Brian's Ride - TriathlonSprint


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Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
United States
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 12m 58s
Overall Rank = 142/142
Age Group = 40-54
Age Group Rank = 15/15
Pre-race routine:

Oatmeal and coffee, and then into the car to meet up with my sister and mother (for her first tri). As I'm walking the bike to the rack, the rear derailleur literally plopped down and got stuck in the wheel spokes. Talk about a mix of an "oh crap" and "thank God it happened here and now" moment. Loaded up the mountain bike and hit the road.
Event warmup:

100 yard swim. With a guy who insisted that this pool event was a circle swim, and therefore, the warm-up was one too. And he was wrong.
Swim
  • 05m 13s
  • 375 yards
  • 01m 23s / 100 yards
Comments:

I had a great swim: smooth start and good pace.
What would you do differently?:

Do more speed work in training. I liked my time, but I'm curious how fast I could have gone had I trained more for it.
Transition 1
  • 49m 32s
Comments:

I was doing the race with my mom and sister, and while I was seeded 38, they were 107 and 108. Which meant I waited for them to do their swim.

I was kind of hoping there'd be an award for longest transition.

Swim and transition totalled 54:45.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 49m 3s
  • 10.5 miles
  • 12.84 mile/hr
Comments:

A great ride with my Mom, with a challenging hill on each loop.
What would you do differently?:

For this race on this morning, I am so glad that I brought the mountain bike instead of the tri one.

However, had this been an event that I was trying to race all out, I would have been totally screwed. I should have checked out my bike in advance. I had meant to take it into the shop in April, and I didn't, and I paid the price for my laziness.
Transition 2
  • 01m 17s
Comments:

Quick, fast, good.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 29m 10s
  • 2.5 miles
  • 11m 40s  min/mile
Comments:

Great run with Mom, and my sister (who raced without us) joined us for the last 1/2 mile.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. It was a good run on a nice morning, and it felt great to do it.
Post race
Warm down:

Racked the bikes, grabbed some water, saw I placed pretty well on the swim, and headed out for breakfast. Post-race pancakes always taste good.

Event comments:

Perfect first-timer race, and there were a lot of them there. I treated it as a tune up for future events. Definitely recommend it, and if the family wants to, I'd do it again next year.

But -- but -- the men's room was not good. Just one for all of us. And when I say one, I mean one toilet and one urinal. I'm very thankful that I got to the race early, and that I didn't have to use it again.




Last updated: 2008-01-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:13 | 375 yards | 01m 23s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 0/142
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Pool swim, 6 shared lanes, 15 lengths, 12 swimmers to start. As one finished up on the other end of the pool, the swim director guided the next swimmer into that lane. Like a bank teller's line. I liked this method better than swim heats. It went faster, wasn't nearly as competitive, and allowed slower swimmers to complete the whole swim despite their pace as compared to traditional swim heats with cut off times. I saw a lot of slower swimmers doing back, side and breaststroke as well as freestyle, and resting on the wall for a few seconds at each turn. This was a PERFECT beginner's swim event. Great pool, too. Water was crisp and clear.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 49:32
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:49:03 | 10.5 miles | 12.84 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 0/142
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Hilly, but fun, seven loops of the campus. Little traffic. I saw a few sleepy college students walking about, and the bike course marshalls were kids with scraggly beards on mountain bikes. I loved it.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:17
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:29:10 | 02.5 miles | 11m 40s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/15
Overall: 0/142
Performance: Good
Course: Hilly 3 loops, right through the heart of campus.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4