Disco Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Valley View, Texas
United States
Dallas Athletics
78F / 26C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 59m 16s
Overall Rank = 271/303
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 38/41
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 0400, got dressed and had two pieces of toast with 1tb of PB. Headed out at 0430, stopped to fuel the car and my wife's eyelids (coffee). Arrived at the State Park around 0530 and got right in. Walked up to transition, bot marked and made it to the first empty bike rack. Managed to get on the very end of the rack :).
I racked up my bike via the seat and and laid everything out on the back tire side. Another participtant came along and racked beside me, we talked a couple of minutes, then I headed off to talk to my wife a bit. Upon coming back to the rack one of officals was eyeing my setup and he asked if it was mine. I said yes, and he proceeded to quote rule 7.2 Placement of Equipment, and that I "MUST" (yes he yelled at me) setup on the side that is racked "the most side of center". Well the pariciptaant I talked to earlier was standing there smiling the whole time. Come to find out the guy bitched about not having enough space and flagged down an offical. Well, after this toungue lashing from the offical I moved my stuff so I wou;dn't receive the 2:00 time penalty the offical threatned.
I fully understand that others need room for their setup. However, since I already had my stuff setup when he got there, he only needed to ask me to move forward instead of waiting until I left to flag down an offical. Secondly, the attitude and method of delivery by this offical was un-professional. They don't have to yell at us when something needs to be done (except and emergency situation). Thirdly, from reading rule 7.2 I don't see that it states I have to setup on the side "most of center". It seemed an arbitary rule made up by this offical (since this was open racking), as when I really look at it the other guy rellay had plenty of room. I think that this is really more of a rule of courtesy and was an honest mistake due to my in-experience. Next time I will setup on the side "most of center".
Event warmup:

Walked around a little and made my way down to the water where my wife was and stretched. Got in th water and swam out to the park swim demarker (approx 150yd) and back for my warmup.

Swim
  • 10m 55s
  • 500 yards
  • 02m 11s / 100 yards
Comments:

My very first OWS! The start went well, though I did have to hold up p a bit for those in front of me. Used freestlye all the way to the first bouy and about half way to the second bouy. Used 3-4 breaststrokes to get my sighting back. Turned the second bouy a little close, but oh well.
On the way back to the beach I ran into the swim rope used to designate the park's main swimming area, just drifted a little too far right is all.
Had to use some breastroke to recover from the collision. :).
After recovering from that a guy came up beside me and bonked me in the head three strokes in a row. I had to elbow him to get my space back. Once his feet came along my head he kicked me twice. Oh well, such is life.
I watched others to see where they began standing and running out of the water. I took a few more strokes than most before I stood up. Got my goggles and cap off before leaving the water.
Transition 1
  • 04m 4s
Comments:

We had to go through the beach to reach the T1 path. Nice idea of the race to have volunteers there with sprayer hoses to get the sand off.
I mostly walked up the path to T1 as I did not want to slip or hurt my heel by running barefoot on the concrete.
Socks, gloves and helmet went on easily. Had a problem with my lace up cycling shoes, but it didn't add to much to the T1 time.
Bike mount was ok, only took me a couple of rotations to clip in.
What would you do differently?:

Setup on the "most side of center" so I don't get yelled at next time.
Be a little more adventerous and run to transition.
Bike
  • 1h 05m 20s
  • 17.6 miles
  • 16.16 mile/hr
Comments:

We had some sprinkles but only enough to make the ground appear wet for a few minutes.
This was the hilliest course I have been on. Having rode the course during the pre-tri helped me think ahead on how I wanted to attack the course. Remembering back to the pri-tri ride there were two hills that just ate my lunch, but today I hit them hard and fast. My pre-tri time was 1:17:00 and unoffically today it was 1:05.
At the last minute I chose not to use my camellbak. I felt that the two bottles on the bike would suffice.
For this race I put HEED into one bottle and tried out a new bottle called "Gel Bot". The bot has a separate internal container for your gel and also serves as a 20oz water bottle. I was right in determining that I did not need the Camelbak. I had a little amount of water left in one bottle, so that went great. I loved using the Gel Bot, for my next race it will free up some space in my jersey or shorts for additional gel.

What would you do differently?:

Look into getting some velcro closure shoes. :)
Transition 2
  • 01m 14s
Comments:

I racked on the second set of racks in from the dismount line, so I only had 20 feet to run. Racked the bike very easily, pulled off my cycling shoes without untying them. Running shoes went on easily...Put on my hat and grabbbed my water bottle (someone had dinked with it and I had to retrieve it from the setup next to me (yeah the same buy that whined).

What would you do differently?:

Nothing I can think of.
Run
  • 37m 46s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 12m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

The run course was awesome! There were only two spots I remember where we were not covered by trees.
I knew I was doing okay on time, so I walked 1m each half mile, not a biggy but I probably could have handled jogging/running the entire course.
My left achilles and heel held up nicely, just some slight tenderness afterwards.
As I was coming into finish the announcer said "Here's Scott Meador our first finisher holding a Mai Tai". He's so funny!
The temperature was great for the run, but just in case the race did have a mister at the 1mi mark and ice cold rags at the mile two aid station. Big kudos to the RD for this!
The last .25mi I had enough juice to sprint it in and averaged over 7.0mph according to my GPS. I don't run that fast at that distance very often.

What would you do differently?:

Extend the run portion of my intervals or just jog/run the whole thing.
Post race
Warm down:

Picked up my race cap and headed over to the food tent to get some pizza and Vitamin Water (yummy). Walked around a bit looking for my wife. Have my wife the extranous stuff and headed to the transition area. The Oly cyclist were not alll in yet so I just packed up my bag and took it to the car. Sat down with my wife at the car for about 30m before heading back up to transition to get my bike.


What limited your ability to perform faster:

The issue with the offical upset me a little, but I don't think it contributed very much slowing me down.

Event comments:

This is the third tri put on by DSU that I have competed in, and I would say by far this was the best. The organization and number of volunteers was excellent. The race started @ 0705 instead of 0700, so that is why I said no to starting on time. I do not believe being 5m late contributed to any problems.
Seeing other participtants in Disco regalia was so funny, and the band was great.
I managed to get a slice of pizza, but when I was walking my bike back to the car I noticed they were out and the Oly runners were still coming in. So, the only suggestion I would make is more post-race food.




Last updated: 2008-05-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:10:55 | 500 yards | 02m 11s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 0/303
Performance: Good
Suit: None
Course: Triangle
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:04
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:05:20 | 17.6 miles | 16.16 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 0/303
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Out and back loop on park road and FM3002.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:14
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
00:37:46 | 03.1 miles | 12m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/41
Overall: 0/303
Performance: Good
Course: Shady, mostly concrete trail through the state park.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %.3
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? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4