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Sandman Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Aptos, California
United States
Santa Cruz State Lifeguards Assn
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 57m 56s
Overall Rank = 174/283
Age Group = 30 - 34
Age Group Rank = 16/21
Pre-race routine:

Picked up my packet on Saturday (race on Sunday) and drove the bike route for the second time this week. It was good to know what was coming up on the course and to know how bumpy it was going to be.
Packed my bags the night before (not a recommended idea). I realized the patch and air kit I had bought didn't include the CO2 adaptor, so I knew I'd be without air on the ride.
Arrived at ~0740 (race starts at 0900) and was able to find good parking right under where the seagulls sit...
I had plenty of time to pick my transition spot. Had my tri-shorts on, so getting ready was easy.
Ate toast with peanut butter at home and 1/2 banana on the drive. Just a little water to drink all morning. I didn't eat any of the pre-race buffet.
Event warmup:

Rode ~1.5 miles (start of the bike course) and swam about 100 yds to get acclimated to the water.
Swim
  • 22m 8s
  • 880 yards
  • 02m 30s / 100 yards
Comments:

Not the last one out of the water for my wave!!!!!
I finished it without any real trouble - that was good. That said, I probably could have gone faster. I was able to run out of the water and up into the transition area (and in the process cut my foot on something).
I felt pretty good throughout the swim, I held form and my pace, which beats my previous ocean swims.

I thought I broke the strap on my goggles 5 minutes before my wave started. Internally, I was freaking out (it was a long way back to the transition area), but then I realized that was a feature not a defect and figured out how to fix it.

I used vegetable oil on the back of my neck and it worked pretty well. I put it on just before I left the transition area for the start point and my warm-up swim. I did get rubbed a little raw on the high, right side of my neck (where the collar velcros on?).
What would you do differently?:

Push the pace a little more.
Have someone holding extra equipment (goggles, flip flops, extra veg oil/body glide, etc) at the start point.
Practice putting on the swim cap - I almost launched it off my head trying to get it on.
Transition 1
  • 04m 17s
Comments:

I kept the transition really simple.
No problem getting the wetsuit of my torso and running with it to the transition area. I cut my foot somewhere on the run into the transition area. I took my time changing: cleaned up my feet, tried to look for the cut of my foot (didn't find it then), and got my head back on straight after the swim. I was a little dizzy during my transition time.

  • It took awhile to get the sand off my feet and get socks and shoes on.
  • Having three small towels was good - 1 to stand on, 1 for T1 clean up and 1 for either T2 or later.
  • .I labelled my opaque water bottles and put water in the cage on the bike (figuring salty gatorade wouldn't be that tasty after an ocean swim)
    What would you do differently?:

    Tray of water to clean the sand off my feet.
    Maybe practice with shoes on the pedals. Although after getting my foot cut, I don't think I want to take off running my bike in socks or bare feet. May need to base this one off of how rough the transition area is.

    Bike
    • 49m 2s
    • 15 miles
    • 18.35 mile/hr
    Comments:

    The ride really shook me up (my stomach was aching shortly into the ride from what I assume was the bumps since I didn't swallow that much ocean on the swim).
    I probably passed 1 or 2 people (teenager on mountain bike...) on the whole ride. That wasn't really unexpected though, I'm not that good at hills yet and the PG triathlon next month is pretty flat.
    Had my first really good (legal) drafting experiences today. It worked so well the first time, I didn't mind drafting off the 51 year old guy in the speedo later on in the race. My eyes! my eyes!

    Drank less than 6 oz. on the water - which seemed to work for me both on the bike and later on the run.
    What would you do differently?:

    Train for the hills.
    Now that I'm building a base of riding distances, I need to start looking at some interval and speed-type work to take advantage of the downhills and flats more.
    Transition 2
    • 01m 48s
    Comments:

    Again, nothing fancy in transition. It could have been faster, but I was trying to cure my shaken stomach with a little banana. I don't think even pukin' would have fixed my stomach.
  • Put my number belt on my running shoes so I'd remember it.
  • .Took a quick shot of water and a bite of banana.
    Run
    • 40m 41s
    • 4.2 miles
    • 09m 41s  min/mile
    Comments:

    I actually did pass some people on the run, which was nice.
    Except for the oft mention foot and my shaken guts, it was an OK run. I did walk three times (all around 1 min in length): (1) up the sand ladder (2) on the high ground (3) on a portion of the beach.

    What would you do differently?:

    Run more during training.
    Post race
    Warm down:

    Played with the kids and hung out at the hospitality table for food. I was sooo hungry at the end.

    What limited your ability to perform faster:

    Comfort with putting all of these distances/events together in one fell swoop.

    Event comments:

    I don't have any recent race history to judge it by, but I thought it went off pretty well.
    If I was in the area again I'd do this race again.
    I probably need to reduce my transition bag - I was beside the cliff so I had lots of space to dump stuff past the bike racks.
    I reconned my way in and out of the transition area, but my UK cooler bag made it easy to find my stuff.




    Last updated: 2005-08-07 12:00 AM
    Swimming
    00:22:08 | 880 yards | 02m 30s / 100yards
    Age Group: 0/21
    Overall: 0/283
    Performance: Good
    Suit: Orca S1 Full Suit
    Course: Rectangle with different start and finish points. Practically kelp free!!!
    Start type: Run Plus: Waves
    Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Medium
    200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
    Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
    Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
    Rounding: Average
    T1
    Time: 04:17
    Performance: Below average
    Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
    Suit off:
    No
    Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
    Jump on bike: No
    Getting up to speed:
    Biking
    00:49:02 | 15 miles | 18.35 mile/hr
    Age Group: 0/21
    Overall: 0/283
    Performance: Average
    I think the overall distance was off - I had it as about 13 miles on my computer.
    Wind: Little
    Course: A big, bumpy loop in Capitola. A gradual ascent for the first 5.5 miles and then some really nice downhills interrupted by a few short climbs. A very bumpy course. I did say it was bumpy, right?
    Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
    Turns: Good Cornering: Average
    Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
    Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
    T2
    Time: 01:48
    Overall: Good
    Riding w/ feet on shoes
    Jumping off bike
    Running with bike Below average
    Racking bike Average
    Shoe and helmet removal Good
    Running
    00:40:41 | 04.2 miles | 09m 41s  min/mile
    Age Group: 0/21
    Overall: 0/283
    Performance: Average
    Course: Except for a big climb and a very brief road and trail piece, this was a beach run. Ran on the hard pack sand as much as I could. About 1.5 miles in there was a big climb in Newcastle State Park.
    Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
    Post race
    Weight change: %
    Overall: Good
    Mental exertion [1-5] 3
    Physical exertion [1-5] 3
    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: Average
    Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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    2005-08-11 3:59 PM

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    Subject: Sandman Triathlon
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