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Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Huddleston, Virginia
United States
Set Up Events
73F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 12m 9s
Overall Rank = 32/404
Age Group = M 25-29
Age Group Rank = 3/16
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 6 and took a shower and shaved. I ate half a bagel and drank some water as my wife and I drove over to the race site at about 6:45. We got there at 7, just as a lot of people seemed to be arriving. I set up my transition area and found the bike start/finish, run start, and swim finish so that I knew what to site during the race.
Event warmup:

Biked for about 2 minutes, just to make sure that my bike still worked. Ran a mile or so including a few spots at race pace (ended up being a lot faster than race pace). And right before the gun went off I swam a few meters.
Swim
  • 11m 14s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 22s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my second open water swim ever, and first mass start ever. I really had no idea what to expect except what I had read on BT, but it lived up to the washing machine stereotype. I was punching and getting punched for the first few hundred yards, and someone grabbed both of my legs at one point and pulled me back. Also, I almost ran into the first buoy, but looked up just before I got there. The last few hundred yards were easy. I was by myself, so the only difficulty was looking up every few strokes to see how far off course I had veered. I passed some of the elite swimmers that were in the wave ahead of us (I'm not sure how the elites were seeded, but I don't think this should have happened). Then I staggered up onto the beach and hustled over to the transition area.
What would you do differently?:

Get a sleeveless wetsuit. The water wasn't cold at all and its only going to get warmer through the year.
Transition 1
  • 02m 24s
Comments:

It took a little while to get out of my wetsuit because I was rushing. Once I slowed down it was pretty quick.
What would you do differently?:

Slow down and be calm about it.
Bike
  • 36m 37s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 20.37 mile/hr
Comments:

I chose to run up the short hill after transition and mounted my bike about 100 yds into the bike leg. I got up to speed quickly and passed a bunch of people in the first mile. The hills weren't as bad as I had feared, but they were a lot worse than the ones that I normally ride on. I really need to work on my climbing. Because I live in an urbanish area, this was the first time I've had a completely uninterrupted ride and I was happy with my time. I think I might have gone a little too hard because the run was difficult afterwards.
What would you do differently?:

Train more on the hills! And I need to drink more, I only drank about a third of my water bottle. And buy a cervelo.
Transition 2
  • 00m 51s
Comments:

I almost missed the dismount line because of the little downhill leading up to it, so I was going way too fast when I jumped off. I squeezed the brakes hard to compensate, and the bike almost flipped over. After that little embarassing stunt, everything went smoothly.
What would you do differently?:

Get off the bike a little earlier.
Run
  • 21m 5s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

This was not a good run at all. I was expecting something around 19 minutes. My legs were a little tired coming off the bike. At first I told myself not to panic, that it was supposed to be normal. But then it continued through the first mile and I realized that it wasn't going to get any better. I was passed by two people and I didn't have anything in me to respond. I don't usually get passed on runs. The fact that I went pretty hard on the bike probably had something to do with it, but I know I can shave a lot of time off of my run in my next races. Also, the last mile included one really steep hill which I was not expecting at all, even though I had already biked up and down it in warm-up, biked up and down it during the race, and run down it at the beginning of the race. I must not have been thinking straight. But, excuses aside, I think I could have done better here.
What would you do differently?:

Run harder. I had a little left in my tank at the end. I haven't done a race before where there isn't someone right in front of me pushing my pace, which makes everything easier. Also, the biking in the bricks I've done included a lot of starting and stopping right before I got off as I bike through Arlington, so they aren't representative of a race. I need to figure out a way to do better bricks.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, nothing much

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This was my first race. I'm sure with experience I'll knock some time off.

Event comments:

Even with the run, this was a great first race! I'm excited to finally be a triathlete, and I got a trophy to prove it!




Last updated: 2008-02-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:14 | 820 yards | 01m 22s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/16
Overall: 29/404
Performance: Good
Suit: Full
Course:
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 64F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:24
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:36:37 | 12.43 miles | 20.37 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/16
Overall: 53/404
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering: Bad
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:51
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:21:05 | 03.11 miles | 06m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/16
Overall: 35/404
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2008-05-04 7:07 PM

New user
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Subject: Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon


2008-05-06 8:38 AM
in reply to: #1380976

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Veteran
161
1002525
Pasadena, MD
Subject: RE: Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon

Phenominal job!  Until I read your blurb at the end I would never have guessed this was your first tri based on your times!   Congrats on the award.  This was my second and you blew me away by almost 20 minutes!  Keep up the good work!!!

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