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Hammonton Recreation Department Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Hammonton, New Jersey
United States
Hammonton Recreational Department
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 26m 18s
Overall Rank = 169/240
Age Group = 35 - 39
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:30. Walked the dog and got her settled back up and asleep with my wife. Ate a granola and put everything in my car. Headed over to pick up my Dad and transfer everything to his minivan. Had to stop for gas and also stopped and got bagels. Ate 1/2 of a PB bagel. Drank almost 2 whole 32 oz gatorades on the way as I wanted to make sure I was better hydrated than my race last month where I cramped.
Event warmup:

Made some mistakes here and never really warmed up. Went to registration before racking my bike. By the time I got through reg there were no place for me to put my bike. Must've spent about 20 minutes before I found a spot to squeeze into. Barely had time to get my wetsuit on and get over to the water befoe they sounded the horn.
Swim
  • 12m 55s
  • 440 yards
  • 02m 56s / 100 yards
Comments:

It's amazing how my perception of this has changed from when I was in the water, after the race and until now. Initially I just wanted to quit right there in the water but I thought about a thread hear on BT started by BryanCD discussing what do you do when you're mind is telling you to stop. I decided I was going to finish the swim and the race no matter what, in other words HTFU. After the race I was frankly embarassed by my performance. Now I'm taking it as a challenge and I'm going to kick the swim's a$$ at NJ State. Where do I start on the actual swim. I was in the 1st wave off and I situated myself in the rear right side of the pack. Almost instantly all the work and practice I put in went out the window and I reverted to something that resembled thrashing and holding my breath. The other people in the water bothered me. The dark, murky water bothered me. Basically everything got into my head and got me off of my game. Because of this I switched to breast stroke and not even a good one at that. Did this to the turn around which I walked around and then did a combo of BS and free style the rest of the way but never, ever got into any kind of rhythm or relaxed state. There were about 1/2 dozen or so in the same boat as me so at least I wasn't alone. Even though my performance was frankly embarrassing there was no way I wasn't going to finish. I know I wasn't DFL as I made sure I beat a few strugglers from my heat out of the water but couldn't have been far off.
What would you do differently?:

Practice OWS as much as possible. My mind just wasn't prepared for it even though I know I can swim the 1/4 mile (twice that far really) without a problem physically. Have to learn to relax and just do my controlled, slow thing. Maybe next race I'll just start last in my wave so I have clear, calm water right from the beginning.
Transition 1
  • 03m 38s
Comments:

After the awful swim I ended up taking longer here so I could compose myself a bit and get my mind into doing well on the bike/run instead of just mailing it in. Already knew my goal time of 1:25 was going to be out of the question. Was pretty calm in transition, cleaned and dried my feet, had no issues with the wetsuit or getting my socks/shoes on.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Could've rushed in and rushed out and saved a little time but I had to get my head back around that it was still a race. Shoud've tied my shoes up tighter here as didn't remember to do it leading into the run.
Bike
  • 44m 35s
  • 12 miles
  • 16.15 mile/hr
Comments:

Got into the bike right away and knew I should have people I could pass since I was pretty far back in the pack after the swim. In the beginning I was doing most of the passing and getting up to 24 mph and keeping it pretty much over 19.5 the 1st half. The 2nd half I was passed by other fast bikers who obviously struggled with the swim like me. In the end I did well on the bike for me and was pretty happy with the ride. I did drop my chain once so that took a minute or so to fix and get back up to speed. I didn't have any cramping issues on the bike this time and I attribute this to much better pre-race hydration.
What would you do differently?:

This one is easy. I need to ride my bike more and build up my leg strengh. There are still too many times on what are in reality little inclines where I lost way too much speed/momentum.
Transition 2
  • 00m 59s
Comments:

This went very well. Found rack right away, dropped bike onto the rack, helmet off and swig of gatorade. Took an extra second to reach into my bag and grab my watch as I didn't wear it into the water and forgot to put it on before the bike. Ran out of transition and legs felt pretty good.
What would you do differently?:

