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Tri for Real Olympic Distance #2 - TriathlonOlympic


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Rancho Seco, California
United States
Total Body Fitness
hotF / 0C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 57m 43s
Overall Rank = 172/240
Age Group = m40-44
Age Group Rank = 23/29
Pre-race routine:

We camped there, and I was awake by about 5am (what can I say, I was excited to be doing my first ever Olympic length tri!) with my daughter (8yo) who was doing the kids tri that morning also. At about 6:15 we walked over to transition with our bikes (it officially opens at 6:30) and helped them finish setting up the kids transition area. I racked my bike on the end of a rack a few rows back from the entry/exit. I like the end cause it gives me more room and is easier to find, but I don't want to be right up in the 'good' spots where all the fast guys want to me. As usual, just before the race a few knuckleheads showed up and crammed into the rack, but being on the end it really didn't affect my stuff.

Anyway, after racking/registering we walked back to camp for breakfast. I had a peanut butter sandwich, a banana and an apple. At about 7am we headed back to get bodymarked and set up transition (earlier I just put my bike/backpack down). My daughters race started at 7:30 (mine was at 8am) so I walked with her down to the lake and watched the kids start. Unfortunately, they all sort of look the same in the water with yellow caps on, I never did find her until they got out of the water... anyway, after a quick shout out and high five as she ran up the chute to T1, I headed over to my start area and put on the wetsuit.
Event warmup:

I suited up and got in the lake about 20 minutes before my wave (4th wave) started. Swam a few hundred yards just getting used to the awesomeness of swimming in a wetsuit again! I'm one of those medium poor swimmers whe sees like a 15 second/100 gain from a wetsuit so it's a pretty cool thing for me to use it.
Swim
  • 30m 6s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

Woo hoo! OK, I'm not that fast, but I just LOVE triathlon swimming. This here is my longest swim ever, and I gotta say I was a little shell shocked when I visually saw how far away the bouys were... I knew I could do it, and knew I could always just float on my back for a while if I needed a break, but damn that looked like a long ways!

There were only about 40 or so in our wave, so no problem with positioning or anything. At the gun, I just settled into a nice easy pace. No trying to catch anyone, no drafting, just swim long and easy. Reach. Breathe easy. Sight. Glide. No issues at all out to the first bouy. I did have a little incidental contact here and there, and I think someone was drafting me cause I'd occasionally feel hands touch my feet (which made me laugh a little. I mean, really, someone drafting off of *me*? Too cool!) but I sighted dead straight (sighting every 4-5 strokes or so) and had a fairly clean turn around the first bouy.

After the first turn, things went a little bad... I went to sight, and couln't see shit! My goggles were a little fogged up, and we were now looking straight into the sun. At first I just made sure I had swimmers on both sides of me and figured that was good enough, but eventually realized I had gotten off alone on the left and was pretty far from the line. I'm not talking massive right angle or anything, but I was a good 30 yards left of the nearest swimmer at one point. About 1/2 way to the second turn bouy I sat up into a doggie paddle for a second, took off my goggles and got a good look around. Doh! I was definately off course... I re-directed and started up again. I still couldn't sight normally, so I'd just do a super quick float, lift goggles and look avery few minutes. I don't think it cost me too much time, and I did stay much better on line after starting to do that.

Second bouy was fine, and it was easy to see now that we had turned so no more sighting issues in to the finish line. The wave behind me was catching me here, and I tried drafting a little. Didn't work too well, I think they were just so much faster for me to even think about latching on... anyway, as Dory says, just keep swimming... I swam in until my hands hit the ground, then stood up and headed up the hill.

The swim split was provided by the race, I'm not sure if it was taken right when we exited, or after we ran up the hill. The 1:55 transition seems a bit fast, but I KNOW my timing is accurate for the bike/T2/run cause I used my Garmin 305 for those. So, the swim may have been slightly faster, and T1 slightly slower, depending on where they took the split time.
What would you do differently?:

The usual train more to get faster, I suppose. I also should have paid attention to my goggles in training, I know they've been leaking a little bit, and fogging more the last few swim sessions in the pool. They are a good year old, I think I need new ones. Very happy with the swim though!
Transition 1
  • 01m 55s
Comments:

I did a run/walk combo up the hill and through transition while stripping off the top of my wetsuit. At my rack, I quickly stripped the wetsuit (a little stuck on one heel, nothing bad), put on my helmet, then socks and bike shoes. I'm using shoes with a buckle so they take an extra second, but for the longer ride today I wanted my most comfy pair (I also have an older velcro only pair I used last month in the sprint that work OK without socks, but they squish my toes a bit) After shoes, I put on my Garmin 305, grabbed the bike and ran to the exit. I did a flying mount and was off!
What would you do differently?:

I think I was pretty efficient. I suppose I could run more/faster up the hill into transition, and bike shoes I could wear sockless would be nice, but it was a clean transition.
Bike
  • 1h 26m 4s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 17.32 mile/hr
Comments:

I was on the ONLY mountain bike in the entire race (that I saw anyway, it's possible there was another one or two I miseed). Just like last month in the sprint, I did not pass a single other bike, and was freight trained by other folks all day long. Sort of annoying, but I just kept my pace where I needed to, and rode. It was a good ride for me, averaged 17.7 mph heading out, and finished with a 17.3 average so just a little slower coming back. It's a little more uphill back too, so effort wise I think I was good. I had a bottle with 4 scoops of HEED, and a bottle of water. I finished the HEED, and most of the water by the end. It was already pretty hot out and I was really sweating. Good flying dismount into transition.
What would you do differently?:

