login
TRI for Real Triathlon #2
-
No new posts
TRI for Real Triathlon #2 - TriathlonOlympic
View Member's Race Log View other race reports
 Swim
Comments: My plan was exactly what I had told my 7yo to do. When the race starts, count to 10, then start swimming :-) Well, I did exactly what she did in her race, after I got to about 1 1/2, I took off on the feet of the guy in front of me. So much for patience, huh? The first turn is super easy to sight to, because it's right in line with the twin Nuclear Reactor towers in the background (don't worry, it was converted to a Natural Gas power plant sometime in the 70's...) and they are massive! I swam nice and straight, sighting every 4-5 strokes. First turn was fine, I was far enough behind the main pack by now that there was really no contact. The midway buoy on the backstratch is a large orange ball which was easy to see, no problems sighting to it. I also bought brand new goggles this year that I am only wearing for actual races, dark tint and no fogging, I could see great. Last year at this race I had an issue with fogging and with the sun glare (you are looking right into the sun after the first turn) I had a really hard time sighting and got way off track. No such issues this time, nice and straight! The second turn buoy was harder for me to find, it's white and sort of blended into the backdrop. I drifted a little left a few times here, but not as bad as last time. Just before the second turn bouy the wave behind me started catching up. Made for a little more traffic around the turn, but I just stayed a few yards wide and it was no issue. Turning for home it's again easy to sight, bucause there is another bright orange bouy halfway in, and the exit has a massive inflatable arch which is easy to pick up. I swam in pretty straight, a little drifting to the left, and just kept swimming till my hands it the bottom of the lake. Up and out, I didn't really rush up the hill to the scorekeepers, just sort of walked out of the lake... What would you do differently?: I'm quite happy with the swim, just took it easy but didn't go into full on cruise mode. I'm going by the race provided time here, but I think that time must have been taken at the top of the hill as you enter transition, because I KNOW my bike/T2/run times are correct from my Garmin, and there is no way I did the whole run/walk up the hill plus transition in 1:28. I think the 1:28 is transition time only, and the run (more like walk for me today) up the hill is in the swim time. So, I was actually a minute or two faster than posted, I think!  Transition 1
Comments: Nice and easy, wetsuit off, shoes on (no socks with old velcro only mtb shoes), glasses on, helmet on, Garmin 305 on (takes a few seconds to buckle), grab the bike and go! I'm pretty well dialed on transitions by now. What would you do differently?: It would be nice to have a solution that doesn't require me to put on the 305 in transition.  Bike
Comments: This was my first race on my new bike! Well, not exactly new... Someone gave it to me a week ago, it's a Trek 750 Multitrack from the 90's, a 26 pound steel framed bike with flat bars and 700c wheels. It's a step up from my 30+ pound mountain bike with slicks I have been racing! Anyway, I put on a set of 700x23c race tires, put on the seat from my good mtb (since I'm used to it), put on my eggbeater pedals, and put on a lower stem I had in the garage (which put the bars a few inches lower than the seat). Other than that, I just lubed the chain and rode it. Good ride, I just kept it at a decent pace, and went 'aero' as much as I could (which means putting my forarms on the grips to get down lower). Unfortunately 'aero' put the hurt on my package, and I couldn't really do it much on the way back (which was more into the wind). Oh well, I was faster this year while being significantly less trained. Yeah for faster bikes! What would you do differently?: Actually train? Transition 2
Comments: Good flying dismount, ran with bike to my spot. Rack bike, helmet/glasses off, shoes off, shoes on (again no socks). I was carrying a water bottle with me today which I have not done before in a race (but always do on long runs, so I'm certainly used to it) so I took a few extra seconds to snap on my race belt and put on my hat, which I usually do while I'm running out of transition. I figured with the bottle in one hand that would be tough, so I just did it before leaving. Who cares about a few extra seconds here really... What would you do differently?: nothing, it went smoothly.  Run
