Black Bear Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Lehighton, Pennsylvania
United States
CGI Racing
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 48m 16s
Overall Rank = 260/398
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 26/38
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 5AM, ate 2 bowls of fruit loops with Milk and 1/2 Banana
Event warmup:

None, I assumed the Swim leg will warm me up
Swim
  • 39m 14s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

Strategy was to go moderate close to 40 minutes as possible with no fatigue, after 200 yds the water became choppy but on the way back it felt much smoother.
No special incidences during the swim.
jogged up hill to T1 to keep my HR low for the Bike start.
Overall met the swim objectives plus sub 40 minutes time which is a big improvement compare to the last Triathlon I did last year


What would you do differently?:

Nothing special, just continue to improve
Transition 1
  • 05m 24s
Bike
  • 3h 37m 39s
  • 55.5 miles
  • 15.30 mile/hr
Comments:

Hills, Hills and Hills

The bike course is a beast, you go from 40mph downhill to 2-5 mph towards the top of the hill with almost no time to recover, a lot of intersections & turns that slow you down, 12+ mph winds etc
no excuses you have to train on similar course profile to be able to make it sub 3 hours

What would you do differently?:

no excuses you have to train on this course to be able to make it sub 3 hours
Transition 2
  • 02m 19s
Run
  • 2h 23m 43s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 58s  min/mile
Comments:

started the run with cramps from the bike leg, as a result the entire run was actually 50% walking.
The aid station every 1 mile and volunteers with the kids did an amazing job
What would you do differently?:

Either choose a flat HIM course (NJ Devilman Tria???) or do this race again with much more hills prep for this challenging bike course
Post race
Warm down:

Seat, eat and relax

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The Hilly Bike course and the fact that most of my training was done in spin classes, flats or moderate rolling hills courses

Event comments:

Pros:
• Weather is just fine in this time of the year, not too Hot or Humid
• Clear water during the swim
• Well organized
• Everything else is much easier after finishing this course
• Excellent Age group athletes from PA, NJ, MD, DE, DC etc

Cons:

• 1:45 hours driving from home, require Hotel accommodations
• Challenging Bike & Run courses

Big Thanks to Larry and GCI Racing, by far the best organized race I did, Big Kudus to the Volunteers and especially all the kids a long the AID/Water stations





Last updated: 2008-01-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:39:14 | 2112 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/38
Overall: 297/398
Performance: Good
Suit: QR full
Course: Beltzville Lake with relatively clear and clean water but can be choppy at a time
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 69F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 05:24
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
03:37:39 | 55.5 miles | 15.30 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/38
Overall: 251/398
Performance: Below average
Wind: Cross-winds with gusts
Course: Rolling Hills including few intersections and down hills with hard turns
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills: Bad
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:19
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:23:43 | 13.1 miles | 10m 58s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/38
Overall: 277/398
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5