Hillarys Triathlon Race 1 - TriathlonSprint


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Perth, Western Australia
Australia
Trievents
22C / 72F
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 38m 47s
Overall Rank = 274/284
Age Group = 25 - 29
Age Group Rank = 16/17
Pre-race routine:

Packed & ready the night before. Got up at 5.30am. Breakfast was a coffee (I can't function without a morning coffee and a withdrawal headache would have been the last thing I needed during the race LOL!) and porridge made with oats, skim milk and a little golden syrup. Drank lots of water the day/night before and on the morning to counteract the diuretic effects of said coffee! Squeezed into my tri pants & tri top from last year - they still fit fine, whew! :) :) :) I live 5.5k from transition so Sef & I rode our bikes down and got there about 6.10am. Registered, got body marked, set up transition. Chatted to our friends Rob & Julia and their baby Zack, Rob was racing and Julia + Zack were watching. I decided I was feeling good about this race. I was interested to see how fit I was to give me a benchmark for the rest of the season.
Event warmup:

It was very windy with a significant wind-chill factor. If it wasn't for the wind it would have been warmer. So warming up & staying warmed up was going to be tricky. I went for a 1-2k gentle jog to wake up my guts and visited the loo. Then listened to the race briefing and had a few jelly lollies. I didn't realise until the night before that I had run out of Gu's, so I tried the lolly approach today. I had a while before my wave went off so I ran up and down the beach and then went for a 5 minute swim to get everything moving. It seemed to be enough. Damn I wish I owned a wetsiut! :)
Swim
  • 13m 45s
  • 500 meters
  • 02m 45s / 100 meters
Comments:

Ran in and started swimming. I was MOP for the first 100m or so and managed to draft a bit. The current was very strong and my navigation was really off due to this! This contributed to me falling behind. There was a bit of chop on the way back. Overall I was happy with my performance. Sure I am not really a fast swimmer but I managed to maintain a good steady pace and pushed just the right amount for me without exhausting myself early on. I was pleased about this.
What would you do differently?:

I am happy with my fitness this early in the season. I can tell that my regular attendance at swim squad has made a difference. I'll keep going and hopefully keep improving. I wish I owned a wetsuit - I am tossing up whether its worth buying one though, it depends whether I end up doing some longer tris this season. Maybe a Christmas present? :)
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

I had a red towel to mark my position. Got swim stuff off and bike stuff on without a drama. Drank a few swigs of water. Washed my feet off with some water. Putting socks on always takes ages, but I need to wear socks 'cos of my orthotics.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 53m 41s
  • 21.9 kms
  • 24.48 km/hr
Comments:

The official time includes T1 & T2. My bike computer says I averaged about 26.5k on the actual course. Also the official distance is 20k, but its not, my computer says almost 22k! :) I was most worried about the cycle portion of the race because of the wind. It turned out to be much less of an issue than I imagined. It was more of a cross wind so I still managed to go quite fast (for me LOL). Theres a big hill at the end of the cycle loop and the road surface in that area is very rough. I was impressed that I managed about 20 khr up the hill every time I went over it, which is good for me. The rest of the people on the cycle portion were pretty good, no incidents that I could see. I stayed in aero most of the time. Last season on the run portion of the race I got stomach cramps and had to make 2 toilet stops, and in retrospect that was because I had a gel just before the run. This time I decided to get my nutrition in during the bike so I could digest it before the run. This worked well. I sipped on a bottle of gatorade and also a bottle of plain water. I nibbled on some jelly lollies. In retrospect I think I ate too many jelly lollies because I could feel them in my stomach on the run, but they didn't make me feel sick. I think 4 before the swim and 4 during the cycle will be enough in future. Eating and drinking slowed me down a little though, because I had to concentrate on getting the stuff into my mouth without crashing LOL!
What would you do differently?:

I really need to do more T.I.T.S. especially up hills. I was happy with my cycle because I think I did the best I could at the time, but I definitely have more in me, I just need to train more. In all honesty I haven't done enough cycle training yet this season, especially in the past few weeks. So, something to work on. I was happy with the nutrition, I think it worked well, maybe I'll get a bento box to make it easier to access lollies? I had them in a little zip pocket on my fuel belt (which was doubling as a race belt) and they were a bit tricky to get to. Actually I was pleased with the lolly approach - this seemed to work just as well as a Gu would have, and its a lot cheaper. After all, glucose is glucose isn't it???
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Nice, quick transition. Did not eat or drink anything more because I did not want to upset my tummy for the run.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 31m 19s
  • 5 kms
  • 06m 16s  min/km
Comments:

Stomach behaved itself so the nutrition plan worked well. I was pretty knackered but I was determined to run the whole way, which I did. My lower back was very achey from aero position, I was worried it would get worse the further I ran but luckily it didn't. Rob was finishing his run just as I was starting mine, he encouraged me. I saw Sef about 500m before the turn around point, tried to hi-5 him but he was too knackered. I was very pleased to see the turn around point myself, and on the way back I kept focused on the mobile phone tower that is at the race finish, at times it seemed sooo far away. To be honest, the run for me was all about "suck it up buttercup and get 'er done" but that night when I saw the race results I was pleasantly surprised with my pace, I thought I was going slower than that. So all in all, it was a good run.
What would you do differently?:

Bricks, bricks, bricks. I never do them. Prolly because I haven't spent enough T.I.T.S! So the plan is to do more of both. Plus keep up the running training. I am still a grandma-pace runner, but I am way better than I used to be :) There is a definite steady improvement, albeit very slowly LOL!
Post race
Warm down:

Drank water and ate some apples pieces that were provided. Stretched. Met up with Sef, Rob (Rob is a machine - he came 53rd overall!), Julia & Zack and all went back to our house for pancakes and fruit salad. Yum!!!! I would have liked to stay back for presentations because I wanted to win a wetsuit, but baby Zack was getting grumbly so we decided to leave. I rode home and it was a very slow, sore ride, especially up the big hill on Hepburn Ave!!! :)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I am actually really happy with my first race of the season and it has given me some good pointers on where to focus my training this season.

Event comments:

This is only the second time Hillarys has hosted a triathlon. Its a good course and quite challenging due to the wind and hills. I'll be back - the women's tri is there this season, and then there will be another general tri there in about 5-6 months.




Last updated: 2008-09-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:45 | 500 meters | 02m 45s / 100meters
Age Group: 15/17
Overall: 239/284
Performance: Good
Suit: No
Course: Rectangular course - swim straight out to a buoy, make a right hand turn and swim parallel to shore, then make another right hand turn and swim back to shore.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Good Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:53:41 | 21.9 kms | 24.48 km/hr
Age Group: 14/17
Overall: 260/284
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: Three 7k loops out & back.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:31:19 | 05 kms | 06m 16s  min/km
Age Group: 17/17
Overall: 277/284
Performance: Good
Course: One loop out & back.
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