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Lake Tanglewood Tri to Make a Difference - TriathlonSprint


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Amarillo, Texas
United States
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 56m 39s
Overall Rank = 4/180
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 1/19
Pre-race routine:

Got there right when transition opened for a primo rack spot. Then just kind of chilled since it was 8 and the race didn't start until 10.
Event warmup:

Rode a couple of miles to make sure things were good on the bike, then ran half the run course and half the swim. Lots of folks were wearning wetsuits. I thought about bringing mine but figured for only a 400 swim the time I saved in the water would have been wasted trying to get the blasted thing off after swimming.
Swim
  • 07m 32s
  • 400 meters
  • 01m 53s / 100 meters
Comments:

We were in the 3rd wave, so my goal was to catch some of the pink hats ahead. Started in the front of the wave in the middle. Made a straight line to the first buoy, drafted off some wetsuits to the 2nd buoy. Somehow I got turned around on the turn home and was sighting of the wrong buoy. Probably cost me 30 seconds or so.
What would you do differently?:

Navigate with the shoreline rather than the buoy.
Transition 1
  • 01m 16s
Comments:

Exiting the water was tricky. The landing was covered in slick moss. I didn't realize they had a matt down on the left side. Guess that's why everyone was exiting on the left. I tried to skip traffic and went on the right. After a few seconds of slipping a volunteer finally helped me out.

My bike was literally two steps from the mount line so I had a quick exit.
What would you do differently?:

Follow the crowd.
Bike
  • 26m 51s
  • 9 miles
  • 20.11 mile/hr
Comments:

In looking at the results from the previous years I knew it was either a very tough course or very meager cyclists doing the course. The first mile and a half was decent rollers, but then you make the turn onto Bo Hill.

During the prerace meeting the RD said if you were "going to dismount and walk (and most of you will), do it on the left side of the road so you don't lose balance and fall of the cliff." Boy howdy was he correct. I got there and saw a long line of people walking their bikes up a hill that I couldn't see the top off.

Shifted into the small ring, smallest cog, stood up, and climbed for all I had in me. I averaged right around 10 mph on the half mile climb. Probably passed 50 people on the hill that were walking. I actaully got passed here by a local kid on a road bike. Must be nice to have a triple.

After the hill it was rollers and headwind for 3 miles. Managed to catch a few more people including the kid that had passed me on Bo Hill.

Last two miles were on a scary fast downhill with a tail wind. Didn't even pedal down the steepest one (actually braked a bit) and hit over 42 mph. Sweet.
What would you do differently?:

Attack more before the hill.
Transition 2
  • 00m 32s
Comments:

T2 kind of caught me by surprise. I had planned to get out of my shoes and dismount but with the downhill finish I decided it would be safer to play it easy.

Came in way too fast to the mount line, slammed on my brakes, slid in the water left from the overnight rain shower, and screeched to a halt just before the line. Got a lot of looks for that maneuver.
What would you do differently?:

Get my feet out of my shoes before the big downhill, slow down earlier coming into T2
Run
  • 20m 30s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

Tough run course. I felt pretty miserable the first mile but I had a couple of guys up ahead about a 1/4 mile that I thought might be in my AG. Each hill I would make up a little bit of ground, inching closer and closer. Finally caught them both at the turn. Neither were in my AG. Oh well.

2nd half the hills started to wear on me. Really wanted to take a break but my mind wouldn't let my legs quit. A dude had a water sprinkler going that I ran through the at the end of mile 2. That helped. Caught two more people in the hills and pretty much ran to the finish line by myself.
What would you do differently?:

More hill training
Post race
Warm down:

After getting my finishers medal I grabbed a couple of bottles of water, found my flip flops, and stretched on the dam while cheering the remaining finishers on. After that it was a few free adult beverages, a cheeseburger, and a dog.

During the awards they gave out pins to every first timer in the race who got up Bo Hill without walking. There were 8. Then they gave out pins to returning athletes that did it. About 20. So only 1/6 people made it up without walking. That's a tough hill brother.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The hills and wind.

Event comments:

If you want an easy course with a flat bike and run, this isn't the one for you. But if you want a challenge that you will be talking about to your friends for weeks, this is the sprint for you. It was well worth the 12 hour round trip to get there.




Last updated: 2009-07-08 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:32 | 400 meters | 01m 53s / 100meters
Age Group: 3/19
Overall: 20/180
Performance: Average
Suit: LG tri top and shorts
Course: Triangle with floating start and boat ramp exit.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:16
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:26:51 | 09 miles | 20.11 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/19
Overall: 7/180
Performance: Good
Min HR: 140 Avg HR: 170 Max HR: 182
Wind: Headwind
Course: A very hilly loop on rough roads. About 1.5 miles in was Bo Hill. Crazy steep - from 3400 to 3560 feet. Very tough course.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:32
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:20:30 | 03.11 miles | 06m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/19
Overall: 2/180
Performance: Good
Min HR: 173 Avg HR: 177 Max HR: 182
Course: The only flat spot was the dam the first and last 1/4 mile. The remaining 2.5 miles you were either going up a hill or down a hill.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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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2009-09-16 12:11 PM

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Subject: Lake Tanglewood Tri to Make a Difference
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