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XTERRA Muleshoe Triathlon - TriathlonOther


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Spicewood, Texas
United States
Race Revolutions
105F / 41C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 35m 20s
Overall Rank = 71/145
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 13/25
Pre-race routine:

Camped on site. Got up at 5:30 a.m. Visited restroom. Ate breakfast: banana, carnation instant breakfast, half a 20 oz bottle of Gatorade , 20oz bottle of water and a few sips of coffee. 7:00 Walked to transition area from a campsite. Set up transition and milled about for a bit before heading down towards river. Race start time was to be at 9 a.m.
Event warmup:

Swam in the river to acclimate myself to the chop, current, and hot water I would be dealing with during the swim.
Swim
  • 16m 12s
  • 800 meters
  • 02m 01s / 100 meters
Comments:

The swim this year was definitely tougher than last year There were several conditions that made this swim challenging. Firstly the race was in June vs. April. so it was much hotter. Water temps last year was in the low 60’s, this year was in the mid 80’s. The water was bath water warm. We did not have the protection of the cove as we did last year as the water levels were Much lower, about 20’-0” lower I would guess. Next was the chop, the wind was blowing hard so that kicked up some white caps on the river. Not only did we have to deal with choppy water but we had to deal with an upstream current as well. The swim went as followed. Beach start in waves, men 39 and under, men 40 and above, and then the women. We probably swam downstream 200m, made a clockwise turn around a buoy, swam back upstream ~500m . As the 1st group made its way back up stream you ran directly into some of people in the following waves. We were supposed to keep the buoys to your right but the channel was kind of narrow and there were only 3 marker buoys for the whole swim. It was easy to cross over into oncoming traffic. I had to weave my way through the moving forward on my to the 2nd turn around buoy. I got karate chopped once on the way back while I was coming up to sight. Once upstream at the turn around bouy you made another right hand turn then head back to the beach entry/exit with was about 100m away. Once out of the water the transition area was 100m away. You had to run up a somewhat steep sandy slope and traverse a sticker burn infested grassy area before reaching the transition area. The race director recommended leaving a pair of shoes or slippers to help make the jaunt up to transition if your feet weren’t tough
What would you do differently?:

Not sure. Maybe trust my training more. The swim was tough and I was able to keep my mind in check despite the conditions. I did not feel so good while on the swim but was surprised to see my watch read 15 min something when I got out of the water to head for transition. Mentally this was a tough swim for me because I don’t like warm water and feel out of breath quicker. The choppy water and the couple mouth fulls of river water from the breaking white caps probably had something do to with it. I did break stroke and had to resort to breast stroke and combat swimmer side stroke when having to navigate the oncoming swimmers.
Transition 1
  • 01m 48s
Comments:

Woo hoo! Finally at T1 change under 2 min for me!
What would you do differently?:

do things faster. Find a way to keep the straps on my shoes open so I only have to adjust them once after slipping them on.
Bike
  • 1h 40m 48s
  • 14 miles
  • 8.33 mile/hr
Comments:

The course was much dryer than last year and the loop had changed slightly. There were a couple of “new sections” that were very tight and made for a slow pace. You could not rail around corners like last year. The recent drought had left some parts of the trail loose and sandy. This made traction on the some of the uphill sections challenging. I did manage to burp my tire about 6 miles in. I was constantly loosing air for the next couple of miles and had to hit it with the c02 a couple of times until what little tire sealant remained in the tire finally did its job. My rear brake started to drag almost as soon as the tire somewhat sealed itself. Again I was off the bike on the side of the trail re-adjusting the caliper. This year’s bike split was almost 13 minutes slower than last years
What would you do differently?:

Ensure there my tubeless tire sealant is fresh. Check and re-check bike before race.
Transition 2
  • 00m 54s
Comments:

Overall things went smoothly here except for some reason there were ants all over my stuff in transition. Had to shake ants off of shoes and inspect shoes for any that hung on.
What would you do differently?:

Pick a transition site w/o ants. Do things quicker
Run
  • 35m 36s
  • 3.5 miles
  • 10m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

Hot. Hot. Hot. My quads were beginning to protest in the last couple of miles of the bike but surprisingly my legs were cooperating for the most part. I had to walk a couple of times up some of the steep section of the trail mostly because I felt hot and needed a second to cool off. Thankfully most of the run was on single track. The last mile was out in the open rolling hills on a segment of the trail that was underwater last year. It was cool to see who’s in front of you or in my case who’s chasing you down and will soon pass you up.
What would you do differently?:

Not walk. Focus.
Post race
Warm down:

Jumped in river and sat for a few

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Injury and lack of training before race for the most part. Mechanical issues on the bike.

Event comments:

Can't wait till next year!!!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2011-06-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:16:12 | 800 meters | 02m 01s / 100meters
Age Group: 14/25
Overall: 0/145
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course: 800M. Beach start with waves. Downstream ~200m, right hand turn at buoy, ~500m upstream to next buoy, another right hand turn, then ~100 meters down stream again to beach exit.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 86F / 30C Current: High
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:48
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:40:48 | 14 miles | 8.33 mile/hr
Age Group: 12/25
Overall: 0/145
Performance: Below average
Wind: Strong
Course: Typical Texas hill country trail. Rocky with jagged limestone in sections. 90% single track with some very tight sections. Decent amount of elevation change to keep things interesting but no granny gear grinder of a climb.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:54
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:35:36 | 03.5 miles | 10m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 12/25
Overall: 0/145
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
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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2011-06-27 10:19 AM

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Subject: XTERRA Muleshoe Triathlon
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