Lake Pflugerville Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Pflugerville, Texas
United States
City of Pflugerville, Jack and Adams Bicycles
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 25m 48s
Overall Rank = 137/366
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 7/20
Pre-race routine:

MY FIRST TRIATHLON EVER!!!

Actually got to bed around 830p and woke up at 420a. Had some cereal and cottage cheese. Loaded everything up and drove about 35min to get to the race. Sipped on water all morning. Had half a banana about 40min prior to start. Got to the site around 540a, and had everything all set up by 620a. My swim leg didn't start until 751a. Walked around and helped my wife (aka, my personal photographer) get set up with a good view of everything. Met up for the pre-race meeting at 715a. Stood around the rest of the time.
Event warmup:

Lots of stretching and a light jog/walk.
Swim
  • 12m 40s
  • 500 meters
  • 02m 32s / 100 meters
Comments:

Ok, this was only my 2nd OW swim ever! And the first time I had done it with other people. Once in my swim rhythm, I did good, but that didn't happen too often. I started at the back of my group thinking I would be a slower one. The problem was I kept catching up to the swimmers in front of me and had no way to get around them. I would hit their feet then they would all slow down, then I would have to check up to keep from running over them. I probably stopped my forward momentum like this 10 times, which really slowed my time down a lot. On the back stretch I was finally able to get outside them and felt good.
What would you do differently?:

Keep practicing the open water swims. Either try and start at the front of my group or to the outside where there are less swimmers.
Transition 1
  • 02m 20s
Comments:

Seemed like a pretty long run to get into transition area from swim. I was able to run out of the water and all the way to my bike. Put one sock on upside down at first, but only took a few seconds to change it.
What would you do differently?:

Get triathlon specific bike shoes to speed up the transitions on and off the bike.
Bike
  • 43m 14s
  • 14 miles
  • 19.43 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike leg was by far my best leg of this race. I felt really good and was passing a lot of people. I only counted about 5-6 people that passed me.
What would you do differently?:

Not a whole lot I would change. Get triathlon specific shoes to save some time on transitions. Just train some more and work on picking my speed up.
Transition 2
  • 01m 4s
Comments:

I was impressed with my transition. Had only practiced it once and it went almost as smoothly as I could have hoped.
What would you do differently?:

Get some elastic shoe laces (I bought some but did not want to experiment with them on race day). I just pre-tied my shoes and pulled them on (it worked but was a little tough with the wet socks). Fix my race belt (i put it on upside down!), and figure out how to keep the number from bunching up and keeping it visible.
Run
  • 26m 25s
  • 3 miles
  • 08m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

Not my strongest suit. Gotta side stitch for about the first mile of the run, but was able to get rid of it by focusing on my breathing. Grabbed water at 2 stations and just poured it on me, which felt very good as it had already warmed up quite a bit by this time (9a). I thought I was running pretty slow, but I am used to running hills, and this course was perfectly flat, so I think my time reflected that.
What would you do differently?:

Do more bike/run bricks to get my body more used to it. Work on building up my running speed.
Post race
Warm down:

More stretching and just walking around.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My training and my positioning during the swim.

Event comments:

There were only 2 water stations for the entire race (both on the run). I wouldn't have used it, but would've been nice to see one on the bike course. Not really much going on after the race. Snacks only consisted of water/gatorade, popsicles, crackers, and bananas. At least that is all I saw. Would've liked to have seen more kayakers on the water. This is my first race so I really can't compare, but the course was really well laid out and a fun route. I will definitely try to do it again next year.




Last updated: 2008-03-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:40 | 500 meters | 02m 32s / 100meters
Age Group: 15/20
Overall: 207/366
Performance: Below average
2:32min per 100/m
Suit: tri shorts and sleeveless top
Course: V-shaped 250m out and back
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:20
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:43:14 | 14 miles | 19.43 mile/hr
Age Group: 6/20
Overall: 101/366
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Fairly flat course on rolling hills. Pretty rough roads at times so had to really watch where I was going (lots of cracks and potholes). Only had to make 5 right turns during the course, and 2 left turns to get in and out of transition. There seemed to be lots of very gradual long uphills (which hurt my time the most), with only a few short quick downhills. Overall a good course though.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:04
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:26:25 | 03 miles | 08m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/20
Overall: 185/366
Performance: Average
8:48 per mile
Course: Nice, flat 3mi loop around the lake. Was on a crushed granite trail.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %1
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4