Monster Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Keller, Texas
United States
Dallas Athletes
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 07m 25s
Overall Rank = 17/230
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 3/16
Pre-race routine:

Got to sleep in for this one. Didn't get up and shower till 5:45. Nice to be 5 minutes from the race site. That may have been a problem though. I didn't eat my Clif bar until after 6. And it was Peanut Butter instead of the usual Oatmeal Raisin. Ug. I would end up tasting it all race long.

Sean (241044) and I took separate cars from Shannon's parents house since he was going to head home directly from the race. I don't think we were supposed to park right by transition, but we did anyway.

Open racking so I got a nice spot at the end of a rack at the end of the transition area. Got my stuff unloaded and ready to go, breaking the rubber bands for my aerobottle in the process. Luckily I had a plastic Deja Blue bottle that I stuck in the cage.

Did the usual chit chat with the folks on my rack while I tried to decide what to wear. Since it was still in the 40s, I went with arm warmers and tights.
Event warmup:

Swam a 250 in the pool. Felt pretty good except for the McGurggles (burping up my Clif bar). Did some drills and sprints.

Quick trip to the bathroom and popped a Powergel. Then it was time for my favorite (and least favorite) part of a pool swim - waiting in line. Since I was 40th to hit the water, it wasn't as long as my normal wait, which was good.
Swim
  • 05m 30s
  • 300 meters
  • 01m 50s / 100 meters
Comments:

Saw somebody do something to start that I had never seen before. Rather than jumping in and starting with no momentum, she sat down at the edge of the pool and push off while going in headfirst. I think that only works if they stagger you just right and you don't have to cross a timing mat at the start (guess DA couldn't afford it), but it worked. I liked being able to push off the wall.

My plan was to sprint the first 100 and try and catch the guy in front of me and just ride his feet the rest of the way. So I caught him at 100 easy enough, but he was going too slow. I passed him at 150 and tried to move up to the next swimmer, but they were long gone. I think the guy I passed drafted off me. Turnabout is fair play I guess.

Never had any problems with this swim. Nice change. I got out of the water feeling good. Sean was there saying something about shrinkage. Seinfeld quotes, nice.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, I don't think I could have caught the swimmer 2 ahead of me since he swam a 4:45. My actual swim time was about 5:20, then the 10 seconds to get out and cross the mat. I was happy with it.
Transition 1
  • 02m 21s
Comments:

Boy, this took forever. I got my helmet and sunglasses on no problem. Arm warmers stuck a little bit. But those tights...wow. I couldn't get them on. I finally pulled them up to my waist, but the crotch was still down around my knees. So much for shrinkage. After a few carefully placed tugs it was on OK.

Then I grabbed my race belt and headed out. Crossed the mount line and hopped on. Somehow my pedals were not in the right place and I couldn't seem to get in them. I pedaled on top of them with both feet trying to make them flip over so I could clip in. That probably cost me 30 more seconds.
What would you do differently?:

No tights
Get in the pedals the first time
Bike
  • 36m 41s
  • 12.68 miles
  • 20.74 mile/hr
Comments:

Took me a while to get up to speed thanks to my pedal snafu. Once I did, I was zooming. There was a pack of 4 or 5 of us that were together for most of the 2 laps. We didn't do anything illegal, but there was lots of legal drafting - the kind where you ride up behind someone into the draft zone and then at the last second you whip out on the left and pass them.

The first lap there weren't a lot of folks out there to pass. Managed to hold my own with the pack without blowing up. I was stronger on the hills than they were, but they would catch me on the flats.

Lap 2 was better. Lots of mountain bikes and slower riders to pull in. My plan was to charge the last 2 hills on Bear Creek and try to drop the 4 riders in the pack. When we made the turn onto Bear Creek, the only girl that was riding with us crashed. She was ok, but she never caught up.

So it was just me, a Cervelo with a disk, a Guru, and a Trek. Time to show the power of Companero. I made my move on the first hill and dropped the Guru and the Trek. The Cervelo caught me at the bottom of the hill. So I charged the second hill and kept mashing until I could see his shadow fading behind me. That was fun.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I've never ridden that fast in a race before. It was a minute faster than the last time I raced on this course, so I'll take it.
Transition 2
  • 01m 5s
Comments:

Not much to say here, although I did have to sit down to put my shoes on. One day I'll try one of these sockless. Until then, I'll sit down to put my socks on.
What would you do differently?:

Meh.
Run
  • 21m 46s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m  min/mile
Comments:

For a run that I felt like crap on, I did very well. I was still tasting that Clif bar the entire time. I figured if I was going to yak it up, I might as well do it while running hard. As usual, the first mile I passed a clump of people. I didn't use my normal motivational tactic of counting people. I was just focused on pulling them in one at a time.

I thought about stopping at the aid station and getting some water. Not for thirst, but to see if I could settle my stomach. When the time came, I decided against it. I knew I had a decent run going (slower than the last time I did this course, but still pretty good).

Met Ken (kproudfoot) on his way back. Easy to pick out a guy that's 6'8", whether he wears a Javelin suit or not. Hit the turnaround at 10:58, so I tried for a negative split. Saw Craig (docshock1964) on his way to the turn and an AG win. Then I saw Craig Ottman, the eventual overall winner, in his A&M Tri Suit. Wow. He was moving. I knew when I heard footsteps behind me it was him. He was running at a 5:40 pace. Whoa.

I just kept plugging. The last mile really hurt. The McGurggles were really getting to me. No time to stop. Pass this guy. Catch him. Go. Remember that you're mad at Dallas Athletes for being cheap with their races. C'mon. Go. Vamos a matar.

Finished. Want Tums and then a cheeseburger.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I won my frickin' age group. That's never happened before. Sure, it wasn't my best run, but not every run can be.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, stretched, talked with Ken and Craig. Ate a pancake and drank some nasty Vitamin Water while waiting on Sean to come in. He PRd.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Basically no bike TITS in a month.

Low run volume thanks to MFA.

Event comments:

DA puts on a pretty good show. All of the volunteers were in costume and they did Halloweenish music the whole time. They do a good job at theme Tris.

But...I just wish they weren't so cheap. Using unused race numbers from earlier races for the last race of the year. Sheesh.

And I wish they would have stopped playing the music when the awards were going. I almost missed my name.




Last updated: 2007-10-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:30 | 300 meters | 01m 50s / 100meters
Age Group: 5/16
Overall: 27/230
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Snake swim with 1-way 50m lanes.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:21
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
00:36:41 | 12.68 miles | 20.74 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/16
Overall: 23/230
Performance: Good
Low - 154 Average - 169 High - 183
Wind: None
Course: 2 loops, a few hills but nothing bad.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:05
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:21:46 | 03.11 miles | 06m  min/mile
Age Group: 1/16
Overall: 14/230
Performance: Good
Not sure why it says 6 min/mile. It was 7. Mile 1 - 6:56 (HR 177) Mile 2 - 7:08 (HR 178) Mile 3 - 6:51 (HR 181) Low HR - 171 Average HR - 179 High HR - 184
Course: Out and back on the Keller trails. A few long hills, but nothing steep.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Ok
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