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Cactus Challenge - TriathlonOlympic


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Austin, Texas
United States
3D Racing
79F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 12m 42s
Overall Rank = 124/209
Age Group = Clydesdales
Age Group Rank = 3/5
Pre-race routine:

Got to race as transition opened since it's a first time race production. Set-up transition and walked down (300 yards) to the swim start. Did a couple 100 yds warm-up and ran back to transition for pre-race meeting.
Swim
  • 28h 02m
  • 1640 yards
  • 1h 42m 32s / 100 yards
Comments:

Water temp was perfect at 67 degrees for a wet suit swim. However, the distance from the swim finish to T1 is too long to run in a wetsuit so I took off the suit right after the swim exit and ran the remaining 250 yards to T1. The race started an HOUR late due to no show lifeguards and general disorganization by 3D racing. They changed the wave start order and had no volunteers to help the Sprint finishers out of the water so some of the Olympic racers got in the water on the boat ramp and helped the Sprint racers out. Having the wetsuit on for an hour in the sun and helping racers out of water tired me out a bit and threw-off my nutrition timing. That said, I had a decent swim and felt great the whole way and even had some left to bring it in strong the last 100 yards.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure, what happened was out of my control.
Transition 1
  • 05m 9s
Comments:

Long run uphill to T1 was cause for 5 minute transition. Also had alot of stickers in the grass. Definately need shoes/flip flops.
What would you do differently?:

Use running shoes from Swim finish to T1 instead of sandles.
Bike
  • 1h 18m 41s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 18.95 mile/hr
Comments:

Hard bike course and bad roads. I struggled to get going with all the rolling hills and the big climbs, especially with my 235lbs dragging on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Lose 50lbs and train in the mountains!
Transition 2
  • 02m 5s
Comments:

Took time off bike to stretch quads and drink.
What would you do differently?:

Hydrate more on bike.
Run
  • 1h 18m 46s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 12m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

I didn't have anything left in my legs after the bike and partly due to not enough time for recovery and retraining after the Marathon in February. I couldn't get into a pace with all the uphills and undulating surfaces.
What would you do differently?:

Hill training and maybe add more weight traing to the legs.
Post race
Warm down:

Stretch, hydrate and jump in lake.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not enough recovery time after Marathon and then enough time to peak into this race. It's just too early in the season and too hard. Still, I improved my best Olympic distance time by 12 minutes (2004 Cap Tex/Americas Tri) and by 15 minutes on my 1st Olympic (2004 St. Anthony's).

Event comments:

I wound'nt do this race again and don't think many others who did it in 2005 would as well. It's not USAT sactioned (they lost their license due to issues with following USAT rules). The race coordination, course prep, volunteer coordination and general treatment by the racing company (3D Productions) was not what we expect in Austin. They are from out of town and seemed to have come to town and ignored the locals as they tried to milk the triathlon community for as much profit as they could take. The race shirts were terrible and severly too small unless you were 5'2" and 95 lbs. I tried to exchange my shirt and the race director told me it was too bad! What? I paid money for this and that's the answer that I got. Good luck 3D, you won't get me in a race of yours again.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2005-08-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
28:02:00 | 1640 yards | 1h 42m 32s / 100yards
Age Group: 2/5
Overall: 63/209
Performance: Good
Suit: Sleeveless Orca Wetsuit
Course: Clockwise triangle from boat dock.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:09
Performance: Average
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
01:18:41 | 24.85 miles | 18.95 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/5
Overall: 146/209
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: The course is the same course as the Women's Austin Danskin race (just 1 more lap). The roads are rough, filled with potholes (marked) and has significant downhills and 3 large climbs. One climb is after a hard right turn into the bottom of the shortest but steepest hill. After that, it's hard downhill into another right turn into a hill bottom. The next two hills are the hardest and longest. In training before the race, I had 3 flats on seperate times due to the road conditions.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence: 88
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:05
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:18:46 | 06.21 miles | 12m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/5
Overall: 202/209
Performance: Bad
Course: Not much left after the bike for a run, especially and off-road trail run. The run course is hard as well, with two inclines and one killer uphill towards the back of the first lap.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 1

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2005-08-10 5:09 PM

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Extreme Veteran
527
50025
Round Rock, Texas
Subject: Cactus Challenge


2006-02-23 9:22 AM
in reply to: #222134

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Veteran
288
100100252525
Austin, Texas
Subject: RE: Cactus Challenge
Hey, thanks for a great race report for last year's cactus challenge. I am contemplating doing the race but it will be my first olympic tri and I'd rather not have so much confusion and issues for my first. I have not used a wet suit before and from what I gather, I would really need one for this race- another thing in the mix that I'm not sure I want to deal with. It looks like they've changed up the bike course this year- a 6 mile loop so 4 laps for the olympic'ers. Was the run the same as the Danskin course also? THanks again for a good report- im still trying to decide.
2006-02-25 4:47 PM
in reply to: #222134

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Master
1506
1000500
Minnesota
Subject: RE: Cactus Challenge
Good race report -its nice to know which races are good and bad.
2006-04-04 9:13 PM
in reply to: #222134

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Extreme Veteran
527
50025
Round Rock, Texas
Subject: RE: Cactus Challenge
The bike course has changed so I can't comment on how that will go. The run course is the same as last year and is the same course as Danskin. It's mostly off-raod trail running with a killer hill on the back side of the course (~mile 2.2). I am sitting out this year and am going to wait and see what people say about the race before deciding to do it next year. I would much rather spend my money on CapTex for a local Olympic race.
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