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Summer Sizzler International Distance Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Hiawassee, Georgia
United States
Great Smoky Mountains Triathlon Club
67F / 19C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 59m 43s
Overall Rank = 13/91
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 2/11
Pre-race routine:

Decided since Hiawassee was >2 hours from house, to stay in a hotel the night before. Pre-drove the bike course to check out the hills, bowl of cereal, granola bar.
Event warmup:

Basically skipped it, bad move! Swam about 10 strokes, jogged about 1 minute. Should have warmed up and stretched.
Swim
  • 21m 56s
  • 1408 yards
  • 01m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

Felt really good, not a bunched up start, really casual, got in a rhythm early. Sighting was odd since the fog/mist/humidity made seeing the first bouy a little challenging. Two laps with the breather in between up to the tree gave the heart rate a spike! Used the tips from the OWS clinic by PT Solutions, which really helped keep me straight (sort of)
What would you do differently?:

none
Transition 1
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

Distance and a hill from water to T-1, no chip so estimated time. Watch band clip fell off when putting on the garmin. DOH! No real markers for T-entry exit, had to run bike off pavement, over grass then mount. Passed swimmer #5 within 50 feet of the mount line as he was still fumbling getting feet into shoes, never saw him again! My extra 15 seconds to put shoes on makes me comfortable, maybe slow in T-1 but faster for me than on the road?
What would you do differently?:

Fix the watch band issue, maybe learn how to get feet in shoes while riding, maybe next year.
Bike
  • 1h 04m 5s
  • 23 miles
  • 21.53 mile/hr
Comments:

Good course, rollers were long enough to catch speed on the downhill and cruise up most of the way up the next. Couple of sections under contruction but traffic was light so not a big deal. Really pushed the bike and felt the quads start to cramp a little around mile 19, more on that later
What would you do differently?:

Felt good overall and the speed, while a little uncomfortable with the pace, was pushing it about right.
Transition 2
  • 01m
Comments:

No dismount line, just a volunteer that yelled at me when I zoomed past. So missed the front entrance and ended up going in the exit. No one around though so not really unsafe.
Rack bike, shoes off, shoes on, grab race belt and go. Pretty quick, other then the deviation from course.
What would you do differently?:

Check out transition area a little closer before the race, since it wasn't marked.
Run
  • 31m 12s
  • 4 miles
  • 07m 48s  min/mile
Comments:

Either up or down running so at mile 1.5, the quad cramping from the bike finally caught up to me and just seized the legs. I couldn't bend my knees and took about 20 seconds of standing still before the cramps released (OUCH!!!! and right in front of the camera guy). So now that I knew what was happening, right before they would seize on the downhill, I'd stop to walk (more like waddle). Oh well. The rollers were just steep enough to need the brakes on going downhill. Course, per the garmin, was a little shy of 4 miles, that was the good news.
What would you do differently?:

not sure what to do about the muscle cramps/seizing. Tried to run through it originally but that just seemed to make it worse.
Post race
Warm down:

Stretched the quads, took in fluids, hung out for while.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Well not worried about speed but more about the performance level and I really enjoyed the race, even though it did hurt. Definately appreciate the words of encouragement from the guys passing me (thanks!)

Event comments:

Small field size was a nice pace, really relaxed atmosphere in an absolutely georgeous location. Great race to have people come cheer you on because of the small race plus you do 2 laps in the swim and run so plenty of opportunity to see you suffer! Perfect weekend getaway from Atlanta. Race Director kept the feel of a small town since he knew a lot of the people, mentioned supporting the local sponsors, etc. Pizza was great! Plan on bringing the family next year to make it a weekend.




Last updated: 2009-07-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:56 | 1408 yards | 01m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/11
Overall: 7/91
Performance: Good
Suit: Tri top + shorts
Course: counter clockwise swim, wade start 2 waves (about 50 per) all men then all women + clyde+athena + relay 2 minutes behind. Swim 1 lap around island, get out, run up around tree (about 10 feet up the shore), back in for second lap. Rocky beach/water for first 10 feet.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 82F / 28C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:30
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:04:05 | 23 miles | 21.53 mile/hr
Age Group: 3/11
Overall: 9/91
Performance: Good
course said 26 miles but computer on bike and garmin were both around 23.
Wind: None
Course: All right turns around lake. Rolling hills but 2 good grades about 1/2 mile to 3/4 mile long each around mile 15 and 19. Rewarded with equally long downhills to spin out the gears! Nothing too serious though even though this was in North Georgia hill country. Non-USAT event so Race Director said draft if you want. Problem, only passed 1 guy who never latched on and I never got passed so never an opportunity.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:31:12 | 04 miles | 07m 48s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/11
Overall: 0/91
Performance: Below average
Course: Two lap run around the parking areas, marked ok but not a lot of volunteers so sort of guessed where to go on the first lap. From the transition though, up small roller, down, then up, then down, then up through the parking lot (steeper still), then down steep grade. Last 1/2 mile of lap was relatively flat. Then do it all again. Steeper uphills than I expected.
Keeping cool Average Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2009-08-03 9:48 PM

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Extreme Veteran
680
500100252525
Acworth, GA
Subject: Summer Sizzler International Distance Triathlon


2009-08-05 8:03 AM
in reply to: #2325682

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Master
2021
2000
Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Summer Sizzler International Distance Triathlon
Great job on Saturday! You were moving on the swim. Sorry to hear about the muscle issues on the run. Not much you can do about that.

What tri-top where you wearing?
2009-08-05 7:41 PM
in reply to: #2325682

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Extreme Veteran
680
500100252525
Acworth, GA
Subject: RE: Summer Sizzler International Distance Triathlon
Black Descente Tri Top with some white in it but ditched it for the 2nd lap of the run.  That was a fun race, planning on it again next year but this time I'll bring the family along for the weekend.

Yah, I was surprised at the swim, the smooth water was nice and I just remember the 10:45 rounding the tree and ended up with a 11:10 on the second so never really dropped off.  That was odd having to give your race cap back while running up to T-1.  Maybe I'll get the same one for next year?
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