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Memorial Hermann Houston Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Towne Lake Community, Texas
United States
On URLeft Productions
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 26m 45s
Overall Rank = 37/564
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 8/84
Pre-race routine:

Ate dinner too late, got to bed too late, got up on time, but left the house late. When I went to bad I really had no idea what to expect, I was still full from dinner.
I've got to start out by saying that On UR Left did a great job with this race. Everything was top notch, no complaints.

Car was packed the night before so showered, ate a bagel w/ PB, drank some EFS, headed out at 5:15. Stopped at Walgreens to get a real coke and some new earplugs. Arrived at 6:00, never been this late before. Once I pulled into the race site...waited in traffic for 10+ minutes before parking.
Event warmup:

Hit the can...laughed a bit while walking from transition to the water, thinking I hope I can jog this llloooooooonnnnnnnggggggg carpet to transition. Drank some gatorade and took a clif shot. Once I got to the start I jumped in the water and swim a few hundred yards. Felt good though the water was a little warm.

Enjoyed listening to the "Garf"....Michael Garfield the "High Tech Texan" do the emcee work.

Swim
  • 26m 55s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 38s / 100 yards
Comments:

I got in the water and waded while most everybody stayed on the shore, which gave me a prime position for starting and didn't have to deal with working for position. It was never bad until I started the second loop and the course started to feel a little packed.

During the swim, I felt really good in the water and was able to focus on staying long, keeping elbows high in the water and rotating. In the past, I've been focused on breathing and finishing. Despite the high HR, I felt relaxed in the water. Water was warm.

Had no problems getting on shore after the first loop and jumping back in the water. After the first loop, I knew there were at least two or three in my wave that were ahead of me. By the time I finished, I assumed the same.

I expected/hoped to have a little faster time. My 1500m swim in Clearlake Tri last year was in the 25s, which I thought would be doable even though I thought Clearlake's swim was a little short....by 50-100m. I'd be interested to hear what others say...though it's probably just me thinking/dreaming that I'm faster than I think I am.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 1
  • 03m 47s
Comments:

5/84 AG. Brought the HR down to 84% of MHR during run to transition. Longest transition run ever....crazy...I'm guessing 500 yards plus. I was surprised I could run as well as I did. Still convinced that the earplugs helped avoid the dizziness I sometimes get when jumping out of the water. Everything went as planned.

Had shoes clipped in, no socks and ran through transition. I'm finding that the less stuff I have in transition the less I have to think and the less time I waste. Most of the pro/invitational participants finished in the 2:30-3:00 range and I'm a slow runner relative to them so I'm happy with this.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 1h 05m 59s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 22.60 mile/hr
Comments:

Miles 3-8 and 14-19 or so were slight to full headwinds. Not too strong but enough to slow me down to near 20mph. On the way back though for those 4 or 5 miles, the tailwind felt huge and was able to push 25-28 most of the way hitting a max of 30. I passed maybe one or two people in the age group, got passed by one and got passed by a ton of people in the 40-44 AG.

I pushed it the entire way. I really needed to test the legs on the bike. I wouldn't have put this as an 'A' race so the goal on this was really to get a good swim and push the bike and hope for the best on the run. If this would have been a half, my legs would have blown up and pretty sure I would have started cramping by mile 40. I drank two bottles of EFS or about 400 calories on the bike and that was it.

Results show me at 12/84 in AG but looks like someone didn't do both loops of the bike...finishing a 25 mile bike in 45 minutes wasn't possible.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Seeing the aero helmets and race wheels keeps me thinking...how much can they help me????
Transition 2
  • 00m 51s
Comments:

5/84. Flying dismount was perfect. Threw the bike on the rack, put on my shoes and hat and I was off.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 49m 14s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

I started out pretty good and thought I had a pace that I could stick with...or to strive for. Made it two miles and thought "this isn't that hard.". Drank some EFS gel at miles 2 & 4...that stuff is yummy and not thick like gu/powergel.

I started getting the twinges of inner quad cramps at mile 3 or so. The run through the stadium and up the ramps at about mile 4.5 was pretty cool, a little different...but didn't help the leg cramps any. I tried to keep up with a few people who passed me and kept up with them for a few hundred yards before dropping off.

The run portion of the race has become my Achilles heel. The guys that are winning the races are all sub-7:00s or pretty close. I'm pretty sure I was second or third going into the run. At mile 4, I had three guys pass me within a minute. It had to be a pretty exciting finish for them as there was :36 between second and fourth place. If I could have run a 7:15 pace for the entire run, I would have placed second.
What would you do differently?:

Train harder for the run. More speed work? Lose some weight? Not really sure what to do. It's not easy being quick at 195 lbs...probably just me...I see other guys that are my size running 6:30s and lower for several miles at a time...what have I got to do??.
Post race
Warm down:

Ate some food and listened to the band. Good food selection...4 kinds of chips ahoy!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Improve run endurance.

Event comments:

Again, great race by ONURLeft....probably the best race I've participated or watched. A big round of applause to ONURLeft and the volunteers.




Last updated: 2010-05-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:55 | 1640 yards | 01m 38s / 100yards
Age Group: 4/84
Overall: 0/564
Performance: Good
When I came out of the water my HR was at 92% of max, which was probably an anomoly b/c it quickly came back down to about 84%.
Suit: 2XU Endurance Suit
Course: Out and back, two 750 meeter loops with short run on the shore to get back in the water.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:47
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:05:59 | 24.85 miles | 22.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/84
Overall: 0/564
Performance: Good
HR stayed b/t 84%-85% of max for nearly the entire ride.
Wind: Some
Course: Out and back with one double back. Pancake flat except for the 5 feet increase in elevation going over the bridge.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:51
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:49:14 | 06.21 miles | 07m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 21/84
Overall: 0/564
Performance: Good
Miles: 7:42,7:33,7:31,8:09,8:18,8:06,1:57. AHR = 86-87%
Course: Interesting course in that it takes you all over the place, but I lost my bearing and had no clue where I was running which kept it interesting. I'm pretty sure it was just a large loop around the college. If there hadn't been mile markers I would have been lost and discouraged. The course was totally flat except for the stadium ramps.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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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2010-09-27 9:39 AM

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Member
56
2525
Houston, Texas
Subject: Memorial Hermann Houston Triathlon


2010-09-27 3:10 PM
in reply to: #3119162

New user
100
100
Spring, Texas
Subject: RE: Memorial Hermann Houston Triathlon
Great race. We were probably right next to each other at the swim start as I was wondering why nobody was out deeper by the triangle buoys where I was.

Was your bike racked over on the very far end of transition (from the swim) on the swim next to the portajohns? I think they try to put all the same age group near each other bc all the guys on my rack were in the 35-39 AG.

I also think the swim on last years Clear Lake was short. I also think their bike was short as well. Oh and there's no way that one guy averaged 33 mph on the bike on that course! So yeah, that puts by bike time up to 22nd instead of 23rd!
2010-09-27 8:01 PM
in reply to: #3120145

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Member
56
2525
Houston, Texas
Subject: RE: Memorial Hermann Houston Triathlon
Thanks.  The course was pretty fast and I couldn't have asked for more perfect weather on a September morning.  I had a pretty good location in transition.  I was 911...and my bike was right next to the giant water bucket/tower in the middle of the transition area.  On the swim start, I'm not sure what people were afraid of...tiring themselves by wading/floating for a few minutes or maybe getting caught in the melee of the start?  Either way, it saved me some time for sure.
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