LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Olympic Distance - Triathlon


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Austin, Texas
United States
92F / 33C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 28m 31s
Overall Rank = 24/250
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 6/23
Pre-race routine:

I got to the race venue, parked the car and headed into the transition area. I was very happy to find that the bike racks were marked per-number. Transition had opened the night before, and I was afraid that I would have a hard time finding a bike spot.

It was dark for at least an hour after I arrived, but it was hot enough even n the dark that I was sweating just sitting around relaxing, waiting for the race to start.
Event warmup:

I ran for ~10 mins at an easy pace, followed by ~10 mins of easy swimming.
Swim
  • 30m 31s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

I've been having problems with my swim all year. I knew I wasn't going to have a killer swim, but this was still 3 mins faster than the Austin tri.

For the most part, I felt pretty good. I paced and breathed well. This was probably my worst performance yet when it comes to sighting, though. I kept getting far to the left of the buoys. I probably could have cut another minute off by going straighter.
What would you do differently?:

I just need to train the swim harder. I find that I don't enjoy pool swimming enough to do it as much as I should.
Transition 1
  • 01m 33s
Comments:

I had a good transition. I ran pretty hard from the lake, and didn't have to do a lot in the transition area. I had the top T1 in my AG. by 6 seconds.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It went well.
Bike
  • 1h 02m 59s
  • 23 miles
  • 21.91 mile/hr
Comments:

I had a pretty good ride. I kept the pace pretty hard, but eased off toward the end enough to hit the run hard (or so I thought at the time). I wasn't passed at all during the ride, but passed plenty of people.


What would you do differently?:

I'll train the hills harder for next year. On paper, it didn't look as difficult as it was in reality.
Transition 2
  • 01m 7s
Comments:

I was 4th in AG on this transition. I had to pause for a minute while putting the shoes on. I felt great on the bike, but started to get a bit dizzy right after jumping off and running through transition.
Run
  • 52m 18s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 08m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

I pretty much blew up on the run. I knew I was in trouble about a mile in. I started to get my legs back after starting at about an 8 min pace, but was not feeling well overall. It was VERY hot and humid by this point. I pretty much just had to hang in on the run to make it through it.

By the end, I was struggling just to maintain my pace and was unable to kick in a sprint to finish. I lost close to 10 mins from my goal pace on the run.
What would you do differently?:

I'm not sure that there was a lot that I could have done about the heat, but I should have had more to drink on the bike. I was trying to keep my stomach from cramping up and didn't empty my bottle.
Post race
Warm down:

My head was pounding, and my stomach was nauseated at the finish. I pretty much just dropped to the grass and sat for 3-4 minutes. I was either dehydrated, overheating or feeling the effects of the cold that I had just come down with the night before. More than likely it was a combination of the three.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

1. Heat
2. Humidity
3. Sickness

Event comments:

The race was very well organized. I wasn't particularly thrilled with the venue or course, but they weren't necessarily bad either (thus the rating of 4 instead of 5). The HIM course is actually quite a bit nicer, though.

I will likely do the race again next year, although I'm not sure which distance I'll do.




Last updated: 2007-10-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:31 | 1640 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 11/23
Overall: 83/250
Performance: Average
Suit: Tri shorts
Course: I was happy to find that the course was a single loop, instead of two loops (including a jog from the end to start) as had been advertised previously. The water was very warm and not exactly clean. There were weeds about a foot under the surface for about 100 yards out from the dock.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:33
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
01:02:59 | 23 miles | 21.91 mile/hr
Age Group: 5/23
Overall: 14/250
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: The course was two laps around the lake. The course was never flat, but was either gentle up/down, rolling, or hard hills. Overall, this was a difficult course for me, being heavy and not so great at hills.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:07
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:52:18 | 06.2 miles | 08m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 9/23
Overall: 58/250
Performance: Bad
Course: The course was 2 laps of the sprint course. It was mostly off-road on the grass and wound throughout the park. It included a couple of good climbs. Overall, this was a difficult course.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4