Clear Lake International Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Clear Lake, Texas
United States
Out Loud Sports
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 39m 56s
Overall Rank = 102/233
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 17/26
Pre-race routine:

Had a 1/2 bagel with peanut butter and a coke zero for breakfast. When I arrived at the event, I had a Special K cereal bar and water.
Event warmup:

None
Swim
  • 16m 37s
  • 820 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

Well, I almost messed this entire race up by "following directions" and falling forward once the water hit my knees. Unfortunatley, there was a large rock that left multiple 18" scrapes. About 200 yards into the swim I hit another patch of rocks and scraped by fingers again. Ugh. Anyway, this was a pretty good swim as I never got winded and wound up drafting several times. IN fact, I kept running into some guy in a dark red tri suit. I felt bad as I was trying to shift to the right to avoid him, but he kept moving in front of me.
Transition 1
  • 01m 55s
Bike
  • 50m 52s
  • 18.64 miles
  • 21.99 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt good about the bike. I tried to eat Sports Beans, but they apparently bonded to themsleves and was almost impossible to break apart. I eventually gave up and just used the GU in my Bento Box. Since we were the last wave, I wound up having to pass a number of other participants which helped me to keep my pace a little faster than normal.
What would you do differently?:

Push a little harder.
Transition 2
  • 01m 33s
Comments:

Shoes came off easy. No other problems, except that I forgot to take my gloves off, which I didn't realize until after I was about 1/4 mile away.
Run
  • 28m 59s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 09m 21s  min/mile
Comments:

I held a decent pace off the bike. I didn't feel any transition challenges, but it was hard to tell how hard I was working without the HR monitor. I felt a bit stronger heading into mile 2 and tried to start going a bit faster. Saw a friend of mine on his way back just before I hit the turnaround...I calculated that I was 2:46 behind him (2 x 1:23) which was a little better than I thought I'd do. Kept up a good pace, but found myself needing a little break on the bridge just before the event area. I allowed myself 30 seconds of rest before I started back to my normal pace. I probably didn't need the break, but I saw another guy walking and it made me really want to. After the break, I pushed hard to finish strong.
What would you do differently?:

Resist the temptation to walk.
Post race
Warm down:

Light stretching, caught my breath.

Event comments:

This was a good solid event. There were a decent number of volunteers and PLENTY of food at the finish line. After Tejas I decided that these guys knew how to treat the athletes and will continue to support them. There were no lines and easy access to water, sports drinks, and sodas. Other events make you go through a line (like the big marathons) that make it hard to get your well deserved bounty.

Last comment - It is now the Sunday after the event and there isn't any sign of the official results. Ugh.

The only thing that I thought was odd was that there didn't seem to be as many lifeguards/canoes on the swim, but I may have been too preoccupied with my swim to notice.




Last updated: 2009-03-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:37 | 820 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 17/26
Overall: 123/233
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Polygon shape course that went clockwise. The sprint course cut off at about half way and cut across. The turning bouy was almost the same color as the others and a lot of people were tempted to turn too soon. I think they should have used the yellow ones for the sprint instead of the olympic since it was obvious where they should turn on the olympic.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 01:55
Performance:
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:50:52 | 18.64 miles | 21.99 mile/hr
Age Group: 17/26
Overall: 123/233
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course: The bike was a clock-wise course that went around Clear Lake. After the first turn, you went over the Kemah bridge where the traffic picked up a little bit. After a right-turn you went down a nice 4-lane road (that wasn't coned) that was very light traffic. Two more right turns brought you back to NASA road 1, going alongside the Johnson Space Center and returning you to the transition area.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:33
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:28:59 | 03.1 miles | 09m 21s  min/mile
Age Group: 20/26
Overall: 132/233
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back course that went along NASA road 1 and then into a neigborhood.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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] 4