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St. Anthony's - TriathlonOlympic


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St. Petersburg, Florida
United States
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 51m 34s
Overall Rank = 299/3646
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 34/223
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at 4:25 and went upstairs to make the coffee. I showered and dressed for the race while drinking a delicious cup of Chock Full o Nuts!

I mixed my water bottle full of 4.5 scoops of Perpetuem and waited for my ride to pick me up at 5am. We left about 5 after and made the drive to St. Pete. Got a pretty good parking spot and walked to the north side of transition by the VIP parking lots near the bike and run exits.

Excellent location because there was absolutely no line for body marking like there is at the mad house rush near the swim exit on the south side.
As soon as we got to the body marking we heard the news on the loud speaker that the swim was canceled for safety reasons due to high winds, chop, and current.

I was pretty bummed about that decision until I realized that the duathlon format played to my strengths. After that, i was cool with it. I was glad not to swim after seeing the water .
Event warmup:

None. Had the all important movement at the house so I just visited the port-o-can to pee before the race. The problem with no swim is that you miss the chance to pee again as you enter the water. Although, the beach start kind of eliminates that possibility.
Swim
  • 00m
  • 1640 yards
  • / 100 yards
Comments:

Cancelled
Transition 1
  • 01m
Comments:

Because of the duathlon start, I was able to put on socks rather than race barefoot. Nice for blister prevention.

I was also able to wear cycling gloves that I normally would not wear for an olympic race. I put on my helmet, glasses, socks and gloves prior to running into transition.

I sprinted in, had a good spot on the rack, grabbed the bike and ran off as fast as I could.
What would you do differently?:

I would definitely use rubber bands for the shoes. I had them on the pedals at 3&9, but the momentum from running and weight of the shoes caused them to spin making me hit the ground with them a few times. I was worried that one would fall off. Also, the mount would have been a little easier with the shoes already steady at 3&9.
Bike
  • 1h 06m 41s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 22.36 mile/hr
Comments:

I was very careful on the speed bumps and corners as the course is fairly technical. There was quite a bit of drafting going on around me and I found myself getting passed by groups of guys who would pass and slow. This kept me in their draft unless I really slowed to drop back or charged back ahead of them. I was pretty annoyed by this, but I had similar experiences at last years St. Anthony's so I kind of expect it.
What would you do differently?:

I need to work on my moving mount and dismount. A moving dismount would be good to have here as the finish is narrow and the run into transition is short so keeping momentum would be helpful.
Transition 2
  • 01m 24s
Comments:

The transition is big so my time was fairly decent. I paused to sip some water and take a salt tab. entirely necessary so I can really change that. I suppose i could bring a stick with me on the bike and take it right before the finish on these olympic races.
What would you do differently?:

not a whole lot. last year's time for T2 was 1:36 so I saved 12 seconds this year. that's pretty solid.
Run
  • 42m 30s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was fast. I love the flat course. There is plenty of shade, the volunteers and aid stations are plentiful, and there is even some music.

I recently read that swishing gatorade or other sweet carbo drink can improve performance. I used this trick this race. I can't say if it really helped, but I did take 4:07 off my run time from last year. Of course, no crash and proper gearing this year probably helped that effort.

I took in water and gatorade as needed and never felt any sense of cramping although my right quad was definitely feeling the hurt on the run.

I cacluated my splits in my head through out the run. I was trying to hold steady at 7:15s and was able to actually hold about 7's until turning it on the last mile plus. I felt mile five was long.

My timing chip strap rubbed a lot and cut my leg pretty good. Next race i can't forget to bring my own soft neoprene strap.
What would you do differently?:

Not a whole lot. I might have slowed a little too much at mile 2 after seeing my split for mile 1. I probably could have run that one at a flat 7 pace rather than slowing to the the 7:15. Maybe my goals were a slight bit conservative, but it's the first race of the year so I had very little base info to use.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked and drank a bottle of water and gatorade.
I finished early so there was no line for post race massage. That was excellent. I loved having the legs worked on right after the finish.

Rice and beans from the Columbia after the race and plenty of table in the tent! Excellent!!!!!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

the wind. I could have ridden faster without wind. But then again, if i had had to swim, I would have likely finished a little lower in my age group.




Last updated: 2009-04-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:00:00 | 1640 yards | / 100yards
Age Group: 0/223
Overall: 0/3646
Performance:
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:06:41 | 24.85 miles | 22.36 mile/hr
Age Group: 58/223
Overall: 0/3646
Performance: Good
Good start on the cobbles. I got my feet in the shoes with only a little problem but I felt stable going down the bricks. It took me a while to settle in. My heart rate was high at the start, probably in the 180 range and my mouth was super dry. After settling in, I found a good rhythm with my cadence in the high 80s and low 90s with the occasional burst into the 100s. My heart rate settled into the 170 range for the duration of the bike.
Wind: Strong
Course: The course was good. The winds were really strong and were primarily blowing from the Northeast giving us a diagonal cross wind for most of the ride.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:24
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:42:30 | 06.21 miles | 06m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 33/223
Overall: 0/3646
Performance: Good
I started out of transition feeling a little heavy. I thought I was running around 7:45s or 8s. I was passed by a woman who was really moving. I was surprised to see my split at mile 1 at just over 7 minutes. I kept my HR around 180-2 for the first 4 miles. After that I picked it up a bit. Around 187 for 4-5 and them up to low 190s for the finishing 1.2.
Course: Flat. out and back. Less wind than the bike because of the houses, but a little here and there. Definitely felt the head wind on the last mile or so to the finish.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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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2009-04-28 11:32 AM

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