Eastside Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Baytown, Texas
United States
Eastside Triathlon
84F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 43m 36s
Overall Rank = 184/204
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 16/16
Pre-race routine:

Uhhh, I showed up a little before. Ate a PowerBar and had some sport beans.
Event warmup:

Basic stretching.
Swim
  • 16m 32s
  • 547 yards
  • 03m 01s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was dreading the swimming for the past two weeks. I only registered for this race to give me a little bit of a reality check for the upcoming Olympic distance race in Austin over Labor Day (what was I thinking???). The swim was about what I expected - around 16 minutes. I started the first 50-75 meters in freestyle and then switched to breast stroke because I mentally wouldn't allow myself to continue. The time is roughly equivalent to what I was doing in the pool in the weeks leading up to this.
What would you do differently?:

Work on freestyle technique and not wuss out.
Transition 1
  • 03m 33s
Comments:

Heh, I was just happy I was still alive and wasn't a cause for the people in the boats to have to get wet!!! I really wasn't in a hurry to get through the first transition. Really didn't like the free-for-all "put your bike where ever you'd like" approach though. It seemed great when I was putting my stuff in place, but it wasn't so great when I was a little tired coming out of the water.
What would you do differently?:

Remember where the heck I put my bike (this comes back to haunt me later in T2 as well). Be a little more expedient and plan ahead of where I put my bike.
Bike
  • 53m 35s
  • 16 miles
  • 17.92 mile/hr
Comments:

Started off with lack of energy. Immediately, downed a gel and drank Powerade ...and about 5 miles into it I started feeling a lot better and was able to move from around 15 mph to around 20 mph.
What would you do differently?:

More training. More practice. More miles. More everything. The race was about what I was expecting.
Transition 2
  • 02m 27s
Comments:

Again, lost where I'd placed my transition items. Everything looked the same.
What would you do differently?:

Remember which rack I was placing my bike on when I first setup in the morning. Listen more carefully to the instructions!! Stop and get off the bike BEFORE the green line!! Not listen to my friend who told me to run the wrong way! :-)
Run
  • 27m 27s
  • 2.5 miles
  • 10m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

Was a little upset when I heard about the course being shortened b/c I am usually a much better runner than I am in the other two sports and so was hoping to make up for lost time with the run. However, after getting on the course, I was soooooo thankful that they'd cut .6 miles from the run. It was absolutely miserable!!
What would you do differently?:

I mark this up to bad luck. I'm a runner. Have run for years. Multiple marathons, half marathons, 10k's, 5k's. This just wasn't my day. I wasn't acclimated to the weather conditions (i.e.; HUMIDITY!!!) and so performed horribly.
Post race
Event comments:

Would not run this race again. Yes, true, it was my first triathlon. However, I'm not a newbe when it comes to athletic races and this was not inspiring enough to make me want to drive down from Dallas and repeat the experience. Think this has more to do with location than anything else.

From my understanding they vastly improved it from the prior year (their inaugural event). As they say, perhaps the third times a charm...




Last updated: 2007-08-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:32 | 547 yards | 03m 01s / 100yards
Age Group: 16/16
Overall: 194/204
Performance: Bad
Suit: N/A
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:33
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Bad Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
00:53:35 | 16 miles | 17.92 mile/hr
Age Group: 13/16
Overall: 147/204
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: The course was for the most part pretty flat and smooth. I only remember one hill throughout the entire race. The ending pavement was a little more rough and felt like I was losing a lot of energy because of it...of course, it might also have been that I was tired :-)
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:27
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:27:27 | 02.5 miles | 10m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 15/16
Overall: 176/204
Performance: Bad
Course: This is quite possibly one of the worst courses I've ever had the misfortune to run. It was mucky! Not muddy, it was mucky! The clay/mud stuck to your feet and weighed you down. The humidity was crushing, there was no shade, the path was uneven and worn down from the 170+ runners in front of me. I'd describe it as unfortunate. I really can't think of another word that would better describe it. That said, it wasn't really the race organizer's fault. They had had a 5K measured out, but it rained heavily the night before the race (of course) and so they had to improvise the day of the race. Without the change in the course, I think a lot of my complaints would not be valid.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2