found some room and settled into a pace, but for whatever reason, I really didn't feel smooth at all. Water was a little choppy. Also drifted off course a little a couple of times.
What would you do differently?:

Time isn't terrible--an improvement on my last OWS time, but room for improvement. Better sighting, focus more on form, and practice bilat breathing.
Transition 1
  • 01m 58s
Comments:

Much better than my last T1, but not great. I was really loopy from the swim, and almost fell over trying to get my suit off, but I got it off fast, got into my shoes, and headed out pretty quickly. Had a little trouble clipping in.
What would you do differently?:

Practice more.
Bike
  • 39m 27s
  • 12 miles
  • 18.25 mile/hr
Comments:

Having cadence on my computer was a huge help. I really focused on staying in the 85-90 range, and the speed kind of took care of itself. I pushed, but never felt like I was hammering a too difficult gear or straining. Speed was consistently in the 20-22 range, and I passed a lot more people than passed me, including lots of guys in my AG.
My left aerobar came loose (!) and started sagging downward about 4 miles in, so I spent the entire ride in the drops. Weird. NEVER happened before. Never even occurred to me to check it before the race. Won't make that mistake again. That coulda been A LOT worse.
Aerodrink was a great addition. I love it--I'll never race a sprint with bottles again. If the race had been longer, though, I would have needed more fluid.


What would you do differently?:

Check my arobars before the race.
Transition 2
  • 01m 3s
Comments:

The turnoff came up quicker than I expected so I a) didn't have my feet all the way out of my shoes b) missed the turnoff. So I didn't get to perform the "jump off the bike w/shoes still attached" maneuver. But I coulda. Honest.
Tried to rack my bike bars-in and couldn't. Duh...aerodrink. Got my shoes on, grabbed a gel and some water, and headed out.
What would you do differently?:

Not miss the turnoff. Drink more.
Run
  • 24m 56s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

Hot and humid. Saw at least one guy get carted off the course on a stretcher from heat exhaustion. Just tried to keep a consistent pace, picking it up a little at each mile beep from my garmin. Had a swig of gatorade and dumped a cup of water on my head at each aid station.
I was doing a good job of picking targets and running them down, but, with about 3/4 of a mile to go, I just kind of ran out of rabbits. Everyone was either too far ahead and too fast, and no one else passed me. I wonder if I would have run faster if I'd had more people to chase.
Managed to sprint the last 50-75 yeards or so, saw my boy just past the finish and gave him a big hug---soaking him with water and sweat. Sorry mom.
What would you do differently?:

Either slow down and drink more, or learn to drink while running at a faster pace. I could have used more gatorade. Pace is a little slower than Lonestar, but still pretty good for me. I felt like I was going much more slowly.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank some water, stood under the showers. Ate a few grapes, but couldn't stomach the idea of eating any pancakes. Gathered my stuff, and headed home.
Ate lots of barbecue!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I think functioning aerobars would have helped a little. Better hydration--more water at T2, and taking in more water on the course, probably would have helped too. More practice.
I beat the time from my last race by almost 8 minutes, and my goal by 2 minutes, so no complaints.

Event comments:

A pretty good no-frills local race. Making the people in the sprint get there 3 hours before the start was silly and could have been planned better. Still, it's convenient, cheap and a good course, so I'd probably do it again.




Last updated: 2007-02-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:10:26 | 440 yards | 02m 22s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/369
Performance: Average
Time includes about a 100yard run up the beach.
Suit: Full
Course: Straight line saltwater bay swim, followed by left turn onto the beach. Run up beach about 100y to T1.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:58
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:39:27 | 12 miles | 18.25 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/369
Performance: Good
HR was pretty high 167 avgerage, and max 170, which is close to LT.
Wind: Little
Course: 3 loops on a closed road. Sharp u-turns at each end. Very flat.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:03
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:24:56 | 03.1 miles | 08m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/369
Performance: Good
Again , close to LT. 171avg, 180 max.
Course: Out and back along an asphalt path, and then back in on the boardwalk.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 3