Cooper Summer Sprint Triathlon at Craig Ranch
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Cooper Summer Sprint Triathlon at Craig Ranch - TriathlonSprint
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Swim
Comments: I knew going in that I had fudged on my time, so I made sure to introduce myself to the dude behind me and let him know. Turned out it wasn't a problem. After jumping in I passed the guy in front of me within the first 50 meters. Hmm...must be doing something right. Swam solo the next 50, then I got passed by #63, so he was 10 seconds behind me to start. Dude's moving, time to practice what Coach Dave says, get on his feet, and stay with him. Got right on his feet for the next 150. That was great. I put out zero effort and was moving. Then he passed a few people and we got separated for the last 100. Oh well, good while it lasted. What would you do differently?: Nada. Had a great swim. Transition 1
Comments: Above average for me. Had to open my shoes b/c they were still strapped closed, other than that, no issues. What would you do differently?: One day I'll put some effort into the whole shoes already on the bike thing. Save me a few seconds. Getting to the point where I need to do that. Bike
Comments: Wow, what a jacked up course. They had to change it at the last minute, and the end result was crazy. 3, count 'em, 3 turnarounds. They should have asked me for a better course since I ride in the area a lot. Heh. Still, even with all the turns it was a very fast course. Just seemed like every time I got moving I had to turn or turn around. Only thing memorable about this ride...I was able to pass Coach Dave 2/3 of the way through the first lap on the only hill. Then on the downhill side, when I got right in front of the Cooper Center, I started to pass a guy on a road bike. Problem was, it was right before a left turn. So he starts veering over to the left, just as I'm passing him. So of course I start yelling "LEFT" over and over, which I think he understood as move to the left. Meanwhile, Dave's intertia (heh) had allowed him more speed than me and he was coming on my left at the same time. Dave and I collided, hard, yet somehow we didn't crash. Instead we were locked up, not really able to turn or anything. We rode like this for a few seconds until we both were sure we had our balance, then slowly separated. That was intense. What would you do differently?: Um...I got nuthin'. Transition 2
Comments: Another mediocre transition. I'm tired of clippity clopping in my bike shoes. What would you do differently?: Practice Run
Comments: Man this felt good. I had a few friends up ahead of me that I wanted to have a chat with, so I pushed. Leaving transition, there was a guy with me that I couldn't tell which age group he was in. So, as planned, I pushed hard. Passed 5 people in the first half mile and cracked the guy early. That hurt, but I still felt good. I didn't do the gel on the bike like normal, and I could tell - in a good way. No stomach distress at all. About a mile and a quarter in we got off the road and onto a graphite (isn't that what tracks are made of? I think so) track that was shaded. Man was that awesome. I visualized myself back in 9th grade when I could bust out effortless sub-6 minute miles. Those were the days. Anything to help take my mind off of the crying my legs were doing. At the bottom of the hill I passed Eduardo from Master's and gave him a good game slap. A little further on I saw David Millwee (not racing), who told me I was gaining on Scotty Shark (his brother, also from Master's). That gave me a little extra incentive. I pretended I could see him up ahead, though I knew he was probably already finished. More motivation. The last half mile was downhill and was awesome. Picked off a couple of more people. At the three mile mark though, my legs just shut down. They were done. One of the guys I had just passed caught me and passed me right at the end. Shucks. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I pushed and pushed and pushed until I could push no more. Post race
Warm down: They had ice cold towels at the finish line that volunteers would drape us with and squeeze. Excellent touch on a hot day. After that I walked around a bit, then took off my top, socks, and shoes, replacing them with a t-shirt and flip flops. What limited your ability to perform faster: Not a thing. Had my best race ever. I thought I had a shot at hardware, but I missed out by about 2 minutes. Not going to get down about it considering one of those guys was Trey Yost, who coaches for Playtri (the folks who put the race on). I'll take it. Event comments: Spectacular first year event. The Cooper Center is a great facility for a race. Only downside was the bike course, which was still fast even with all the turns. I sure hope they do this again next year. I'll be there. Doing this race 2 weeks after Disco, the difference in quality and professionalism is night and day. You'd never know it was the first year for this event. Last updated: 2008-07-19 12:00 AM
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2008-07-27 9:21 PM |
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2008-07-28 8:20 AM in reply to: #1563322 |
2008-07-28 12:21 PM in reply to: #1563322 |
2008-07-31 9:23 AM in reply to: #1563322 |
General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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United States
Playtri
90F / 32C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 19/420
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 4/39
Up at 4:30 to shower, Clif Bar, water. Straightened the house a bit. About 5 I got the bikes loaded on the car. Then I went to the donut place to get the babysitter and the boys some donuts and kolaches. Unfortunately it wsn't open yet. Oops. Went back home, sat arond till 5:30 when Kathy and Collin (the babysitter) showed up. Got Kathy's bike loaded and then went back to the donut place. Still closed. Plan B. Went to the other donut place and got the stuff. Got back, made sure we had everything, then slammed a 5 Hour Energy. Then we were off.
The three of us talked a lot about racing, bikes, and how Kathy takes no nutrition of any kind other than water for any race or training. Yikes.
Got to the Cooper Center exactly when Sean did. Had to make fun of him for having a water bottle on each cage PLUS an Aerobottle. Dude, it's 12 miles, not 100.
Body marking went smoothly enough, as did getting my spot on the rack. I like assigned racking. I don't feel like I have to get there 5 minutes before transition opens to get a decent spot. Pretty much everyone from Masters was there.
About 6:20 I put on my socks and running shoes and ran the first half mile or so of the run course, so I knew the first mile would hurt. Uphill the whole way. That would be fun later. I planned to attack it hard and make anyone who tried to hang with me crack.
When I got back I spotted Emily's bright pink cast. While talking to Shannon and Laurie they informed me that my tri shorts were getting a little, um, see thru. Last race for these bad boys.
Double checked everything (should have triple checked - I forgot to open my bike shoes), then went for a 300 warmup swim. Did a few drills, a bit of drafting, and a few sprints.
Got out, found Shannon, mug time, prerace meeting, line up, watch Ahmed dive into the pool (funny, he didn't get a penalty).