St. George Triathlon "SGTRI" - Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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St. George, Utah
United States
BBSC
90F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 34m 18s
Overall Rank = 200/559
Age Group = 40-45
Age Group Rank = 17/34
Pre-race routine:

Pitched my tent in the 'primitive camping area' at the lake rather than staying in a hotel this year. Would have been great but for the ATVs/dune buggy's and thumping stereos going until 3AM from other 'campers'. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. I'd do it again but hopefully could get a spot in the campground.
Event warmup:

Stretching in the wet suit. Couple hundred yards of swim warm-up.
Swim
  • 20m
  • 750 meters
  • 02m 40s / 100 meters
Comments:

Most physical of the OWS starts I've been in. Was kicked hard a few times. Swam over a couple people. Vice versa. Fat lip. That being said, this was by far the most comfortable I've been in the open water. Sighted well. Didn't hyperventilate. Was calm before the start. Gave a good, steady, consistent effort and my heart rate was steady. Might have have pushed a little harder but was pleased overall.
What would you do differently?:

Pleased with the time considering how little swimming I've been doing; pace was right on last years but I was much more comfortable.

(Official time was 39 seconds slower my time which was strange considering every other event and transition matched almost exactly).
Transition 1
  • 02m 28s
Comments:

No wet-suit strippers so getting the wet-suit off took a more time. Suit got stuck on my ankles.
What would you do differently?:

More 'body-glide' around the calves and ankles.
Bike
  • 39m 40s
  • 20 kms
  • 30.25 km/hr
Comments:

Again about the same pace as last year with less effort. As usual my best event. The hill was tough but certainly not as tough as I remembered. I was concerned about the calf cramping and pushing it too hard. Kept a steady climb on the hill and hammered a harder everywhere else. About a mile an hour faster pace than my training runs on a similar course.

My bike is fast. Topped out at 49.4 mph! Group of three Oly racers on high end bikes and wheels passed me (all about my size) before coming back on the steep hill; by the bottom I went by every one of them on the downhill mainly coasting on my good ole Nemesis costing thousands less. Got to love that.
What would you do differently?:

It was a good bike leg. A good effort pushing it hard in the right places. Legs were a little stiff coming off but not feeling like Jello. Thankfully no major leg cramping other than some stiffness in the left calf.


Transition 2
  • 01m 43s
Comments:

Might be time to pick up some tri bike shoes. The buckle on my road bike shoes is a pain to deal with in transitions.
What would you do differently?:

Get some tri bike shoes without buckles so I can get out of my shoes on the bike.
Run
  • 29m 56s
  • 5 kms
  • 05m 59s  min/km
Comments:

Thankfully no major cramping in my calves, but feeling terrible gut cramps out of transition. I had a Hammer Gel an hour before the race and one right at start and I guess they didn't sit well though I thought I'd hydrated enough. Or perhaps I was over-hydrated because of concerns about my calve cramps. I had a lot of Gatorade and water over the last couple of days. I don't know.

Whatever caused it, it sucked rocks. That combined with the fact that the run course had even more sand than last year. I don't mind the pain when the heart is pounding and and the lungs are burning. That is good pain. But the gut cramps are the worst. Completely took the wind out of my sails and made me not care about my time as it looked like I would easily beat last years overall time (which I did). AHR was low z2. So the potential was there to be much faster. My run pace was ~8' pace when I was running but I walked a lot more than I'd like hoping the cramps would subside.

The last half mile back on pavement was relatively strong. Probably ~6'30" pace so at least I finished strong.
What would you do differently?:

Figure out this gut cramping thing. Switch the Gatorade on the bike to water in the sprint races? Skip the gels? I don't know. Don't feel like it should be an issue with these sprints.
Post race
Warm down:

The usual post race bananas, grapes, orange slices and bottle of water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Drop off on focused training and inconsistent at that. Concern of pushing too hard on the bike for fear of aggravating my calf injury. Terrible gut cramps on the run. Perhaps a slight lack of overall motivation to push it hard for a couple more places when I knew I beat my goal time considerably (though I failed to realize the bike course was 2 miles shorter than last year).

Event comments:

Great race. Very well organized with BBSC taking over. Swim waves ran on time which was a huge bonus. Transition area was nicely set up. Very professional. Probably the most well run of any race I've been involved. Great grab bag. Good shirt. Big crowd. Not sure I will do it again because the trail run in that sand is just sick and the long drive. Maybe if I do the Oly and go with others.

Considering I'd had the nagging injuries leading up, the terrible gut cramping and the inconsistent training I was good with my results. Basically similar times to last year without having to expend the same level of effort and without near the training. But more importantly I had a good time.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2007-02-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:00 | 750 meters | 02m 40s / 100meters
Age Group: 20/34
Overall: 361/559
Performance: Average
AHR 145 ~ 2'26" per 100 yd pace
Suit: QR
Course: Slightly longer than last year (820 vs. 750 yards) but generally the same taking off from the shore swimming to a buoy and swimming parallel to the shore before coming back to shore and exiting at the boat ramp.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:28
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:39:40 | 20 kms | 30.25 km/hr
Age Group: 13/34
Overall: 105/559
Performance: Average
AHR 156 - 18.8 mph pace
Wind: Little
Course: Shorter than last year - otherwise the same course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:43
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:29:56 | 05 kms | 05m 59s  min/km
Age Group: 21/34
Overall: 289/559
Performance: Bad
AHR 152 - this is low z2. :( ~9'40" per mile pace
Course: Once again a nasty trail run over a lot of sand. Not much solid ground or even packed dirt. Everyone I spoke with agreed it was a more difficult run than last year. A simpler course; not as much weaving around. But all that weaving last year was to avoid all the sand of which there was plenty.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5