Tempe International Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Tucson Racing Inc.
77F / 25C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 03m 13s
Overall Rank = 6/452
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 1/95
Pre-race routine:

The usual. Got up, had a cup of coffee and a Cliff Bar,packed up my stuff and headed on down to Tempe Town Lake to race....again. I feel like I live down there having done 5 of the 7 races I have done in this exact same spot!
Event warmup:

Chatting with local tri folks, mostly about IMAZ.
Swim
  • 25m 24s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 33s / 100 yards
Comments:

I have a hard time accepting that this was a true 1500m course. Although wet suit legal, I opted to practice in my new Zoot Speedsuit as it is legal to use in Kona. I figured not wearing a wet suit would cost me maybe a min or two over 1500m. My last 1500m wet suit swim was 22:43. I have a hrad time accepting that 45 days later I am 3 min slower, wet suit or no! Looking at everyone's splits, it looks like the course was long, maybe by 100m or so. Everybody was talking about it. Regardless of the time, my swim feltvery good and the Zoot Speedsuit really feels good and regardless of my split, I'm glad I tried it out, although wearing my wet suit probably would have bumped me up a spot or two in the end.Where I had been planning a 23 min swim I ended up 25min and was not happy!
What would you do differently?:

I suppose just wear the wet suit and go for it. Anytime a race allows wet suits, wear them, folks!
Transition 1
  • 00m 55s
Comments:

No problems with transition, the speedsuit comes off super fast. I did have a moment of trouble with my helmet buckle, it was a little too tight.
What would you do differently?:

Double check my helmet strap!
Bike
  • 56m 1s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 26.62 mile/hr
Comments:

OK, I crushed the bike. I had the fsatest split for the day. I was more than a little annoyed about the swim and decided to make a statemtn on the bike. I pushed for all 4 laps. I have raced this same bike course 3 times now and really wanted to see how my cycling has improved since last year. It is well known that this bike course is about 1.5 miles short of 40K, so my average speed was really 26mph. I flet great, I felt very fast. I had one bottle of water mixed with 2 gels on my frame and made sure I drank 1/4 per lap.
What would you do differently?:

My best race pace yet, so nothing.
Transition 2
  • 00m 48s
Comments:

Fast in, fast on with my shoes, visor, race belt.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 40m 8s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

The overall winners time was a 38 and change and he runs 35-36 typically. My 40:08 is also 3min slower than my last Olympic. Only 5 people went sub 40min! So can't really compare my split here either. But I felt good, it was really starting to get hot. It's an Olympic run, it ALWAYS hurts! I was being persued by 2 other AG'ers, but managed to hold my pace, which was probably right around 6:00 flat based on my HR data. The field at the front was so spread out, I was alone the entire run.
What would you do differently?:

Hope that the RD gets the distance right so I don't have to go too far! ;)
Post race
Warm down:

Chatting with all the top finishers about how long the swim and run were!

Event comments:

This is a fun race, but it is a little chaotic sometimes. The RD is super guy, just not the ebst at timimg. I didn't mind the aid stations having only water as that's all I have time for, but I can understand other people complaining about the lack of additional aid product, especially if they were still on the course after 10:00am when the temps really got up there. The awards ceremony took a while to get started as well.




Last updated: 2007-05-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:24 | 1640 yards | 01m 33s / 100yards
Age Group: 7/95
Overall: 0/452
Performance: Good
Suit: Zoot Speedsuit
Course: A large....VERY large rectangle in Tempe Town Lake. It was very different from the year before in terms of layout and was questionable as to it's true distance.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:55
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:56:01 | 24.85 miles | 26.62 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/95
Overall: 1/452
Performance: Good
Kept my HR just below 162bpm as that is my AT. Averaged 160.
Wind: Little
Course: A 4 loop rectangle on raods around Tempe Town Lake. Same as last year, same as the TIMEX Olympic race in Sept.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:48
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:40:08 | 06.21 miles | 06m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/95
Overall: 7/452
Performance: Good
Kept right around AT of 162bpm.
Course: The run course was also a new layout and was, without question, long.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %0
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4