Comments: I'm very happy with the run! My 'goal' was to keep it under 10 minute miles, but it was a loose goal since I really haven't been running enough lately to know where I'm at. Mostly I was just going to run by RPE, and use the Garmin to ensure I didn't accidentally go out too fast. About 1/4 mile into the run I checked, and I was at about a 8:15 minute mile, so I slowed myself down just a bit. I felt real good, legs were great, and my breathing was nice and smooth. I took a few sips of my HEED every once in a while, but it was pretty warm by now and not so good tasting... What I ended up doing was taking a big drink from my bottle right before each aid station, then getting a cup of water from the station. I'd take one sip from the cup to wash the taste out of my mouth, then dump the rest over my head. I like that, it worked real well and it is SOOO much easier to drink out of my bottle than the little cups. I'll probably run with the bottle again next race. Anyway, my pace stayed pretty consistent, I just ran on RPE and my pace stayed fairly even. I felt great, like I could just keep on going. I picked up my cadence just a touch in the last mile, then with about 1/4 mile to go I picked up the pace to a full on run, and was surprised how much 'run' I still had. I was able to run hard to the line, and felt great. Guess I could have gone a little harder on the run earlier, but overall I'm pleased with my restraint and my time. mile 1: 9:29 mile 2: 9:46 mile 3: 9:23 mile 4: 9:50 mile 5: 9:58 mile 6: 9:28 mile 6.2: 7:25 What would you do differently?: nothing. Post race
Warm down: Water, shade, pasta, and an Oreo. I felt pretty good. Talked with my girls right after, turns out my 9yo learned an awesome lesson today! Despite setting a PR by 2 minutes in her race, she finished in 7th place compared to her 2nd place last month. She totally beat her time goals, but you can't control who is going to show up on any given day! My 7yo in her first tri did great and had a blast! She ended up 5th (out of 8) and got a plaque! Very cool. What limited your ability to perform faster: uh... lack of training? Event comments: Love TBFracing.com! Great events, super fun, they are doing it right. Last updated: 2011-06-06 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
{postbutton}
 2011-07-11 10:07 AM |
Expert  829   |  Subject: TRI for Real Triathlon #2 |
| 2011-07-11 3:23 PM in reply to: #3590314 |
Master 1887  Brentwood, CA | Subject: RE: TRI for Real Triathlon #2 Glad you and the family had fun! That second buoy was a pain. I had a really hard time differentiating it from the background. And, yes, I'm pretty sure the swim time was clocked at the top of the grassy hill where they were calling out numbers. I'm still uncertain about that swim distance; it sure felt long. I felt like I had a solid split, but I was a minute slower than last year. |
| 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
TBF Racing
80F / 27C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 138/222
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 12/15
Camped on site the night before, so just rolled out of bed and walked over to transition at 6:30 to get a good spot on the end of a rack. My two daughters were racing the kids tri also, so I spent most of my morning helping them get set up in transition. My 9yo has done a few of these already so she has it pretty dialed in, but it was the first ever Tri for my 7yo! She was off the walls excited and ready to go...
I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a banana about one hour before my race started, and had a cup of coffee. Prepped my water bottles (one for the bike with 3 scoops HEED, one for the run with 2 scoops HEED), and got my transition all set up. I decided to wear my Garmin 305 on the bike and run, but did not wear the HR monitor strap. I was just doing this race by RPE and taking it easy. I mostly wanted the Garmin with me on the run to make sure I didn't go out too fast.
I watched the swim and T1 of the kids tri, then suited up and got ready for my race. I was in the 4th wave so I got in the water as the first wave was heading out and swam around a little. Not much of a warm up, maybe 10 strokes at most just getting used to the wetsuit again.
I have swam maybe 5 times all summer, nothing longer than 30 minutes in the last month. I'm not exactly where I'd like to be in training for this race, but it is what it is... Figured the first 500yards would be my warm up, then just go into a nice smooth steady stroke and finish it out. Not really 'racing' today, just out having a good time!
As we were lining up in the water for our wave start, I saw Tim, a friend from right here on BT, and we chatted a bit. Always great to see a familiar face.