Fishers Area Sprint Triathlon (Adult) - TriathlonSprint


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Fishers, Indiana
United States
FAST - Fishers Area Swimming Tigers
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 06m 52s
Overall Rank = 43/140
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 11/17
Pre-race routine:

Arrived early, set up transition and munched on a clif bar as I waited to be marked
Event warmup:

The pool closed for warm up at 8:00 (for a 9:00 race), so I didn't bother warming up there. Just did some light stretching and tried to keep my upper body warm waiting to get in the water.
Swim
  • 12m 35s
  • 500 meters
  • 02m 31s / 100 meters
Comments:

This race had a ton of first timers, which meant almost no one properly seeded their swim.

The first 100 was strong as I was able to draft with a girl who was about my same ability. We were making good progress through the crowd until she faded right around the 100m mark. I pressed on and found some feet to cling to, but most people's kicks were so random and uncoordinated that it was hard to do, so I just sucked it up and moved on.

After 300, I finally found someone who I could draft behind and followed her down to the wall. When she hit the wall to turn back, she got to the flags and started breast stroking....right next to another guy doing the same thing. I quickly caught up to the pair, and after taking a few feet and hands to the face, managed to swim between the two of them.

The final 200 were uneventful. The slow people were sorted out within the first 300, leaving people at about my speed in the final 200. I did end up towing one guy the final 50.

Overall it was a good swim. It wasn't very fast, but on par with my current times. The big difference I noticed was the ability to turn it up when I needed to pass someone or break their draft without hurting my overall endurance. I am also finally getting comfortable enough in groups to be more aggressive and actually worry about tactics.
What would you do differently?:

Seed myself farther up. My actual pace for the swim was right at my seed pace, yet I was swimming over people almost constantly. I was not the only one in this situation either. The first group to go to the pool were supposed to be the 'fast' swimmers, but by the time I could see the water, there were a ton of people breast stroking and clinging to the walls and ropes... Realistically, I should have been within the first 40 people to have a clean swim.
Transition 1
  • 01m 37s
Comments:

Not my fastest T1, and not my cleanest, but it's been a while. I did manage to get really good rack position (right on the end), so it was no problem to get to my stuff.

I still can't ride sockless in my current shoes and they aren't Tri shoes, so the 'flying dutchman' mount is a no go. This cost me a little time as I had issues with my right sock, but I still made it out cleanly.
What would you do differently?:

invest in real tri shoes that I can ride sockless and learn to jump on the bike.
Bike
  • 29m 39s
  • 10 miles
  • 20.24 mile/hr
Comments:

This was a perfect day for a bike race. The temps were cool and the course was flat. I have been having some issues running fast lately, so I decided that full out race pace here was a bad idea, so I raced a tad conservatively.

For as many beginners as were at this race, I was really surprised by the bike course. I saw ZERO people drafting. Everyone was riding to the right and following the rules. The only 'issue' I had was when a rider pulled out to the yellow line to allow me to pass on the right. I asked him to move back over and he apologized as I passed.
What would you do differently?:

Ride harder. I had some leftover when I got back to T2 that I didn't need out on the run.
Transition 2
  • 00m 37s
Comments:

There are two drives leading into the parking lot where trans is located. Every time I come to swim at this pool, I always accidentally pull into the first. Today was no exception. I pulled my feet out of the shoes in preparation to hit the first entrance, when I really had another 100m or so.

Coming into transition, was kind of funny. After the turn, the transition area is maybe 50 feet into the parking lot. I make this turn at full speed and swing my leg over to jump off, the whole time all the volunteers are screaming 'DISMOUNT!!!' as I'm squeezing every last inch out of the road. The look on their face was priceless. After the race, my wife said that the guy just before me had actually ridden all the way into transition, which is why they were panicking that I was slowing down.

After dismount, I hit the ground running and found my rack...kind off. Apparently there was someone with the same shoes and a very similar looking towel as me, three racks down. So I run in, spot 'my' shoes and get ready to rack my bike...only to see it's not my spot. So I have to unrack it and run down 3 more racks. If not for that mistake, T2 would have easily been in the mid 20s.
What would you do differently?:

Remember where my rack is
Run
  • 22m 26s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 07m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

I have been having issues with my running all summer, especially higher intensity stuff, so I was pleased by this effort. I hit pace early out of T2 and held steady until the last mile or so, where I started to pick it up. I felt really strong the entire race, but could feel I was walking the edge.
What would you do differently?:

run more
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

lack of training...mostly swimming. If I could have swam a 'pedestrian' 2 /100, I would have gained 6 places. 15 more seconds per 100 and a real run effort would put me in striking distance of the podium.

Event comments:

This was the first year for this race and I have to say it was probably one of the best organized and managed races I have ever done. It was 50%+ first time racers and yet went very smoothly. There were some hiccups, caused by a TON of late entries (I think they said they had 100 more people then they planned for), but you honestly couldn't tell. The bike and run courses were almost excessively marked and had multiple volunteers at all the corners directing traffic. All the major intersections had police presence to direct traffic and I even saw something at this race I have NEVER seen before. As I approached the final turn on the bike, I saw race volunteers sweeping the corner. They didn't just do it before the race..they were keeping it swept between riders.

The price was a little high, but it was to support the Fishers swim club and the race was organized and run so well, I really can't complain.




Last updated: 2008-09-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:35 | 500 meters | 02m 31s / 100meters
Age Group: 14/17
Overall: 101/140
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Snake swim in 50m pool
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:37
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:29:39 | 10 miles | 20.24 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/17
Overall: 35/140
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: The course was a short loop with almost no hills and many turns through round-abouts. This made it really fast for people who knew how to handle through corners.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:37
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:22:26 | 03.1 miles | 07m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 4/17
Overall: 30/140
Performance: Good
Course: Fairly flat course out on a path and back through some neighborhoods.
Keeping cool Good 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? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5