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Tribal Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Lake Pleasant, Arizona
United States
DCB Extreme Adventures
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 02m 54s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up around 3:00am. Had a bowl of Toastee-Os with 2% milk. Hopped on the road around 3:40. It wasn't a particularly long drive but I wanted to get there on time. Arrived around 4:50 and set up my transition in a nice open spot on one of the bars. It wasn't optimal for getting out of transition fast, but it was perfect for finding my bike in the crowd. After I set up my transition I walked around a bit and eventually went down to the water.
Event warmup:

I treaded water vigorously and swam around a bit. There's not a whole lot I can do to warm up, the first 500 meters or so sucks the most, so short of swimming a quick 500 meters right before the race starts, I usually just do some stuff to get the blood flowing and the arms loosened up. ie..tread water and swim around a bit.
Swim
  • 25m 50s
  • 1094 yards
  • 02m 22s / 100 yards
Comments:

Took off when the rest of the male swimmers at the same time and for most of the whole swim I kept with the majority of the pack, which made me feel great and motivated me to keep pushing myself. Usually I end up behind everyone pretty quickly and that gives me excuse to slow down even more. I picked up a new pair of goggles for this, shaded and mirrored to cut down glare and it was awesome being able to sight the buoy without squinting, I felt like I was able to keep on course a lot more often and thus didn't end up swimming a lot further than I needed. It *looked* like maybe more than the 1093 yards it was supposed to be, and after Tempe International I'm a bit dubious of the measurements, but whatever, I had a solid swim, and if my watch split was close to actual than I completely PR'ed the hell out of the swim.

I rounded each buoy with plenty of people around me both times, so I did slow down a bit at those points. I noticed that my new goggles give me a bit of a ghosting effect on the edges of my vision that for the longest time I though was other swimmers, but it wasn't, so I'll have to get used to that or get new goggles. The mirrored surface was catching sunlight I think and lighting up a tiny bit.

I didn't wear a wetsuit even though they said I could, I've decided that whenever a race is wetsuit legal and the water is just barely over the line for that call, I'm probably not going to wear one. The water at 75 degrees was nice and cool and pretty even.

Also, I noticed that nobody seemed to be wearing timing chips, I noticed this on the way to the first buoy and at first I panicked thinking I had forgot mine because one guy did have an ankle strap on of some sort, but then I saw more and more people without it, eventually I resigned myself to thinking that I would just have to keep good splits. Getting out of the water I saw the staff dilligently writing down each person as they came out and the order/time they came out. It seemed hokey, but whatever as long as it was close to accurate it would serve my needs.
What would you do differently?:

Not much really, I felt really solid on this swim. Obviously, train more is always an option, but I came out of the water feeling great about my performance. A little light headed, but nothing I couldn't handle.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

I had some of the durapulse people who were volunteering right near where I racked my bike and they were yelling things at me while I transitioned. "Come on, helmet on, grab your bike, we practiced faster transitions than that, you can do it" I didn't know who it was at the time but found out later, it was kinda cool having a face in the crowd cheering for me when I didn't expect it. I felt I did pretty good in this transition, easily better than any previous T1 time. And this time I remembered to take my earplugs out.

I ignored my earlier resolution to wait longer in T1 if I felt dizzy, and I did feel a little dizzy coming out of the water, but still felt solid on my feet. I think it was the better call in this case, a few minutes on the bike squared my head away and I was golden.
What would you do differently?:

Again, I was rolling steady today, a solid performance in T1 kept my motivation going.
Bike
  • 51m 29s
  • 14.29 miles
  • 16.65 mile/hr
Comments:

I told myself that when I felt comfortable on the bike I wasn't working hard enough, so at any point uphill or not if I caught myself relaxing into a nice pace I would mash it harder. As a result my legs felt like they were burning, a different burn than I had felt before, white hot. I realized at about mile 6 why this was. My shorts were still wet and ice cold from the wind, coupled with the increased burning in my legs was a highly uncomfortable sensation. Felt like my legs were literally on fire and frozen at the same time. It kept me awake and alert, and for some reason made me want to keep doing what I was doing to get that feeling.

