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Westside YMCA Tri - TriathlonMini Sprint


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Knoxville, Tennessee
United States
The Health Shoppe
80'sF / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 8h 00m
Overall Rank = 62/198
Age Group = beginner
Age Group Rank = 6/36
Pre-race routine:

Woke up about 4:30a.m., amazingly the night before I managed to fall asleep before 9:30p.m. I had fully expected to be too excited to sleep, I suppose it was this summer cold I've been unable to shake. Sadly I still had the hacks and gags when I woke up. Went through the morning routine, coffee, eggs and oatmeal and a couple shots of Cold Medicine. Watched the Running Man, woke up my roommate, and drove to the event. Got Marked, set up transition early, admired the guy in front of me's Cervelo/Zipp combo, snacked on a power bar, and got ready for the start.
Event warmup:

Just floated around in the pool and did some stretches. I'm not much of one for a big warmup.

We got to seed ourselves for the swim. I slid into the group that expected a 4:30 finish. I've done 400 in 3:4-'s pretty comfortably, but I was (rightfully) worried about the course setup.
Swim
  • 04m 22s
  • 219 yards
  • 01m / 100 yards
Comments:

25meters, touch the wall, under the ropes, down the next lane. I definitely feel like the stop / go messed me up a couple of times. I was awful worried about slowing the person behind me down as well, until the third lap, when I realized I was a full lane ahead of them and on the feet of the guy that started ahead of me. Rest of the swim I tried to keep a steady pace (I didn't feel very slow and didn't want kicked in the face) I had been super worried about the swim, but it was easier than practice in my opinion.
What would you do differently?:

I know my swim is still leaps and bounds from great. I definitely could have been a bit less nervous as well. All things in time though, I felt like it was great for my first tri.
Transition 1
  • 01m 56s
Comments:

No real problems, the run from the pool to transition was fairly long and on broken pavement, which was painful, but I HTFU and took a moment to wipe my feet off with my towel. Ran out of transition and mounted, headed out for the bike.
What would you do differently?:

I could practice my transitions a bit more, but I felt like it was pretty fast considering the long run from the pool.
Bike
  • 22m 14s
  • 7.46 miles
  • 20.13 mile/hr
Comments:

The course was pretty rough I thought. Two laps through a neighborhood littered with traffic and lots of people. I was worried about drafting (not on purpose, people just wouldn't get out of the way and stay to the right... kind of annoying and I had to pass over the yellow line, which was also a No-No on this course.) I felt like I was absolutely flying however... passed many people and only got passed by one (who I again passed later on) All the staff was friendly and easy to understand. I felt like I did very well on the bike (for me anyways) although I was definitely afraid I had pushed to hard on it.
What would you do differently?:

I still need tons of time in the saddle to bring my average mph up, but I felt like I had a solid time for my first time.
Transition 2
  • 01m 42s
Comments:

The return to transition was kind of oddly marked, so I almost went in the wrong way (and almost wrecked correcting myself) The guy standing at transition did give me a reassuring "Nice recovery" as I stumbled over the mat. I didn't have any problem running with my tri shoes on, got everything wracked, my running shoes (and socks... still can't manage to go sockless on the run) on and zip tied, got a squirt of water out of my bottle and took off.
What would you do differently?:

I could toughen my feet up a bit, and some more practice of course.
Run
  • 18m 39s
  • 2.49 miles
  • 07m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

I knew coming into this event I was going to be weak in the run as I've been plagued by feet problems the last month or so and laid up on the couch. I was also very worried coming out of transition that I would get dead legs from pushing on the bike. I never experienced it (Although I admit, I wasn't burning up the track with my pace or anything) and didn't miss it. Course was nice, plenty of water stations (I sorta used... more spilling than drinking though) and a great family reception at the finish line.
What would you do differently?:

No way around it, I've just got to get more mileage.
Post race
Warm down:

Got some water, some NILLA WAFERS(!) and a banana, talked to some people and just enjoyed the rest of the event.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'll be honest, coming into this thing I told my roommate my goal was to break an hour and fifteen minutes. Imagine my surprise when I looked down at my watch and saw it was still before 9a.m. I think had I not been laid up injured a few weeks before and sick the day of the race, I could have shaved another couple of minutes off my time. Still, I was super excited with my time.

Event comments:

It was awesome. If you had told me beforehand that I would have been smiling the entire way through I would have thought you were crazy. Well... I smiled from the moment I came out of the water (hard to smile while swimming) to the moment I left the event. If you are reading this and are still unsure whether to do a triathlon or not... DO IT. It is Amazing.




Last updated: 2009-07-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:04:22 | 219 yards | 01m / 100yards
Age Group: 0/36
Overall: 101/198
Performance: Good
Suit: Just my tri onsie
Course: Outside at the YMCA's pool.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder:
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:56
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:22:14 | 07.46 miles | 20.13 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/36
Overall: 55/198
Performance: Good
Stupid Cateye didn't pick up my race!
Wind: Little
Course: Was a neighborhood track, a bit technical, some shoddy pavement, and some big hills. My S32 definitely didn't get the workout it deserved. A roadbike would probably have been a much better choice in retrospect.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: ?
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:42
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:18:39 | 02.49 miles | 07m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/36
Overall: 62/198
Performance: Average
Course: Out through the trails behind the Y. That first hill is an absolute spirit crusher, but after it the terrain flattens out the rest of the way and it's smooth sailing.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2009-07-12 7:55 PM

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Champion
7136
5000200010025
Knoxville area
Subject: Westside YMCA Tri


2009-07-12 7:58 PM
in reply to: #2279812

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Champion
7136
5000200010025
Knoxville area
Subject: RE: Westside YMCA Tri
sorry for my inability to read, the race STARTED at 8a.m. my TOTAL TIME was 48:53
2009-07-14 1:35 PM
in reply to: #2279812


1

Subject: RE: Westside YMCA Tri
I too participated in this race, and you gave a very good description. How do you know your time? Im still trying to find out how I did.
2009-07-14 2:24 PM
in reply to: #2279812

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Champion
7136
5000200010025
Knoxville area
Subject: RE: Westside YMCA Tri
racedayevents.net posts the splits. Just click on the Westside Y link, then 2009 splits
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