Get a road bike.
Transition 2
  • 00m 42s
Comments:

I ran with the bike to my spot, and racked it easily. The person next to me was not back yet, so there was planty of room to work. Helmet off, shoes/socks off, shoes on (I know, I'm kinda backwards in that I biked in socks then ran sockless, but I'm very comfortable running sockless in my Zoot's), grab my hat (with my racebelt in it) and GO!! I saw my daughter as I ran out, gave her a quick high-5, and got going!
What would you do differently?:

nothing.
Run
  • 58m 56s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 09m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt fine coming out of transition, grabbed a gel packet and cup of water from the aid station just outside of transition, and ate the gel/drank the water in the next few hundred yards or so. First mile was awesome, I hit mile one in 8:57, passed a few folks, and was feeling great. Mile 2 was a little hillier, but still feeling good. Poured water in my hat at the aid stations. Mile three was good too, ran for a bit on the road, down the hill and back up, then back to the dirt. Still passing the occaional runner here, and still getting passed by a few. Mile 4 started feeling laborious. My HR was good, my legs were just tired. No pep, I really had to focus on turnover and lifting my knees, especially on the uphills.

Mile 5 hurt. Back on the main fireroad, out in the blazing sun and dust, I'd pretty much reached my physical limit. I could see the final aid station (1 mile out from the finish) at the top of the next hill, and just kept chugging along. As I passed the final aid station they were asking me if I wated water or gatoraid. I couln't even answer. I didn't want anything. Just kept going.

One mile to go. I just kept telling myself, "I can do anything for one mile." It was a long mile, I was still pushing as hard as I could, my HR was still over 160 but under 165 (my LTHR), my legs were just pretty done. It was great to see my family cheering me on into the final chute, and funny to have a bunch of random people shouting out my name and cheering me on. Apparantly my girls had made a few freinds and everyone was cheering on everyone elses daddy's and mommy's. Pretty cool stuff. I tried to sprint to the finish, but there was no sprint left.

Mile 1: 8:57, 159bpm
Mile 2: 8:56, 160bpm
Mile 3: 8:57, 161bpm
Mile 4: 9:44, 162bpm
Mile 5: 10:05, 161bpm
Mile 6: 10:26, 163bpm
What would you do differently?:

My goal was to keep my HR between 160 and 165 (my LTHR being ~165) and I did that. I think just overall fitness level. Pretty happy with the run though, I ran my best and hung in there mentally.
Post race
Warm down:

It's a bit of a fog in my mind, but after crossing the finish I found a piece of shade and sat down. My daughter brought me some water, and I just sat for a few minutes. I figured I'd better move around a bit or else I'd lock up, so I stood up and was pretty dizzy. I walked around, drank some water/sport drink, and eventually ate some watermellon and oranges. The dizzyness was gone pretty quick, I just kept moving around and pretty much felt OK after about 5 minutes. The girls all went swimming while I broke down camp and got ready for the 2 hour drive home. Good day!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I exceeded my expectations, hitting sub 3 hours. I'm very happy with my overall effort.

Event comments:

This is my 4th tri with tbfracing.com and they continue to be awesome. Organized, on time, great support/volunteers, just a fun time.




Last updated: 2010-06-13 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:06 | 1640 yards | 01m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/29
Overall: 155/240
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex 3 sleveless
Course: Rectangular, two large white bouyes as turn markers, and a huge inflatable arch at the exit. CW swim.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:55
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:26:04 | 24.85 miles | 17.32 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/29
Overall: 208/240
Performance:
Avg HR 147bpm Max HR 166bpm
Wind:
Course: flat out and back with some rolling hills.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:42
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:58:56 | 06.21 miles | 09m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/29
Overall: 143/240
Performance:
Course: Dry, dusty, and hot. Mostly dirt, a little road.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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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2010-07-13 8:27 PM

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Subject: Tri for Real Olympic Distance #2


2010-07-14 8:24 AM
in reply to: #2979038

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Subject: RE: Tri for Real Olympic Distance #2
Great RR, David, and AWESOME effort on the race! You were off course on the swim and still broke 2m/mile....I can't wait for the day when I can do that. 

You also did really well on the bike given that you were riding a mountain bike (seriously though....get a cheap road bike...it'll make things a LOT easier for you if you decide to keep doing road races

Solid on the run. You kept your head even though you were suffering towards the end.

You rocked it, dude! Smile 
2010-07-14 8:41 PM
in reply to: #2979038

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Subject: RE: Tri for Real Olympic Distance #2
Well done and congrats on your first Oly!  Sounds like a great venue too, camping at the site, having a kids tri the same morning, lots of fan support.  I know you were hooked before, but this to set the hook for sure.

That swim time was fast and you even had sighting issues.  You had a great bike leg too.  Once you get a road bike you'll be 2-3 mph faster pretty much instantly.  That run sounds tough, but you had the mental toughness to get it done.

Congrats again!  I'm looking toward my first Oly in September, but not looking forward to the run portion :-)
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