TriZou (formerly Merrill Lynch Race For Sight) - TriathlonSprint


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Columbia, Missouri
United States
Ultramax
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 06m 7s
Overall Rank = 19/660
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 3/52
Pre-race routine:

Got to transition a little late, got my timing chip, got marked and went to transition. Once I got all of my stuff set up, they announced transition closed and it was time to head to the pool.
Event warmup:

The swim portion was in the University of Missouri Natatorium, so that was cool. I did about 400 meters warmup and then they made everyone get out and line up for the TT start.
Swim
  • 06m 48s
  • 440 yards
  • 01m 33s / 100 yards
Comments:

So, this is a rare race in that it is a pool swim, but being early May, this is almost necessary since most lakes are probably 50 degrees right now.
They had us line up according to estimated swim times. I lined up in the 5:15 swim time, with about 5 other people. They took us over to the start and we waited while the "elite" triathletes went first. I would have beat all but two in the elite wave swim portion, so I kindof wish I would have volunteered myself for the 4 min swim time, since they got to go with the elite wave. All was good though. They had us go 10 seconds apart, we had to walk up to the edge of the pool and jump in. They wouldn't allow us to dive. It was a "snake" swim, where we went down the lane, then under the lane rope, to the next lane. . 8 lanes total, so 400 meter swim or 440 yards. I ended up passing 3 people. Swimming in the pool was really cool, it reminded me of swimming in college again. Between the othe competitors getting ready to swim and the spectators, it was a packed place.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really, besides put myself up in the "fast" group. The swim times are a little distorted, since they don't have a timing mat when you get out of the pool, instead it is at the entrance to the Transition area, which is probably 200 yards or more from the pool My real swim time was 5 minutes 27 seconds. . .took me a while to figure out that they didn't stop the swim time till we hit T1.
Transition 1
  • 01m 16s
Comments:

Ok, if you look at some of the guys that beat me, they have freaky fast T1 times. . I need to get my act together in T1. . With T1 and T2, they cost me about 2 minutes overall. . which would have put me close to top 10.
What would you do differently?:

Since it was the first Tri of the season, I will cut myself some slack, but I had a horrible time getting my shoes on. I put my race belt on in T1, not sure I really had to till T2. Just mental mistakes.
Bike
  • 37m 8s
  • 14 miles
  • 22.62 mile/hr
Comments:

I started off on the bike and had a goal to catch two guys that passed me coming into T1. I hit the bike and tried to get up to speed quickly, but about 200 yards into the bike there was a very sharp turn, followed by a couple more sharp turns. . I am glad there were not a ton of people out on the course otherwise that could have been bad. I got into an ok pace and was feeling decent, although the lactic acid was building up and I knew I had to flush it out. Then came the first hill, not really steep, but really long. I couldn't shift down to my 39 in the front, and I was riding my 11-23 with Zipp disc on the back, so this was going to be a grind. That first hill took a lot out of me mentally, but I was able to catch one of the guys on it that got out ahead of me. After the first big hill, there were a lot of corners, probably too many for a triathlon, but hey . . variety is good sometimes. As I mentioned I was riding my disc for the first time and kept hearing a whoomp, whooomp behind me, so I kept thinking there was some guy riding a disc behind me coming on strong, till I figured out that it was just me. :) The second and last major hill back up to campus was a tough one. It was steeper than the first and about as long. It was definately a struggle to get up it.

The second loop was a littl easier since my legs were warmed up and I knew what to expect. There were a little more people on the course this time, but nothing bad. I had a goal to break 35 minutes but that didn't happen. . all in all I had a decent bike, not what I wanted speed/time wise, but not too bad considering the course.
What would you do differently?:

Drive the course before hand.
Transition 2
  • 01m 7s
Comments:

Again, I lost about a minute here in time. Some guy actually had a 19 second T2. . not sure that is humanly possible. :)
What would you do differently?:

Just focus more and get going.
Run
  • 19m 47s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 06m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

All truth be told, this is what I was waiting for. I wanted to see if all the running I did over the winter would pay off. I wanted to hold sub 7 min miles and just to feel good overall.

I started off with a quick turnover and just tried to tell myself to push it and run hard. There wasn't really many people on the run course, there were some duathletes that were out there and I saw some elite racers out there, but no one else really. I did see a female elite at the mile 1 marker and tried to see if I could catch her (which I did at about mile 2). I felt good and just kept my pace up. Mile 1 time was 6:14 (although I think they had them mismarked somewhat). Mile 2 was 7:15 and mile 3 was 6:20. My average overall was 6:36 which made me pretty happy. The fast guys ran sub 6 minutes, so I still have a ways to go, but at least I am not running 7 min miles anymore. The good thing is that I felt as though I could have kept that pace up for a lot longer. Hopefully I feel that way when I actually have to. :)
What would you do differently?:

Not much, the course was hard to follow sometimes, so maybe get a better feel for it, but it was a course that I couldn't really drive before hand and unless it was marked, you wouldn't know what to look for.
Post race
Warm down:

Finished and saw my wife. Kloden was with a friend in the pool as she was waiting for her husband to even start. Walked back to the pool area and talked with the other Bike Stop athletes.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Transitions!!!!

Event comments:

Good race overall. I think the bike and run course could use an overahaul though. Well organized and executed.

We didn't stick around for awards, because it took forever. That is one of my pet peeves. For a race that takes a little over an hour, shouldn't have to wait around for 4 hours to get awards. Or if someone wants to get their award before hand they should be able to. Oh well, it was just a bottle of wine, and I don't even drink. :)




Last updated: 2009-03-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:06:48 | 440 yards | 01m 33s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/52
Overall: 3/660
Performance: Good
Suit: Just Tri Top and Shorts
Course: Missouri University Swimming Pool
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:16
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:37:08 | 14 miles | 22.62 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/52
Overall: 12/660
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: The course was pretty technical. There were a lot of turns and switchbacks, and two very good climbs. I was surprised in how technical and difficult the course was for a sprint triathlon. It was a good course, but just different than what I had pictured in my head. I didn't go out and scout the course before hand, so that is my bad. The second time around, was definatley better, since I knew what was coming up.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:07
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:19:47 | 03.1 miles | 06m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/52
Overall: 0/660
Performance: Good
MAX/AVG 178/174 mile 1 180/177 mile 2 178/174 mile 3
Course: Course was basically an out an back loop. It was a different course, with cutbacks and smaller loops within the bigger one. But it was pretty flat. There was one gravel/rock section that was different, but it was ok.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3