Parvin State Park Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Pittsgrove, New Jersey
United States
DQ Events
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 19m
Overall Rank = 139/235
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4:00 am. Got cleaned up, took out the dog. When I got back to the house Nicole was upstairs screaming. Went in to talk to her and she said her ear hurt. Gave her some medicine and rubbed her back until she fell back asleep. Loaded bike and stuff into the car and headed to my Dad's to pick him up. Was running right on time, stopped at the bagel store for breakfast when Dad realized he forgot his cane which he needs to get around for balance. Went back and got it. Only put us back about 10 minutes.
Event warmup:

Got to the site at about 6:45, pumped up my tires and realized I couldn't find the race belt I bought yesterday (found out later I left it my car and forgot it when I transferred everything to Dad's). Got to transition early this time and found a good spot next to my friend Jay (also ran into Obrats there as well). Went down to the water and swam for about 5 minutes as a warmup as I wanted to prove to myself there's no physical reason I have to suck at the swim. Warmup went well and was feeling good going into the race.
Swim
  • 12m 41s
  • 440 yards
  • 02m 53s / 100 yards
Comments:

Started off good the 1st 100 or so and then found myself off course. For some reason this got me out of my rhythm and my confidence started to wane. Probably made it about 1/2 through before I started switching between free style and breast stroke. Very disappointing as I know I don't need to do this but need to get stronger mentally in this discipline. A bunch of the ladies from the wave behind me caught me and I decided to try and latch onto to them some so they could lead me in the right direction. Was able to tail them but was still struggling to relax and took a break on a buoy. Probably about 75 yards from the end the water was only chest deep so decided to run it on in. Actually slower than swimming it I think so probably won't do that again. As I exited the water one of the women I had drafted off of in the water was struggling getting the wetsuit started off so unhooked and unzipped for her as we ran into T1.
What would you do differently?:

Not panic and stay relaxed and slow! Did good in the beginning and warm up and just need to believe in myself. I know it will come as I've only been swimming since Jan and had never completed a single lap in my life prior to that. Just got my times and disappointed barely better than my 1st. Felt a lot better I thought as I actually swam normally some. Plan on putting a lot of time in the water between now and NJ State.


Transition 1
  • 02m 29s
Comments:

Went really well. Ran past my Dad who was on a bench right outside of transition and good a good greeting from him and some encouragement to go knock 5 minutes off my last races time. Luckily prior to the race start I realized I forgot a water bottle to clean my feet with (the run up from the swim is total sand) so Jay had offered the use of his water since he'd be gone by the time I got there. Cleaned off, dried off and shoed up and headed out. Seemed quick to me.
What would you do differently?:

Not much other than remember my own water and maybe run a bit harder from the water to transition. Cut a whole minute of my 1st T1 last month!
Bike
  • 38m 1s
  • 12 miles
  • 18.94 mile/hr
Comments:

After my last race I wanted to make a conscious effort to not just do what is easy on the bike this time. I performed a good moving start on the bike and was off. Immediately got up to 20mph and stayed there for quite awhile. Fell to 16 a few times but was determined to keep speed up to or over 20 mph as much as possible and really tried to push through. Definitely passed more people than passed me but some of the slower swimmers with killer bikes went whizzing by me pretty fast.
What would you do differently?:

Still feel like I could push more at times as I get lackadaisical on the course. Overall very satisfied as 6 minutes faster than Hammonton.
Transition 2
  • 01m 11s
Comments:

Still struggle a bit dismounting the bike (gotta work on this at home). Pretty much stop completely, teeter and then get off. The good news is there was no sign of cramping whatsoever! Ran it into T2 and a few people had put there bikes out into the aisle I was trying to go down so had to hoist bike over them in order to rack mine. Went great from here. Hooked bike own, grabbed bottle from bike, took a quick drink, stowed helmet and took off running. Probably the only benefit to biking and running with the same shoes is no wasted time here.
What would you do differently?:

Remember my race number? Didn't matter in the end but jeez follow the rules! A little slower than Hammonton but that was because of my choice of racks.
Run
  • 24m 40s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 07m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt good at the start of the run and found a pretty good rhythm passing some people. Somewhere near the end of the trail I felt a little stiffness developing in my left hamstring and decided not to push the run like I planned to. Was able to maintain the pace pretty much throughout and my 1st half time was the same within 1 second of my return trip. Was reasonably happy with the effort but would've like to be able to push it just a bit more.
What would you do differently?:

Remember my hat for the run is probably it. Like I said was planning on emptying the tank completely here but coming out of T2 I saw my time was a little over 54 minutes so knew I was in good shape to beat my goal of 1:20 with just a comfortable run for me.
Post race
Warm down:

Found Jay and found out he finished in 1:15 and change and he thought his swim was in the 7 minute range. I'm never going to beat him if I keep giving up 5 minutes to him at the start. Grabbed something to drink and cheered on some of the remaining finishers. Wasn't really hungry so just went and found my Dad and headed on home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My swimming ability/mental accuity and hamstring tightness. Pretty sure I could've pushed the hammy but with my main goal race coming up in 5 weeks I didn't want to deal with a balky hammy after this race. Overall happy with my race (everything but the swim) and I cut over 7 minutes off my time from my 1st. Hope to get under 1:15 at NJ State.

Event comments:

Liked the race a lot. Was organized and on time and will probably do this one again next year if sprints are still my game.




Last updated: 2008-01-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:41 | 440 yards | 02m 53s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/235
Performance: Below average
Suit: No
Course: Inverted V going clockwise.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:29
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:38:01 | 12 miles | 18.94 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/235
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Very flat and rough in a few spots. Course is a big square.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:11
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:24:40 | 03.11 miles | 07m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/235
Performance: Average
Course: Go out 1.5 and come back on the same route. 1st 1/2 mile or so is a trail but pretty flat and even for a trail. After than concrete.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4