Probably just forget the watch and make sure shoes are tied tight how I like them.
Run
  • 24m 12s
  • 3 miles
  • 08m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

This is where I still struggle with how much to push myself without running out of gas. Need to work on that as I could've shaved another minute or two off of my time for sure. Went out and immediately started passing people. Was running a little bit past comfortable but well within myself. Eventually got to the turnaround and watch had 14 minutes which made me think I wasn't running hard enough. At this point I thought this would turn into a 28 minute run and I definitely wanted to be under 25 at least. I was still passing people and had yet to be passed by anyone so it should've occurred to me that the turnaround wasn't the 1/2 way point. Started to push a little harder but not full out. Before I knew it I was turning right back on to the sand track and was within a 1/4 mile of finishing. Here one person came flying up and passed me. Tried to catch her but ran out of track. Realized right away I could've gone for broke more in the run as I had more energy than necessary after a Tri.
What would you do differently?:

Run harder. I was tired but definitely not spent at the end and probably had 2 to 3 minutes faster in me for the run.
Post race
Warm down:

Co-worker Jay was waiting for me at the finish as he was about 7 minutes ahead of me (thanks swim). Grabbed some lemonade and yummy cookies and set off to find my Dad. After talking to him for a few minutes he decided to head off to the car as it would take him awhile to get there in his chair. I went and gathered my stuff and before leaving went over and cheered on some finishers. The joy on most of their faces is what snapped my out of my swim funk and made me determined to conquer it next time.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Umm, my stupid a$$ brain which went into panic mode instead of doing what it knows I can do. It and I both know I can't swim fast but the distance shouldn't have been a problem or a worry. Also need more TITS so I can push more on the bike without worrying about bonking.

Event comments:

Well the 1st one is over and plan on coming back next year and breaking 1:20. The race itself I enjoyed and it was a great venue for spectators so my Dad enjoyed himself as well.




Last updated: 2008-01-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:12:55 | 440 yards | 02m 56s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 213/240
Performance: Bad
Suit: Yes.
Course: Basically a straight line out buoys on left and then straight back also with buoys on left. Parts of course were only 3 - 4 feet deep.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 62F / 17C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Bad Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:38
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:44:35 | 12 miles | 16.15 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 186/240
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: 6 miles out and 6 miles back. Probably a little more downhill on the way out but really just a flat course.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:59
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:24:12 | 03 miles | 08m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 120/240
Performance: Good
Course: Start out on a sand road way and then it's a straight out straight back course. Flat for the most part.
Keeping cool Average Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2008-05-26 10:01 AM

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Master
1639
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Robbinsville NJ
Subject: Hammonton Recreation Department Sprint Triathlon


2008-05-26 3:40 PM
in reply to: #1424413

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Science Nerd
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Redwood City, California
Subject: RE: Hammonton Recreation Department Sprint Triathlon
Way to stick it out through the swim and not give up!  That can be a huge challenge.  I felt the same way during my first tri with an OWS.  Lots of practice is very helpful in making you more comfortable.  Keep working at it and you'll have a much better next race. 
2008-05-27 7:39 AM
in reply to: #1424413

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Master
1639
100050010025
Robbinsville NJ
Subject: RE: Hammonton Recreation Department Sprint Triathlon
Added my times. Makes be a BOP'er for my 1st race but gives me something to shoot at for NJ State in 2 months. I have to say that 13 minute swim felt at least double that.
2008-05-28 9:07 AM
in reply to: #1424413

New user
3

Subject: RE: Hammonton Recreation Department Sprint Triathlon
Sounds like we had somewhat similar thoughts on the race. Good job and keep it up. Now I am going to get ready for another one in about a month.

2008-05-28 9:21 AM
in reply to: #1424413

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Extreme Veteran
387
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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Hammonton Recreation Department Sprint Triathlon
Congrats triathlete! You cannot expect your first race to go perfect in every aspect so you just have to take the positives and work off of those.

Keep the great work up!
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