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Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Sprint Relay - TriathlonSprint


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Minneapolis, Minnesota
United States
Life Time Fitness
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 19m 5s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = Sprint Relay
Age Group Rank = 1/29
Pre-race routine:

Headed up at 5:20am. Stopped at McD's for an Egg McMuffin. At 6am called Jen to wish her good luck. Also called Steve to let him know I was stuck on Cedar Ave in traffic. Got bodymarked. Took for freakinever to find Steve in the transition area. We talked T1 strategy.

Steve had registered us for the sprint relay. We looked at our wave start, and we had an Olympic wave start. We talked to the volunteers. Apparently, Steve (our team captain) was registered under the sprint category, Sam (runner) and I were registered as Olympic relay participants. At that moment I had a panic attack. I came prepared to swim 704 yds, not 1619. I took a deep breath and told myself 'I can do 1619. This is a wetsuit swim. You can float half the distance.' Well, since Steve (captain) was registered in the sprint category, the volunteers told us to start with the sprint group and they'll take care of the rest. Hung out and talked to folks from my running group, saw Denise, talked to Dave Goodin...drank Gatorade...almost wished we had raced the Olympic distance...
Event warmup:

Swam out in the bay to the left of the start. About 50 yds and back just to get the wetsuit adjusted at 8:05. Did the same thing again at 8:20. Wave start at 8:30...
Swim
  • 13m 2s
  • 704 yards
  • 01m 51s / 100 yards
Comments:

Great group of folks in the wave. Laughing, joking, having a great time. Lined up inside front. Timer went off. Two big guys and 1 tall thin guy SPRINTED out ahead. I ran at medium speed in behind them (this is the FIRST time I have ever run at the start...all the other starts I have walked out to deeper water to avoid fatigue later in the swim). It was also the first time I've ever drafted. Swam right in behind one of the big guys and felt like I wasn't even swimming, almost like I should pass him. Held back behind for about 50 yards. Realized as I sighted, that the guy was going off course, so I swam toward the left and lost the draft advantage. Now this was real life. Big guy (who went off course) realized he was off, and was swimming to catch me. He was a strong swimmer, so it didn't take him long. Had a little trouble breathing at 300 yds, so did the usual 'put your big head back into the water and breathe out all that CO2 and you'll be fine--don't hyperventilate!' Seemed to work. Rounded the turnaround with no problem. At about 450 yards got passed by a few yellow caps (female sprint relay). Come to find out these gals were swimming about 1:34/100 yds. Saw the beach and swam fast. Stood up, looked around and saw no-one near me. That means the #5 guy wasn't even close, which is a foreign situation for me! Found out he came in 2 minutes behind me...weird...looked to the left and saw swimmers coming in...first thought was 'Aauuughhh, I swam too far inside, I am SO DQ'ed.' Even turned around to start swimming back to the last buoy, but finally realized that the people on the left were Olympic participants still coming in...weird...so I high-tailed it out of the water as fast as I could, ran up the beach and almost sprinted through the transition area. Hit my split button and didn't catch the split. Checked it again and it said '29'...my heart sunk, that time is worse than last year (20). Little did I know that that meant 29 seconds into the next split. I continued to sprint. Took the chip off my ankle and wrapped it around Steve's ankle. Lou asked how I did, and I told him 'not as good as I thought.' Stopped my watch, went into recall mode and checked lap 1. About fell over when I saw 13 minutes...rolled through the recall again and saw 13...finally a smile on my face...no wonder I was out of breath...:)
What would you do differently?:

Learn to better capitalize on drafting off big guys. Considering my swim time was 20 min last year, I'll take this year's 13:02, wetsuit advantage or not...
Transition 1
  • 01m 32s
Comments:

No rush in transition. Was a welcome rest...
Bike
  • 45m 2s
  • 15 miles
  • 19.99 mile/hr
Comments:

Steve on the bike leg. Pretty amazing. It was only his 3rd time on the bike this season. He's a strong rider...
Transition 2
  • 00m 58s
Run
  • 18m 31s
  • 3 miles
  • 06m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

Sam ROCKED this run (and clinched the win for us). He runs for Mankato State (son of Steve's co-worker). Ran freakin' 6:10 miles!!!
Post race
Warm down:

Just hung out and talked to people. Cheered Sam and Scotty in...

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Still a few pacing issues. Losing breath at 300 yds...

Event comments:

I would do this race every year if it wasn't for the entry fee. Thanks to Steve and Waste Management for sponsoring the relay teams. Great experience for building confidence in the swim. Turtleman, here we come...keep your fingers crossed for wetsuit temps...he, he...I'll be practicing long OWSs SANS wetsuit the next few weeks...:)




Last updated: 2007-06-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:02 | 704 yards | 01m 51s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/29
Overall: 13/
Performance: Good
Suit: BlueSeventy Reaction sleeveless
Course: Triangular out and back
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:32
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:45:02 | 15 miles | 19.99 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/29
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:58
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:18:31 | 03 miles | 06m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/29
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2007-07-16 6:00 PM

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Pro
4541
2000200050025
A farming town in MN
Subject: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Sprint Relay


2007-07-16 7:45 PM
in reply to: #888320

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Master
1506
1000500
Minnesota
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Sprint Relay
Wow - I definitely would've freaked out if I had to swim the olympic distance. I would've drowned and you would've never found me!

Anyway, looks like you did well on the swim! And your bike/run legs were awesome too! Go team!
2007-07-16 10:04 PM
in reply to: #888320

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Elite
3687
20001000500100252525
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Sprint Relay
Nice job Sal, man you have improved your swimming in a very short time.  Great job .
2007-07-16 11:44 PM
in reply to: #888320

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Elite
3489
20001000100100100100252525
Lakewood, CO
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Sprint Relay
Awesome swim!!!!  Way to lead off the team. 
2007-07-17 7:14 AM
in reply to: #888320

Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Sprint Relay
You ROCK, Sparks! No more complaining about the OWS - we all KNOW you can do it...and do it well! Great work to you and your whole team. OOO
2007-07-17 8:54 AM
in reply to: #888320

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Master
2346
200010010010025
Dayton, Minnesota
Bronze member
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Sprint Relay
Awesome race, Sal! How exciting to earn a podium spot at such a huge race!!


2007-07-18 6:56 AM
in reply to: #888320

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Veteran
157
1002525
Colorado Springs
Subject: RE: Life Time Fitness Triathlon - Sprint Relay
Nice job Sal! You rocked that swim! To go from 20 minutes to 13 is absolutely amazing!!! Congrats!
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