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Capital of Texas Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Austin, Texas
United States
Capital of TexasTriathlon
84F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 45m 26s
Overall Rank = 385/1437
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 66/163
Pre-race routine:

Got there early and was ready when transition opened. Got set up quickly and just hung out at the TNT tent with some of my team mates. Was relaxed and looking forward to the race. Sleep didn't go great, but was better than some other races.
Event warmup:

Didn't do any warmup. Just stretched a little bit is all.
Swim
  • 27m 27s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 50s / 100 meters
Comments:

I planned to start at the front with a buddy. We are both strong swimmers and assumed we would be in front and stay in front and that way have clear water. WRONG!!! I am pretty sure half the swimmers in my wave swam over me in the first 50m. It wasn't too bad though. My biggest challenge on the swim was all the bodies I had to swim past! There were so many slow swimmers out there clogging things up. That made the navigation very tough because you couldn't just site your buouy and go for it. You had to zig and zag around all these people to get anyplace. I was 5 minutes slower than I had hoped for. That would have been at my fastest pace though too so probably not very realistic for my plan (more about that later).
What would you do differently?:

Hope to be in an earlier wave. Other than that? Not much. Perhaps swim a lot harded in the opening 100m to stay ahead of some guys?
Transition 1
  • 03m 20s
Comments:

This is a very long transition distance. Given that it is a hug race, it is a long way through transition and from the water and to the mount line. The transition itself went well. I had thought it through and I exeuted pretty well.
What would you do differently?:

I am not sure I could have changed much here.
Bike
  • 1h 07m 56s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 21.95 mile/hr
Comments:

Well I felt great on the bike! Surprise! Because I couldn't see my HR I feel certain I let myself go all out on the bike and paid the price later for it. OVerall the ride felt fine. The last climbs I was feeling exhausted but felt like I was strong the whole way.
What would you do differently?:

I would make sure I reign in my ponies and not let them run so hard on the bike! This was a major failure in endurance race execution and cost me dearly on the run. I thought I had more endurance built up than I did but between overdoing it on the bike and the heat/humidity, I cratered.
Transition 2
  • 02m 15s
Comments:

This transition went great. I took a water bottle with me through transition on my way out to drink what I could before leaving.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 1h 04m 24s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, this pretty much determined my race results. I completely cratered on the run. I had overdone it on the bike and had nothing left. The first 3 miles I felt like I was running at a decent pace (turns out I think I did 10min miles) but really was going slow. I spent most of the 6 miles thinking to myself that I had to slow down so that I didn't overdo it. What I didn't recognize was that I was already running at a near crawl and STILL my HR was racing. I didn't stop for water the 2nd 3 mile loop. This was a mistake. I also stopped pouring it over my head thinking that perhaps it was too humid and that would make me overheat more (something my coach had talked about). David caught up to me the last half mile or so and we came in together. We opened it up and poured it on the last 200 yards or so. I wanted to make sure I had nothing left and that I had left it all on the course. Well, an hour spent in the medical tent proved to me that I had left it all on the course and that I had nothing left. :)
What would you do differently?:

I would hydrate more during the run. I would ride slower on the bike and make sure I keep an eye on my HR. I will likely buy a new HR monitor for my runs so I am sure I know my HR. I will use ice under my hat while I run.
Post race
Warm down:

I didn't have much of a warm-down. I was in the medical tent hooked up to an IV of fluids. My HR was 165 once they took it (highest I have ever seen it I believe) and my temp was over 104. I was evidently pretty dehydrated, and I know I was hot! ;)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My poor race strategy. I failed to recognize that it is an endurance event and I was not physically prepared to "race" the entire event and I mistakenly believed I was. I shouldn't have tried to "race" as much as I did. Instead I should have held back some on the bike to still have energy for the run.

Event comments:

Items I disliked about this race:
1. Packet pickup was sheer chaos. Worst I have seen. No reason it should have gone so poorly.
2. The race started late. Don't know whay.
3. They then shifted all the wave spacing the morning of which further delayed everyone's start. I was a 7:48 and went off at 8:25.
4. A 6 mile loop with over 2000 racers seems ridiculously unsafe to me. So much for trying to referee this race. It was literally like riding in a rugby scrum. Constantly there were 4 bikes abreast going down the course. Not my style of course for triathlon at all. Give me some straight open roads! ;)

It wasn't all bad. It was neat that it was downtown. There are LOTS of spectators which is nice. Swimming in Town Lake wasn't bad at all. Quite cool actually. My race performance sucked but that was my problem, not the race's fault. I think if they limited the number of particpants, and/or ran the Sprint on a different day, and came up with a better solution for packet pickup it would have been a completely different experience for me. I doubt I will do this one again and that is mainly due to my preference for a bike course. I really enjoy something straight out and back where the racers are all strung out along the course (as opposed to riding in tight together).

In the end, I did accomplish what I had set out to do which was to do my best for my Pap and to hold nothing back and leave it all on the course. Mission accomplished!





Last updated: 2008-05-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:27:27 | 1500 meters | 01m 50s / 100meters
Age Group: 21/163
Overall: 129/1437
Performance: Average
Suit: Full wetsuit
Course: The course was an out and back heading upstream. There was a .6mph current. I didn't really notice it.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:20
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:07:56 | 24.85 miles | 21.95 mile/hr
Age Group: 37/163
Overall: 195/1437
Performance: Good
My bike computer wouldn't pick up my HR monitor. This would prove to be a costly mistake later.
Wind: Some
Course: Four six-mile loops through downtown with every other cyclist in the race on it at one time with you. It was like a rugby scrum on bikes.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 93
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:15
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:04:24 | 06.21 miles | 10m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 110/163
Overall: 769/1437
Performance: Bad
2 laps on a 3 mile course. Again, my HR monitor on my wrist wouldn't pick up a reading so I am sure I ran at too high a HR.
Course: Basically flat and almost no shade. HOT as all get out.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2

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2008-05-27 8:27 AM

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Subject: Capital of Texas Triathlon - Olympic Distance
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