Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Huddleston, Virginia
United States
Set Up Events
73F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 12m 9s
Overall Rank = 32/404
Age Group = M 25-29
Age Group Rank = 3/16
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 6 and took a shower and shaved. I ate half a bagel and drank some water as my wife and I drove over to the race site at about 6:45. We got there at 7, just as a lot of people seemed to be arriving. I set up my transition area and found the bike start/finish, run start, and swim finish so that I knew what to site during the race.
Event warmup:

Biked for about 2 minutes, just to make sure that my bike still worked. Ran a mile or so including a few spots at race pace (ended up being a lot faster than race pace). And right before the gun went off I swam a few meters.
Swim
  • 11m 14s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 22s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my second open water swim ever, and first mass start ever. I really had no idea what to expect except what I had read on BT, but it lived up to the washing machine stereotype. I was punching and getting punched for the first few hundred yards, and someone grabbed both of my legs at one point and pulled me back. Also, I almost ran into the first buoy, but looked up just before I got there. The last few hundred yards were easy. I was by myself, so the only difficulty was looking up every few strokes to see how far off course I had veered. I passed some of the elite swimmers that were in the wave ahead of us (I'm not sure how the elites were seeded, but I don't think this should have happened). Then I staggered up onto the beach and hustled over to the transition area.
What would you do differently?:

Get a sleeveless wetsuit. The water wasn't cold at all and its only going to get warmer through the year.
Transition 1
  • 02m 24s
Comments:

It took a little while to get out of my wetsuit because I was rushing. Once I slowed down it was pretty quick.
What would you do differently?:

Slow down and be calm about it.
Bike
  • 36m 37s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 20.37 mile/hr
Comments:

I chose to run up the short hill after transition and mounted my bike about 100 yds into the bike leg. I got up to speed quickly and passed a bunch of people in the first mile. The hills weren't as bad as I had feared, but they were a lot worse than the ones that I normally ride on. I really need to work on my climbing. Because I live in an urbanish area, this was the first time I've had a completely uninterrupted ride and I was happy with my time. I think I might have gone a little too hard because the run was difficult afterwards.
What would you do differently?:

Train more on the hills! And I need to drink more, I only drank about a third of my water bottle. And buy a cervelo.
Transition 2
  • 00m 51s
Comments:

I almost missed the dismount line because of the little downhill leading up to it, so I was going way too fast when I jumped off. I squeezed the brakes hard to compensate, and the bike almost flipped over. After that little embarassing stunt, everything went smoothly.
What would you do differently?:

Get off the bike a little earlier.
Run
  • 21m 5s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

This was not a good run at all. I was expecting something around 19 minutes. My legs were a little tired coming off the bike. At first I told myself not to panic, that it was supposed to be normal. But then it continued through the first mile and I realized that it wasn't going to get any better. I was passed by two people and I didn't have anything in me to respond. I don't usually get passed on runs. The fact that I went pretty hard on the bike probably had something to do with it, but I know I can shave a lot of time off of my run in my next races. Also, the last mile included one really steep hill which I was not expecting at all, even though I had already biked up and down it in warm-up, biked up and down it during the race, and run down it at the beginning of the race. I must not have been thinking straight. But, excuses aside, I think I could have done better here.
What would you do differently?:

Run harder. I had a little left in my tank at the end. I haven't done a race before where there isn't someone right in front of me pushing my pace, which makes everything easier. Also, the biking in the bricks I've done included a lot of starting and stopping right before I got off as I bike through Arlington, so they aren't representative of a race. I need to figure out a way to do better bricks.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, nothing much

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This was my first race. I'm sure with experience I'll knock some time off.

Event comments:

Even with the run, this was a great first race! I'm excited to finally be a triathlete, and I got a trophy to prove it!




Last updated: 2008-02-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:14 | 820 yards | 01m 22s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/16
Overall: 29/404
Performance: Good
Suit: Full
Course:
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 64F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:24
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:36:37 | 12.43 miles | 20.37 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/16
Overall: 53/404
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering: Bad
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:51
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:21:05 | 03.11 miles | 06m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/16
Overall: 35/404
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5