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Arrowhead Trails Off Road Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Macon, Georgia
United States
GoneRiding and Xterra
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 05m 46s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 3:45 and was out the door by 4:11. It took about 2 hours to get to Macon and I took the wrong exit off of 475 which took me to the North side of the lake. I drove around the lake and finally found the Arrowhead Park entrance. I was one of the first there and got a pretty good parking spot near the transition area. I met some of the other racers unloading near me and spotted at least one person I knew from TriAtlanta while I was setting up my transition area. For breakfast I just had some Fig Newtons , Gator Ade, and coffee.
Event warmup:

I did some stretches which is unusual for me but they felt good. The off road crowd wasn't much on swim warmups and there were annoucements at the event headquarters near transition just 15 minutes before the swim was supposed to start. The event ended up starting about 15 minutes late and I had heard that Xterra events always start on time. I did manage to get some short swims in just before the, in the water, mass start.
Swim
  • 19m 57s
  • 880 yards
  • 02m 16s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim went well but I don't remember having as much contact with others throughout an entire swim. Just before the finish another swimmer was swimming to the left and kept running into me and pushing me away from a better line. I should have ducked the swimmer and let them swim on to the left. The lake was clear enough so that I could see the bottom in about 10 foot deep areas.
What would you do differently?:

Make a better effort to avoid off course swimmers.
Transition 1
  • 02m 16s
Comments:

I took my time. I put on socks, my bike shoes, full gloves, and my helmet and then drank some Gator Ade.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, I knew it would be a long ride in the woods and I wanted to be comfortable.
Bike
  • 1h 43m 45s
  • 9.4 miles
  • 5.44 mile/hr
Comments:

Oh my gosh, the mountain bike part was hard! Super technical at least for me with no pity for the inexperienced. I fell twice on the first loop and once on the second loop.
What would you do differently?:

Ride more trails. I talked to a SORBA guy before the race started and he thought the trails weren't too bad. I bet he mountain bikes more than I road bike because these trails were not for beginners. Another thing I would do differently would be to take the barends off my handlebars. I didn't hook any trees but I came really close many, many times. Also in my exhaustion I often shifted the front derailleur the wrong way which means I need to ride the mountain bike enough to make the shifting instinctive.
Transition 2
  • 02m 33s
Comments:

I was tired at T2. The bike had sucked out all my energy and I took a very long time getting ready to run.
What would you do differently?:

I was tired so I rested, it was all I could do.
Run
  • 55m 26s
  • 4 miles
  • 13m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

I ran probably the first half mile and then I walked most of the rest of the first loop. My heart rate was high and I walked to get it under control. I felt better on the second two mile loop and ran most of it except some of the bigger hills. I thought I was DFL (Dead Flat Last) but I spotted another runner well behind me and I picked up my pace figuring that I was in a battle not to be DFL. It turns out that there were at least 2 other runners behind me so I finished 4th from last.
What would you do differently?:

I could have run better if the mountain bike portion hadn't drained me so I guess I need to work on longer endurance training.
Post race
Warm down:

I just sat and drank fluids.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I am not an experienced mountain biker and this race had a very demanding mountain bike ride.

Event comments:

When I finished I had to scavenge around for water, most of the food was gone, and there was really nothing worth having. The race organization took a long time to announce results but had drawings for prizes which was nice except that I wasn't called. But I have done an Xterra event, WOOHOO!




Last updated: 2005-06-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:19:57 | 880 yards | 02m 16s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
The event will include the run to T1 and the T1 transition in the final swim results. Because of that I will just do my own thing and separate all the times. My water time was 19:57 and the run to T1 was long and took 1:49.
Suit: Sugoi tri top and bottom
Course: The race folks called it a lollipop shaped course but it was just an "L" or dogleg to the left while swimming counterclockwise and based on my time it was a little long. The swim start and finish were a long way from T1.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:16
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:43:45 | 9.4 miles | 5.44 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
On the first loop I had to constantly pull over to let other bikers get through.
Wind:
Course: The race officials said the course was two 4.8 mile loops but I clocked 9.4 miles and I'm sticking with it. Each loop was the same and very technical with a lot of 2 to 3 foot dips, roots everywhere, switch backs, steep uphills following turns or other obstacles and one sand pit. Never did I feel that it was easy or relaxed. I didn't feel comfortable using my bike bottles and I recommend that anyone that does one of these use a camelback. I only drank when I was walking the bike up some of the steeper hills.
Road: Rough  Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Below average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:33
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:55:26 | 04 miles | 13m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Course: The run was 2 loops of the same course. The run started along a open utility right of way and then went into the woods. The course was fine for an off road run I was just out of gas.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized?
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Bad
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2005-06-18 7:36 PM

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Regular
71
2525
Sugar Hill, GA
Subject: Arrowhead Trails Off Road Triathlon


2005-06-18 9:26 PM
in reply to: #177914

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Expert
795
500100100252525
New Mexico
Subject: RE: Dauset Trails Off Road Triathlon
Congrats on finishing an Xterra. Some of those bike courses are brutal.
2005-06-20 3:25 PM
in reply to: #177914

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Elite Veteran
777
500100100252525
flatland
Subject: RE: Dauset Trails Off Road Triathlon
Thanks for this race report. I have this race on my want-to-do for next year, looks like I need to be putting in more mtb time.

Congrats on finishing this thing, sounds like the bike part was a monster.
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