Turtleman Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Shoreview, Minnesota
United States
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 46m 28s
Overall Rank = 486/777
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 64/88
Pre-race routine:

Got up about 5:30 after getting a fitful night's sleep between the anticipation and the big thunderstorms that rolled through. Had my 2 slices of PB toast and a cup of coffe, finished packing and rolled out the door.
Event warmup:

Got my transition all set up, hit the portapotties, chatted a bit with Bryan (mndiver), Rodger (rabakman), and Sal (sparco). Ran about 5 minutes out of transition just to get the legs moving and did a short swim warmup which I cut short since the water was DISGUSTING.
Swim
  • 36m 2s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 12s / 100 yards
Comments:

Time trial start with people going off every three seconds. The first 50 - 100 yards was just horribly disgusting. The soft, silty bottom had been so stirred up that when you put your face in the water it was like swimming through tar. You couldn't possibly see anything at all. After the water cleared up a little then you got to the weeds. I felt like the freaking beast from the blue lagoon with all the weeds hanging off me. Just nasty. I settled in and found some feet to draft off but soon enough, that person was taking a hard left off course. I really couldn't find another appropriate set of feet so I went to it on my own. Total time was about 2:30 slower than last year but I wore a wetsuit last year. The hardest part of this for me is that I can't figure out why my OW swims suck compared to my pool swims. I think this might have been a tad long since the top swim time was 20:36 and typically the top swims will be more like 18 or 19 minutes. Still, if I'm swimming in the 50m long course pool and can hold just under 2:00/100m in a long set, why the hell am I swimming 2:12/100 YARDS?!?! Frustrating...
What would you do differently?:

Consider pushing a little harder? Figure out why I'm slower in OWS situations?
Transition 1
  • 01m 35s
Comments:

Got through transition pretty quickly but this is one of those where your rack spot totally dictates your transition time. Its horribly inequitable but what are you gonna do? I had a quick, easy, and smooth transition and it sure is nice to be able to ride your bike IN transition.
What would you do differently?:

Nothin' much. Sure is easy to do T1 when you have no wetsuit.
Bike
  • 1h 05m 58s
  • 21.4 miles
  • 19.46 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt pretty dang good about this bike. I got of to a shaky start as I was having some real trouble getting into my shoes. They were smooshed down and I had to take a couple tries to get my foot fully in the shoe on both feet. Once I got up to speed I got to cranking. I was feeling good almost the whole way through and did a good job of grabbing swigs of a light mix of Perpetuem every 10 minutes or so. I did feel like I ended up drinking a little too much, though. I thought I might've been able to get to my goal of cracking 20 mph average in a tri today but the winds really kicked in on the back half of the course bringing my average down a little. For the most part, I thought I rode really well and had some great turns. It drives me crazy getting stuck behind people who go really slow through the big sweeping corners. There's no reason to hit the brakes on a wide corner when the road is dry and clean. But I do love rocketing by those people as they try to get back up to speed after hanging on the brakes way to long through the corner. This course is generally really good but somehow, the last couple miles of this course are a little weird on my psyche. I think its somewhat uphill and into the wind plus it was REALLY crowded so I wasn't moving along as well as I might've liked. Still, I think my 19.5 mph average is my best yet and I'm pretty pleased with it! I did beat my last year's time by over 3 minutes, too. I do have to work on tweaking my position with the new Adamo saddle. I haven't yet found the spot where I can settle in and stay in aero without getting really uncomfortable or that I have to keep sliding back in the saddle. I did wear my new Oomph! Lava Compression Tri shorts today and they were the cat's pajamas. The pad is a combo of the traditional fleece and a thin layer of neoprene under that and they are wicked comfortable. I almost want to go out and buy another pair but they are NOT cheap. I found them on sale for "only" $95 but its better than the regular price of $115. I 'spose that's about how much you'd pay for good cycling shorts so I feel justified. :)
What would you do differently?:

Get my position nailed down before a race. Keep cranking the last couple of miles.
Transition 2
  • 02m 20s
Comments:

Before the race, I realized I'd forgotten to swap out my laces with Yankz so this took a little longer than I'd hoped. Otherwise, this went well. Bike racked, helmet off, socks on, shoes on and tied, running while putting on hat.
What would you do differently?:

Not forget to use Yankz.
Run
  • 1h 00m 35s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt really sluggish on this run. Even when I was trying to push it I couldn't seem to pick up much time. It was quite hot and very humid but I don't think that was much of a limiting factor. Like most races, I got destroyed on the run. Perhaps my primary focus in this offseason will be running LOTS to try to improve this discipline. I sure would love to be able to keep up with that 67 year old guy who blew by me like I was standing still.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to run faster?
Post race
Warm down:

As soon as I crossed the finish line and stopped to have my chip taken off, my left quad cramped up into a ball. Fortunately, a little walking made that go away. I got some water and did some stretching before retrieving my gear. I waited around for a bit to get a short massage and I'm SO glad I did. She worked only on my legs and that was an incredible aid to recovery. My only regret is not having her work on my glutes, especially my chronically tight right glute.

I also decided to do this race "naked" wearing only a stopwatch. No HRM. No GPS. Just RPE. I thought I governed this really well on the bike, OK on the swim, and pretty poorly on the run. I felt like I could have pushed a lot harder on the run but that my legs wouldn't cooperate. Perhaps they would have but the more important thing is for me to learn techniques to tune out those little cramps and such and push myself to go faster.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

OWS technique. Inability to run fast, especially off the bike.

Event comments:

Great race, great course when the water level isn't super low, great volunteers.




Last updated: 2007-03-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:36:02 | 1640 yards | 02m 12s / 100yards
Age Group: 64/88
Overall: 487/777
Performance: Below average
Suit: None
Course: Rectangular; two right hand turns
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 79F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:35
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
01:05:58 | 21.4 miles | 19.46 mile/hr
Age Group: 55/88
Overall: 385/777
Performance: Good
Looked at my watch at 10, 15 and 20 miles and was right on for 20 mph but I think I probably hit my lap button a tad late.
Wind: Some
Course: On the highways and byways 'round Turtle Lake.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 94
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 02:20
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Bad
Running
01:00:35 | 06.21 miles | 09m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 69/88
Overall: 554/777
Performance: Below average
Course: Rectangular around Turtle Lake.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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] 4