Golden Gate Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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San Francisco, California
United States
TriFREAK
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 20m 28s
Overall Rank = 7/
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 3/
Pre-race routine:

Woke at 5:30 a.m., a few sips of coffee with my oatmeal and banana. Had packed the car the night before, so only needed to worry about getting my bike loaded in.
Event warmup:

One of those days where the race is only a couple miles away, but you still show up with barely enough time to spare. Olympic distance folks were already headed to the water, so I got marked up, set up my transition and got into the wetsuit. In hindsight, would have liked to get a warm-up run in. Before hitting the water, I did a few striders on the beach.
Swim
  • 13m 5s
  • 875 yards
  • 01m 30s / 100 yards
Comments:

Extremely satisfied with my swim performance. Set myself up well ahead of time to get an open lane to swim in so I didn't have to deal with the "washing machine" too much. Felt incredibly smooth and glided through the water with relative ease. Not too much commotion. The run up the beach was nice - I always love emerging from the swim.
What would you do differently?:

I didn't feel too incredibly fatigued at the end of the swim, so if anything at all, I might have tried to make a move in the last 200 meters to pick up a few additional places.
Transition 1
  • 03m 56s
Comments:

Transition took some time because there was a long run to T1 followed by a long run with the bike to the mount area. Had some difficulty clicking into the pedals, which was annoying.
What would you do differently?:

The actual time in the transition area was pretty solid. Probably lost a few seconds here or there, but nothing too bad.
Bike
  • 40m 11s
  • 12 miles
  • 17.92 mile/hr
Comments:

Tons of hills slowed the pace for all. Maintained 22-25 mph on the flats, but there weren't many of those! Cat-and-mouse game in the hills: though I still pushed 37-38 mph on the descents, a bunch of guys who are more proficient than I am re: descending would scream past me. On the climbs, they'd all be laboring and I would roll by, dancing on the pedals. Overall speed crushed by the many hills - averaged between 8-12 mph for several miles of the course. The good news is that this is where I was passing a lot of people.
What would you do differently?:

I'm becoming a solid climber. I might have even gone harder in the hills.
Transition 2
  • 01m 39s
Comments:

Quick transition. Time includes that long run from the mount spot in my shoes. Almost ran out of transition with my helmet on!
What would you do differently?:

Take helmet off sooner. Stick another gel pack in my suit.
Run
  • 21m 35s
  • 3.2 miles
  • 06m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

Nice run. Picked off about five competitors along the way. Again, pace slowed by course choices - that staircase? Yeah, I could have done without that. I would much rather climb a hill than a winding staircase. The good news is the views were beautiful from up there. The bad news, is one bad step and... wow, that would have been a disaster.
What would you do differently?:

I felt good through to the finish, so to improve my time I might launch into a faster pace well before the final 400-600m.
Post race
Warm down:

Just a half mile or so around the course. Left foot was a bit sore/numb from swim and running/riding with no socks.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

On the swim, nothing. On the bike, the climbs and the fear of crashing out on the descents. And on the run, those steps leading to the GG Bridge.

Event comments:

A solid race and a nice west coast tri debut for me. I might suggest that they get stronger volunteers - perhaps from the local running/tri clubs. I think they utilized a local school or something and the kids didn't often know what to do or what the race was about. Otherwise, great.




Last updated: 2008-06-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:05 | 875 yards | 01m 30s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 9/
Performance: Good
Suit: Sleeveless wetsuit
Course: Beach start. Ran into water, swam to a buoy and then made a right down to the next. Tight turn around the far buoy, then headed back to shore. A long run to transition.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 53F / 12C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:56
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:40:11 | 12 miles | 17.92 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 15/
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Two loops through the Presidio. After a nice 1/2 mile straight-away, begin series of climbs. Some pretty technical descents as well. Beautiful course well above the Pacific Ocean.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:39
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:21:35 | 03.2 miles | 06m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/
Overall: 2/
Performance: Average
Course: Run along the trail at Crissy Field to a long series of winding steps leading to the Golden Gate Bridge. At the turn-around point, head back down to transition.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4