Patriot's Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Bath, Pennsylvania
United States
piranha sports
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 8h 00m
Overall Rank = 25/105
Age Group = M (30-34)
Age Group Rank = 1/9
Swim
  • 26m 39s
  • 1422 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

Great swim, but way too crowded. It was a two loop course in an old gravel pit, so there was no running or wading to start or finish. The water was warm (about 78 deg F), and wetsuits were allowed. The two bad things were the crowd and the sun glare. The longest leg on each loop was right into the sun, so you had to give it your best guess to stay on course. They should have split us into two waves because going around every buoy was a nightmare. It was so crowded; I was basically treading water and waiting for people to get out of the way. Otherwise, I felt relaxed and good on the swim. I averaged about a 1:52 / 100m pace which isn’t bad for the crowds and about what I average on good training swims.
What would you do differently?:

Try to breathe bilaterally. I breathed unilaterally which was okay during the swim, but it made my neck sore for the bike.
Transition 1
  • 02m 18s
Comments:

Not a bad transition. I did take my time a bit as I wanted to get plenty of food down prior to the bike. As usual, the damn wetsuit took forever to get off, but otherwise, a pretty smooth transition.

Bike
  • 1h 57m 28s
  • 41 miles
  • 20.94 mile/hr
Comments:

Good course. As described in the pre-race brief, definitely a lot of rolling hills, with only one or two notable climbs. Of course, when Norine reads this, I’m sure she’ll think, “…hills? You mean those speed bumps you have out there on the East Coast?!” (Norine lives and races in Colorado Springs and now Denver, by the way). Anyway, there were a lot of turns and a lot of down hills to make up for the climbs. It was pretty windy but due to the constant changes in direction, the wind ended up being a non-factor. The course was one big 20 mile loop, followed by two shorter loops – about 10 miles each. Those courses are good and bad: good because you know about where you are, and what’s in front of you; but bad because…..you know where you are and what’s in front of you! I was only passed a couple times, which I’m okay with on this distance.

Transition 2
  • 01m 43s
Comments:

Not bad. Could have gone a little faster, but this was the part I was most nervous about – the transition from bike to run.

Run
  • 1h 04m 9s
  • 7.6 miles
  • 08m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

I couldn’t believe how good my legs felt at the start! Granted, the run started out downhill, which was huge. At about mile 2, the first uphill hit us and I felt every single mile of that bike ride! I couldn’t believe the difference from downhill running after that ride to the uphill running. Around mile 3, there was a long downhill and I just remembered how much I wasn’t looking forward to running up that hill on the way back. It was an out and back course – plenty of shade, good breeze, and a slight uphill at the end. The best part of the run was that I saw a guy in my age group pass me right in the first mile. At the time, I had no idea what my place was overall or in my age group. But, I managed to keep the guy in sight the whole time. Around mile 6 (coming up that big hill) I gained a lot of ground and then blew past him! I ended up beating him by about 2 minutes and secured 1st in my age group. Felt great!

Post race
Event comments:

First distance for this race. Great distance. Until I do a full half-iron, this is my favorite! I'd rather do this again than another Olympic.




Last updated: 2008-07-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:39 | 1422 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/9
Overall: 50/105
Performance: Good
Suit: Blue Seventy
Course: Two Loop Course. VERY Crowded. Deep water, no running start or finish.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:18
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:57:28 | 41 miles | 20.94 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/9
Overall: 18/105
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: One big loop (approx 20 mi), followed by two smaller loops (approx 10 mi each). Lots of turns, fairly rolling hills. Some bad gusts - one almost blew me over!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:43
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:04:09 | 07.6 miles | 08m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/9
Overall: 32/105
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back course - rolling hills. Well shaded with a nice breeze.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5