Take on the Heat Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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The Colony, Texas
United States
Playtri
76F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 14m 17s
Overall Rank = 95/383
Age Group = Male 35 to 39
Age Group Rank = 22/52
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4:30 and had a banana while waiting for my brother to come over. Got the bikes and gear loaded for the 1/4 mile drive to the pool and were under way by 5:30.
Event warmup:

Did lots of stretching and swam an easy 200 when the pool opened.
Swim
  • 05m 46s
  • 350 meters
  • 01m 39s / 100 meters
Comments:

2007 = 6:58
2008 = 5:46

The swim went OK but I seeded myself too slow and probably lost a few seconds because of it. The guy in front of me swam down the left hand side of each lane and made it hard to pass since I was trying to get around him before I caught up to the next guy on the right hand side. I wound up doing breaststroke for about 15 meters while deciding how the heck I was going to get around them both. I finally just put my head down and shot the gap between them. I passed 5 people and no one passed me. I still haven't been passed on the swim yet but my day is coming I'm sure.
What would you do differently?:

Seed myself faster. I put down a 5:54 and did a 5:46. I'm sure I could have hit a 5:35 or faster if I didn't have some of the passing issues. Next time I will take 10 seconds or so off what I think I can do to get in a little faster group.
Transition 1
  • 02m 16s
Comments:

2007 = 3:27
2008 = 2:16

I had a good transition for me but I still take too long. I was 184th on T1 - I can do better.
What would you do differently?:

I need to get tri shoes instead of using road shoes. That way I can try the whole "shoes clipped on the bike already" thing. I also should look into getting a tri top or full tri suit so I have that taken care of before I get to transition.
Bike
  • 39m 52s
  • 12.76 miles
  • 19.20 mile/hr
Comments:

2007 = 48:24
2008 = 39:52

This was my fastest bike split to date - for a ride of any length. My bike computer showed 12.76 miles but I think they were computing our averages based on a 12 mile course. I talked to several other people and they all said it was longer than 12 miles as well. I really hammered on the bike and was really happy with my speed. Now I know I can go that fast, I just need to do it more.
My brother caught me on the last hill at Main Street and North Colony on the second loop. He told me as he blew past me that he started about 30 seconds behind me on the swim. Nice of him to tell me but there was little could do about it right then - I was tapped out. I did manage to negative split my loops somehow, probably from trying to catch him.
What would you do differently?:

I left it all out there on the bike. Other than continue to train and beef up the engine, I had the best possible ride I could have today.
Transition 2
  • 01m 6s
Comments:

2007 = 2:02
2008 = 1:06

I got into transition right as my brother was leaving. I knew he started about 30 seconds behind me on the swim so I really tried to spend as little time as possible in transition and got out on the run as fast as I could. I knew I had some ground to make up on him and I wanted to keep him in my sights if possible.
What would you do differently?:

I need to work on having smoother bike dismounts. I keep forgetting I am clipped in and I was just lucky I didn't have a repeat performance from last year where I wound up flat on my back at the dismount line. Tri shoes should help since I can get out of them while still on the bike. The road shoes with the ratchet strap is just too much to mess with while trying to ride and maintain control.
Run
  • 25m 15s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 09s  min/mile
Comments:

2007 = 33:35
2008 = 25:15

Amazing what a year can do for a run pace. I wanted to hit something in the 7 minute -ish range for the first mile and I think I did since my average worked out to a low 8 minute pace. I caught my brother right at Memorial and Paige but we stayed pretty close for the rest of the race. I got a little ahead the last mile and a half but it just wasn't enough. What can I say, he has youth going for him.
What would you do differently?:

Run 15 seconds faster so I beat my brother by 1 second.
Post race
Warm down:

Drank a case of water and ate a banana and bagel. Talked to some BTers and people on my masters swim team that did the race.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing. I had my best race to date and knocked 20 minutes off my time from this race last year. I'm just going to continue training for Longhorn and hope it pays off there like it did for me today.

Event comments:

After all that time droppage from last year I still lost to my brother by 14 freaking seconds. 14 Seconds.....I wanted to get under 1:20 with a stretch goal of 1:15 so I am very happy with how this finished up.

Did I mention I knocked 20 MINUTES off my time from last year? I also lost 20 lbs since that race. 1 minute per pound so I guess if I just loose another 20 or so pounds I will win the thing next year, right? I better loose 25 just to be safe.




Last updated: 2008-03-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:05:46 | 350 meters | 01m 39s / 100meters
Age Group: 3/52
Overall: 25/383
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: Indoor pool. Snake swim through 7 lanes.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:16
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:39:52 | 12.76 miles | 19.20 mile/hr
Age Group: 31/52
Overall: 118/383
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Two loop course around The Colony.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:06
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:25:15 | 03.1 miles | 08m 09s  min/mile
Age Group: 24/52
Overall: 105/383
Performance: Good
Course: Single loop through subdivision.
Keeping cool Good 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 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