login
Willow Creek Triathlon
-
No new posts
Willow Creek Triathlon - TriathlonSprint
View Member's Race Log View other race reports
 Swim
Comments: Well, I knew that the swim would make or break me. They say you can't win the race on the swim, but you can lose it. I would have to say that it cost me dearly at the end. I pretty much bombed right out of the gate. I was maybe 50 yards in and I had to stop and start treading. I had to catch my breath and relax. A kayak came by and asked if I wanted an aid and I declined. Everything was going through my mind at this instant that my attempt to finish this tri was going to be over this fast. I finally settled down and started swimming. Like I've done since January - 60,000 yds of hard work, teaching myself, 5:30am wake ups in the dead of winter. The tough part was that I caught up to the tail end of the swimmers and had to start navigating around them. One was using an aid, the others were struggling along. I saw guys backstroking, sidestroking, etc. I'm thinking to myself - I don't belong back here! Trying to work myself around them was not easy. And then I get to the bouy and have to work around that. Finally I was headed back towards shore and I had some open water in front of me...I was that far behind. I came up alongside the designated swim area and I was able to just focus on swimming. I didn't need to sight with the swim line beside me. Finally made it to the shore and started running towards the bike transition area. It was about a 200 yd jog. I tore my goggles and cap off and threw them to my wife. Shook my head and glanced at my watch to see my time. Deplorable. What would you do differently?: I'm going to keep swimming. This winter I'll put in as many laps as possible. Next summer get a few more OWSs in. Also, just keep racing tris. There's no better way to get the experience than to do it. It'll come and when it does, watch out!  Transition 1
Comments: Interesting part about this race and the timing is that they don't time the transitions. I wish that they would but I have to keep reminding myself that this is a fundraiser first, race second. The additional timing mats and splits probably costs money to the race organizers. Essentially, once you cross the timing mat after the swim, your bike time starts. Cross the mat and head through the bath house to the bike racks. As I ran up the path I ran through the grass to brush the sand off from the beach area. This strategy worked great. I had some trouble snapping my helmet. All in all it was an OK transition. Nobody around so no crowds to deal with. I was off to go catch some competitors! What would you do differently?: Keep practicing transitions. Triathlon experience. It'll come.  Bike
Comments: Once I got on the bike, it was go time and my race had begun. I was ticked off after the swim and needed to take it out on someone/something. I started picking people off from my wave and the wave before me. One good thing about being at the back of your heat: there were people to catch. One by one I'd pass. It was spread out so it was smooth sailing and I kept my eyes up on the next guy. I had my bike computer set to show me my average MPH. I knew what sorta MPH I wanted to have over the course to get me to my goal bike time. I crushed that really. I kept focus on trying to catch whoever I could and still keep my legs fresh enough for the run. What would you do differently?: I believe I did as well as I could on this day. I rode a standard road bike. No aerobars. No special disc wheels. No aero helmet. Perhaps those things would have helped in my time. With a solid year of riding and more miles next summer, I hope to drop this time under 40 min. Transition 2
Comments: Again, no separate transition time. The bike/run transition is in a totally different area than the swim/bike transition. That's why they have you bag up your running items and then they transport everything for you to that transition. We were to dismount on the paved road and then run down a gravel driveway across the mat. That's not easy to do with your bike shoes still on. Your things are in a plastic garbage bag and while racing, it's quite annoying to have to rip that bag open to get your shoes out. Finally got my sneaks on (thanks Yankz!) and thankfully the spectators told me where to go to start the run. What would you do differently?: Next year I'll be practicing the flying mount and dismount techniques. Not sure if it cost me too much time or not, but in a sprint, every second counts.  Run
Comments: I glanced at my watch that I started at the horn. Just over 50 min. as I was starting the run. My goal coming in was 1:15, but deep down I was hoping for 1:12-1:13. I thought to myself that 7 min. pace would get me to that 1:12. I was able to catch some more competitors on the run course. It was a matter of keeping my eyes up on the next guy. I took water at each of the stations (located at mile marks). Took a quick sip and then dumped the rest over my head. My legs didn't take long to adjust - maybe 1/2 mile. I felt as though I could have pushed a little harder, but didn't want to run the risk of cramping or hitting the wall. It was a fairly uneventful finish to the race. Being in one of the first heats, there weren't many spectators at the finish. I crossed the line and it looked to me as though I was just over 1:10 for a finish time. I was elated with that! What would you do differently?: I could have pushed more on the run. I missed 3rd in my AG by :15. I might have been able to do that. Overall, happy with this run. #1 time of all competitors! Post race
