Tri the Parks - Indian Springs State Park - TriathlonSprint


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Flovilla, Georgia
United States
Blue Sky Sports
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 29m 20s
Overall Rank = 303/484
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 47/54
Pre-race routine:

Pretty much everything I needed was pre-packed and ready to go. Woke up at 0-dark:30, put on my clothes, gave Beth a "good-bye" peck, grabbed t-bag, and headed to the garage. Grabbed small cooler from fridge, loaded car, loaded bike on rack, and hit the road. I was ahead of schedule and feeling good for the hour+ drive to Flovilla. Sipped some water during the drive, ate my usual PB&H sandwich, and then just chilled to some good music. Thought the fact that I nabbed the last parking space close to transition was a good omen...
Event warmup:

Grabbed stuff from car, located rack, and set up t-area. Noticed that one of my aero bar arm rest covers had blown off during the ride, so had a bit of a panic attack. Some guy named Max overheard a conversation about same and graciously offered to give me the one I needed off an aero bar in his car. Max rocks. After relaxing a bit and finishing t-setup, I chatted with a few folks and then went for a little warm-up run to try and get the blood flowing and calm the nerves. Dan Arnett had it right when he noted that I looked nervous. I was unsettled and am sure it was due to worries about the stupid swim.
Swim
  • 18m 22s
  • 656 yards
  • 02m 48s / 100 yards
Comments:

My first race, I swam in the last wave with the other Novices (aka, "the kindler, gentler, more clueless people"); this time, I was with the 40-49 AG - approximately 90 people strong. These guys take no prisoners. From the start, I got hit from all sides except my head. Prior to the start I was doubting my swim, and the continued jostling contributed to me never establishing any rhythm to speak of. This said, midway through the swim, I did find my sense of humor still intact, as I noted the "preppy" look in the lake brought about by the lime green caps of the remnants from my wave mixing with the hard-charging hot pink caps of the gals from the wave behind. Lilly Pulitzer would've been very impressed and pleased.
What would you do differently?:

Not be such a head case.
Transition 1
  • 01m 52s
Comments:

Reeling from the carnage that was my swim, I was in a bit of a daze here and didn't move very quickly
Overall 276/484
What would you do differently?:

Not be in such a daze.
Bike
  • 37m 51s
  • 12.8 miles
  • 20.29 mile/hr
Comments:

After a bit of trouble getting my left foot clipped in, I was able to get up to speed and start reeling in some folks. This felt good and if I'd not been so discouraged with my swim, I might've been able to go a bit faster. My goal was to finish @ 20+ mph, so I accomplished this one.
What would you do differently?:

Not much here - just stay focused and take each segment of a tri as a standalone race.
Transition 2
  • 01m 31s
Comments:

My rack was closer to the "Run Exit," so I had a bit of a traverse once at the dismount line. Prior to dismounting, I managed to get out of my bike shoes and finish the ride with feet on top of shoes. I'm sure spectators we're thinking "Why's that pro so far behind everybody?" It felt good to hit T2 so "ready." Unfortunately, after jogging up the parking lot hill in my barefeet and getting to my rack space, my mind just went blank. I took off helmet fine, but then I hesitated getting right into running shoes, grabbing visor, run belt, and getting out of there. Old age I guess. ;) Easily lost 15-30 seconds while wading through the mist in my mind.
Overall 313/484
What would you do differently?:

Not be in a fog!
Run
  • 29m 45s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 09m 36s  min/mile
Comments:

Came off the bike feeling a bit more upbeat. As soon as I left T2, though, my left hamstring sent me a "package;" rather than "refuse delivery" (and likely due to my already less than stellar mental state about swim), I slowed down my pace and just jogged. While doing so, fairly early in the run, I came across a young guy (Jackson McLendon) who's older brother (Rob) smoked the course in a nice 1:04 and change; Jackson was walking and his body language said "completely discouraged." I thought to myself, "I know the feeling, dude, but you're half my age and I'm not letting you walk." So, I tapped him on the shoulder and said "Come on...let's finish this thing." It wasn't fast, we took a couple of walk breaks at the water stations and coming out of the "lollipops," and I came to learn that this was his first. Way to go, Jackson. As we neared the turn from the road to the finish, his brother was waiting for him. I nudged him and told him to go finish with his brother; meanwhile, I picked up the pace and held off at least one AG'er who tried to snake past me prior to the "chute."
What would you do differently?:

Despite feeling like doing so, not "mail in" the run portion.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, started connecting with the NAMC/BT crew, drank some water, ate some orange slices

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Me. As noted earlier in this manifesto, I need to take each segment of a race as its own race. If one segment goes poorly, I simply need to say "Screw it!" and get on with the next one as if I'm leading the damn race!

Event comments:

Blue Sky Sports is awesome. They do a great job putting on races and trying to connect with the local community. Would highly recommend their races to anybody/everybody!!




Last updated: 2007-04-29 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:22 | 656 yards | 02m 48s / 100yards
Age Group: 53/54
Overall: 426/484
Performance: Bad
Suit: No
Course: Too long! ;) Triangle, start at right side of shore line, swim to right, left turn round first big buoy, long straight that paralleled shore, and then another left around big buoy back to shore.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 84F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:52
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:37:51 | 12.8 miles | 20.29 mile/hr
Age Group: 28/54
Overall: 161/484
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Out and back
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 90+
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:31
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:29:45 | 03.1 miles | 09m 36s  min/mile
Age Group: 46/54
Overall: 363/484
Performance: Below average
Course: Hilly, out and back including a couple of brutal "lollipops", through camping area.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 1
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? No
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