Publix Family Fitness Weekend- Zephyr Sport Sprint - TriathlonSprint


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St. Leo, Florida
United States
Exclusive Sports Marketing
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 11m 49s
Overall Rank = 89/160
Age Group = First Timer
Age Group Rank = 2/8
Pre-race routine:

I went through all of my gear the night before to make sure I had everything and that it was all in working order. Ate a large dinner early and hydrated the rest of the evening. Other than that I just went to bed early and tried to fall asleep. While that wasn't easy, I went over my transitions in my head over and over. This helped on race day and helped me fall asleep.

I was the first person to show up to the race and was the first person in the transition area. The racks were divided by division, but I was able to get a spot on the very end of the FT rack with a lot of room for my gear. I laid it all out and practiced the transitions a few times.
Event warmup:

I did a short run (1.5 miles) with a few pickups for a warmup about 45 min before race time. I was worried about losing my position on the rack so I didn't do a bike warmup. I don't know how much that affected me later on, but I feel it was worth keeping my space in the transition area. After doing the short run, I went down to the water and swam about 100 meters. I didn't feel comfortable in the water. This was foreshadowing for what was to come later. At least the water was nice and warm...
Swim
  • 16m
  • 400 meters
  • 04m / 100 meters
Comments:

I knew this was my weak link heading into the race, but I had done a few swims up to a mile and felt that 400 m would be a breeze. The pond was as still as a pool and the water was warm. Perfect conditions. I started strong and on the outside so I didn't have to deal w/ too many elbows. However, even though I tried to swim smoothly and stay calm, my breathing started to get irregular. On top of that, my navigation was horrible. I was veering to the right constantly, and easily ended up swiming an extra 100+ meters. Once in the water the buoys seemed so far away. After rounding the first buoy I had to do some back stroke to calm down and catch my breath. I'd flip over and get maybe 50m in before going back on my back. My normal 2min/100m pace was doubled. While I passed a few people from the previous wave that started 4 minutes ahead, I still was horrified by my performance.
What would you do differently?:

Swim more in open water. I'm comfortable in open water, but without a wall to push off on and a black line to help navigate, I was out of my element.
Transition 1
  • 01m 19s
Comments:

This transition time looks long, but it includes an uphill barefoot 400m run from the water to transition. I had practiced T1 so I felt comfortable. When I finally got up that darn hill, I flew through most of it just as planned. The only problem was that I put my helmet on backwards! This led to some difficulties fastening it. Also my glasses got pretty foggy, but that was easy to fix.

103/160
What would you do differently?:

One of these days I'll learn to transition with my shoes already on the bike. Also, pay attention to how I lay down my helmet so it goes on correctly.
Bike
  • 33m 53s
  • 10 miles
  • 17.71 mile/hr
Comments:

I knew I had to make up for a bad swim time, so I went out hard. I'm a novice cyclist, so I don't go into aero yet. No, this was all going to be on how much I could handle the pain.

I started off fast and started passing people quickly. I was reaching 27-28 mph on the downhills, and kept it around 10 on the uphills. Fortunately it was a short enough course that I could ride hard the entire way. Other than a couple akward turns, I was suprised at how well I did.
What would you do differently?:

I really need to find some hills close to home on which I can practice. I lost a lot of time trying to climb.

I also need to work on my handling. I had to significantly slow down for all turns.

Finally, I will learn to use my aero bars before my next race. That would have been very helpful on the downhills!
Transition 2
  • 00m 52s
Comments:

This transition went very well. I don't use socks for the ride or the run, so it was off with one set of shoes and on with the others in seconds. The longest part of the transition was running the bike into the T area w/ my bike shoes still on.

82/160
What would you do differently?:

As before, I eventually need to learn to keep my shoes clipped in.
Run
  • 19m 43s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 06m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

The run went suprisingly well. I know I'm a good runner, so I was really trying to take advantage. The start was very wobbly as my legs were jello from the bike, and the run starts on a pretty big downhill. Almost took a spill, but my legs adjusted quickly. I got into a rythm pretty quickly and just concentrated on pushing as hard as possible.
What would you do differently?:

Make sure my laces are a little tighter on my shoes. I'd also push a little harder.
Post race
Warm down:

Not much. I walked around some and drank water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Mosly my lack of swim experience and lack of time riding hills.

Event comments:

Almost everybody left after the race. The crowd at the awards ceremony was tiny, and nobody cheered. It was only the people who stayed around for their own award. There was a small booth for the awards, and the guy w/ the microphone was standing 100m away and couldn't see what was going on.

Otherwise, the race itself was well organized.

For now my times are estimates as offical times have not been posted!




Last updated: 2007-06-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:00 | 400 meters | 04m / 100meters
Age Group: 5/8
Overall: 127/160
Performance: Bad
Suit: Tri Suit
Course: Three legged triangle. The course was longer than 400, but I don't know by how much.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:19
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:33:53 | 10 miles | 17.71 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/8
Overall: 111/160
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: This course was very hilly (for FL). All my training has been on a flat course, so my legs weren't happy. However, road conditions were good. The roads were very narrow and it wasn't a closed course, so traffic was a minor problem. There were a couple very steep, blind turns that were a problem for some due to traffic. They were a problem for me simply because I'm not very good a turning!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:52
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:19:43 | 03.1 miles | 06m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/8
Overall: 29/160
Performance: Good
Course: This was an interesting course. It tooks up through the campus of St. Leo University. It was really more of a cross country course, as we spent most of it off road. We ran through a baseball fied, around the outfield and through the bullpen. Not too hilly, but just enough. It finished on a fairly steep uphill, which I thought was great, but I'm sure it wasn't popular w/ others.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3