This course was rough on me, I suck going up hills, and right off the bat was a steep (for me) incline, but I got through it. Then there was another one, and another, and another, and another, then some downhill coasting, then more uphill. At any point when we were going downhill or flat, I was in top gear and pumping hard. I only managed to peak out at 35.66mph and probably averaged during those portions to stay above 25mph the whole way, but the constant hills in the beginning brought my overall average speed down a lot.
What would you do differently?:

Practice on hills more, I went from screaming on anything flat or downhill, easily averaging maybe 25mph or more, to 6mph and hurting.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

They had T2 in a different spot from T1, so we had to put all of our running gear in a bag before the race. Passing the dismount line I saw my swim coach volunteering, and he cheered me on after he called out my number to the people grabbing each racer's bag from the piles.

I sat down and had to go item by item to make sure I didn't forget anything. I maybe could have gone faster, but not having a pre-set transition area at this point, I couldn't bypass the mental checklist by simply making sure I grab everything in the bike pile. (which is what I usually do).
What would you do differently?:

Nothing that I can think of at this point.
Run
  • 45m 34s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 14m 39s  min/mile
Comments:

The first mile I kept a good pace since it was mostly downhill, and I seem to do a little better on trail runs since I have to stay more aware of where my feet are falling and it's a little more challenging. Then once all of the fun downhill trail running was over, it was followed by a lot of uphill trail running, and all at once I changed my mind about trails. They suck. So I went for a while and eventually caught myself walking at several points. At any point where it was downhill, I was running and at a good pace, at any point where it was uphill it was run/stop/run/stop/run/stop.
What would you do differently?:

Walk less, run faster, train for hills.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing really, training, I stopped a couple times on the walk.

Event comments:

It felt like a PR, but it turns out, Tempe International was my best overall. Hmm...




Last updated: 2009-03-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:25:50 | 1094 yards | 02m 22s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: Just tri shorts and a shirt.
Course: Counter-clockwise triangle. Started from a floating yellow buoy about 50 feet out from the pier, everyone treading water.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Shot
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:51:29 | 14.29 miles | 16.65 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Ugh..hills.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 65
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Bad
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:45:34 | 03.11 miles | 14m 39s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: About 2 miles of trail running, first mile mostly downhill, second mile about 3/4 uphill and a mixture for the other quarter mile. The last mile was on paved road leading back to the finish line.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2009-06-08 12:56 AM

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Veteran
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Subject: Tribal Sprint Triathlon


2009-06-08 1:06 PM
in reply to: #2201156

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Elite
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Phoenix, AZ
Subject: RE: Tribal Sprint Triathlon

Great job, Chris! This has to be a HUGE improvement from Tempe Int'l. ...and in just a couple of weeks.

Congrats!

2009-06-08 1:19 PM
in reply to: #2201156

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Master
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Surprise, Arizona
Subject: RE: Tribal Sprint Triathlon

Great job - this is a TOUGH course, and you did well.  Those hills on both the bike and the run are monsters!!

2009-06-08 1:53 PM
in reply to: #2201156

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Extreme Veteran
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Subject: RE: Tribal Sprint Triathlon
Congrats on the race the course looked pretty tough.
2009-06-08 2:42 PM
in reply to: #2201156

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Regular
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Mesa, AZ
Subject: RE: Tribal Sprint Triathlon
Great job!  I couldn't believe how burtal the hills were on the bike (and the run for that matter).  The downhills went by way to fast and the uphills just dragged on and on.  Keep up the good work.
2009-06-08 6:28 PM
in reply to: #2202980

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Veteran
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Subject: RE: Tribal Sprint Triathlon

Right before we started, the announcer said, "This will be the toughest tri you'll ever love". No kidding, for a sprint it was tough as hell. I think maybe it felt like such a PR because I was pushing a lot harder. Hills are my downfall (see what I did there?)! Ugh.



2009-06-08 7:49 PM
in reply to: #2201156

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Expert
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Tempe
Silver member
Subject: RE: Tribal Sprint Triathlon
Awesome job, Chris! You rocked the swim, and if you haven't been training in hills, they can really wear you down. But you kept going and got through the tough course. You showed really good improvement on this race, no matter what the time says, as the two courses don't compare. Keep up the training, and you'll be ready for Mountain Man! 
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