Warm down: Walked around and talked with my family. Drank some gatorade, had a banana and some water. I went for a little jog to keep the legs from cramping. What limited your ability to perform faster: The swim. Had I hit my goal time for the swim, I would have gained 3 places overall and 3rd in my AG. As I progress in the sport, I hope to add tri specific gear like a wetsuit, aerobars, etc. Lack of experience was a limiter too. I am very happy with my first attempt! Event comments: The race is a fundraiser for the Disabled American Veterans. The race itself is secondary. The staff have done a great job putting this event on. It's getting to a point where they may need more staff on the course to guide and direct the participants...especially at the start. The number of racers goes up each year - this being the 5th annual. They had 90 more than last year. Maybe add the transition mats in. The post race festivities are great with a free meal for racers. A goodie bag with a t-shirt and other things. Free water, gatorade and fruit. Looking forward to next year already! Last updated: 2010-04-07 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
{postbutton}
 2010-08-09 9:37 AM |
Veteran  200  Bradford, PA |  Subject: Willow Creek Triathlon |
| 2010-08-09 12:21 PM in reply to: #3031566 |
Extreme Veteran 6066   Montreal, QC | Subject: RE: Willow Creek Triathlon Great first race, Trout! Glad you enjoyed it so much! I had a very similar experience in my first race. Welcome to the club. For the swim, have you considered a Master's program over the winter? I hear they are a HUGE help for the swim leg! |
| 2010-08-09 1:41 PM in reply to: #3032270 |
Veteran 200 Bradford, PA | Subject: RE: Willow Creek Triathlon Honestly, my town/area is so small I don't know if there is a master's class. I will be looking into it though. I really feel as though I just need to continue to do laps and gain experience in doing OWSs and competing in tri's. Once I got into a swimming rhythm, I was going along nicely. |
| 2010-08-09 1:59 PM in reply to: #3031566 |
Master 1367 Dirt Road | Subject: RE: Willow Creek Triathlon Great job! The next swim will be a lot easier. |
| General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
{postbutton}
|
|
|
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
Disabled American Veterens
70F / 21C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 11/76
Age Group = 30-34M
Age Group Rank = 4/7
Before I get into the full race report, I want to jot down a few things about the times and places. Either the race staff or the timing company made some bonehead mistakes at the start of the the tri. There were 6 waves I believe that were supposed to go every 6 minutes. Somehow this was screwed up and there were swim times from the later heats that were well below what they should have been (:30/100yd type times). That being said, it did not effect the frontrunners too much. I, myself, would have still been 4th in my AG, but 10th overall. No big deal.
The 2nd item that irked me was that age groups were split into pre-registered and then those that registered late or day of. I would have liked to compete against all of those in my AG in the same heat.
Now that that's off of my chest, we'll get into the RR.
Woke up at 6am after a good night's sleep. The kids only woke me up once. I had oatmeal with PB for breakfast and watched Sportscenter. The car was packed up the night before so I grabbed my bag and racked the bike. I was on the road by 7:10. I got to the site around 7:45am as the mist was rising from the lake. What a sight! Just a few were there before me getting their transition areas ready. I saw some pretty sweet tri bikes and it made me somewhat nervous with my entry level road bike.
I found a good spot on the outside rack and set up shop. It didn't take me long so I wandered around and took a few photos of the lake and of the bikes. I wasn't quite sure what to do at this point. I sat in the car to warm up (it was about 55 degrees). I'd get out and walk around. I'd walk by my bike to make sure it wasn't messed with. My bike was racked so I didn't know what kind of warmup to do. My running shoes were bagged and ready to be taken to the bike/run transition area (more on that later). Luckily, I had another pair of sneaks so I put those on and went for a quick jog. I grabbed my bike and rode around the parking lot to get it into an easy gear for the start. The bike start is on an incline so I'm glad I changed gears. Right before the rules announcement and blessing, I jumped in the lake's swimming area to get a feel for the water. I was pleasantly surprised that it was MUCH warmer than the week before.