Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Chattanooga, Tennessee
United States
Team Magic
80F / 27C
Precipitation
Total Time = 3h 13m 35s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 30-39
Age Group Rank = 144/163
Pre-race routine:

Woke up and did yoga for 15 or so minutes. Packed the car, and ate some oatmeal. I found my transition stall and set-up. Everything went really smoothly, so smoothly in fact that when I got to the bus going to the swim start I hesitated because I just knew I had forgotten something. Oh right - TO TRAIN!!!!!
Event warmup:

Sunrise salutations in the the hotel room - Triangle poses and some general stretching at the swim start.
Swim
  • 35m 28s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 10s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was, by far, the best open-water triathlon swim I've done to date. I felt good the whole way. I never stopped except once briefly to pick up a bouy. My goggles had started to fog at that point and the bouy was pretty far away.
What would you do differently?:

Swim faster. I totally could have but I had some of my previous terrible swim performances in the back of my mind, so I just eased on down the river.
Transition 1
  • 03m 4s
What would you do differently?:

I need to learn how to properly setup a transition
Bike
  • 1h 29m 14s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 16.71 mile/hr
Comments:

I learned that at 39 mph big-ole fat rain becomes big-old stinging rain! I didn't get a chance to ride my bike but once in preparation for this race. On a flat course that would be OK, but this course is anything but flat. The hills, while not steep are long grinders. Most of the time they are proceeded by a good downhill so momentum carries you a good way up the next hill. The second hill after crossing the river is a long one and killed me. It started raining around the 16th mile and by the 18th it was coming down in buckets. At that point I was going down a rather long and fast hill with cars to my right. That's when Forrest Gump came to mind with his comments about rain. Oh and I'm the cleetus that couldn't get his left foot out of the pedal and wrecked at the dismount line - yay me.
What would you do differently?:

Actually ride the bike before doing a race.
Transition 2
  • 02m 18s
Comments:

Considering that by the time I got to T2 everything I had was soaked, it went surprisingly well.
What would you do differently?:

Get speed laces and NOT fall off the bike coming into T2. I also want to condition my feet to be able to run sans-socks.
Run
  • 1h 06m 36s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, being that I didn't do any bricks before this race, the run went surprisingly well. My quads started cramping before the first mile and going up the stairs they gave me real problems. So I stopped, walked up the stairs and stretched at the top. I had to stop and stretch a few more time before the race was over. Neal Phelps was running near me most of the time and kept me motivated - thanks Neal! The rain during the run was welcome!
What would you do differently?:

Train on the bike - do a few bricks. My time was surprisingly good considering the cramping issues I was having.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

The travel my job has be doing seriously hampers my ability to get any training in. When I'm home I want to spend as much time with my family as I can.

Event comments:

This was my favorite triathlon that I've done and will do it again. Though, next time I will get in some training before doing it. This will probably be my last triathlon until 2010 or 2011 (I'll definitely race in 2011). Looking at the next year I won't have any time to get in good bike training and the weekends that have triathlons I could make the rest of this year are already full with other activities. I will be doing the Silver Comet Half Mary in October and the ING Full next March. I can run and swim early mornings but biking the dark SUCKS.




Last updated: 2007-11-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:28 | 1640 yards | 02m 10s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/163
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: None
Course: Point-to-point swim on the Tennessee River.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 82F / 28C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:04
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:29:14 | 24.85 miles | 16.71 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/163
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Wind: Some
Course: Up and down hills the whole way. The second up hill after crossing the river stands out in my mind as really long and crappy (but coming down that beast was really fun and fast).
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:18
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:06:36 | 06.21 miles | 10m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/163
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Course: Out and back, pretty flat with some minor hills - BUT you do have to run up stairs before the first mile and back down those stairs.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5