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Bridgeland Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Cypress, Texas
United States
Onurleft Event Management, LLC
98F / 37C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 36m 38s
Overall Rank = 693/1500
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 12/16
Pre-race routine:

A quality pre-race routine was a little difficult given I was at our lake house with a bunch of family and friends for the weekend. I managed to escape and get to bed around 10:30, giving me five hours before my 3:30 wakeup call. My legs woke up pretty stiff, so I got dressed then used my Trigger Point Therapy quad roller that has been a godsend for my ITBS. Ate a bagel, banana, and peanut butter on the hour ride to the race.
Event warmup:

I was fortunate enough to be doing my first triathlon with an experienced friend who showed me the way around. Oddly enough, we were consecutive numbers so our bike rack placement was right next to each other. She helped me put out my transition area, then we walked over to the swim start. Got in a quick 100m swim warm up to help get my stroke and breathing rhythm and to become familiar with the murky retention pond water.

The one complaint I had about the entire event was that my wave (2nd to last) started an hour after the first wave. I understand this is inevitable for some waves, but it really sucked standing there waiting for so long.
Swim
  • 11m 46s
  • 547 yards
  • 02m 09s / 100 yards
Comments:

While I got out of the swim pretty unscathed, I was pretty disappointed with my time. I had been training in open water with a time over two minutes less than my race time. My wave included F 24 and under and F 50+ and Athenas. I knew I would be one of the faster people in my wave so I started towards the front outside. The first 300m went well. I got off without being kicked too much and my sighting was spot on. The last 200m was a different story. I caught the wave in front, F 45-50, and felt like I was constantly swimming over them. There seemed to be no open water in sight, and most of them were struggling. Once I even swam over a lady doing a back stroke. It was if the end of the swim was far more chaotic than the beginning.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. I am relatively new to swimming, and this was only my second experience swimming among a mass of people. I plan to improve my times individually in training, but I think the more experience I get swimming with the masses, the better I will become.
Transition 1
  • 02m 3s
Comments:

Considering this was my first transition, I am pleased how this went. Everything was laid out well, and I knew exactly where my spot was located (brought a boat safety flag to mark my place).
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 42m 57s
  • 14 miles
  • 19.56 mile/hr
Comments:

I was pleasantly surprised how well the bike segment went. I literally purchased my bike two weeks before the event, and before that, I hadn't ridden a bike since I was a kid. That, coupled with training on Austin hills, I went into the race thinking the bike would be a disaster. I had no experience riding in a group, and I was worried about passing others and people passing me. It was nice to find there was plenty of room on the course. I was passed by few, but passed many more. Surprisingly, this was my best segment, and I attribute it to the hill training. The race course was flat with only two turns. At first, my on board computer wasn't reading my cadence or speed, but about five minutes into it, it started working properly, and I was surprised to find I was going about 19mph. Improved my speed on the route back as there was a bit of a tail wind.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

I am a little upset I had no T2 posted. I really wanted to use this race to gauge what needed improving. I felt my T2 time was pretty slow, but i'll never know just how slow.
Run
  • 39m 51s
  • 3.5 miles
  • 11m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was horrible, but this was the segment I felt most prepared for. After really pushing it on the bike, I had little gas left for the run. Combine that with lack of hydration and 100 degree heat index, and its the recipe for disaster. I finally found a bit of a stride after half a mile, but this didn't last long as all but one of the water stations had run out of water and cups. I had taken in no hydration on the bike, and began to panic about running the distance without anything. The one thing they did pass out was an ice cold sponge. Squeezed that over my head for a little boost, but without water, the run was incredibly difficult. Note to the race director: make sure to have water for us in the last parts of the race. We are running in the hottest part of the day, and hydration is critical.
What would you do differently?:

Better brick workout training.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Heat; lack of training

Event comments:

This was a great race for my first tri. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. The pre and post race activities were great. I plan to do the Houston Triathlon in September coordinated by the same group.

Two minor suggestions: order the swim waves more appropriately; make sure there's always water at water stations (especially in this heat).




Last updated: 2011-07-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:46 | 547 yards | 02m 09s / 100yards
Age Group: 11/16
Overall: 0/1500
Performance: Below average
Suit: Zoot Tri Top and Bottoms
Course: 400m straight with a slight right turn to complete the last 100m towards the swim out
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:03
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:42:57 | 14 miles | 19.56 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/16
Overall: 0/1500
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Flat boulevard. Kept us in the left lane and traffic in the right lane. Well marked. Seemed safe.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:39:51 | 03.5 miles | 11m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/16
Overall: 0/1500
Performance: Bad
Course: some streets, paved trail, gravel trail
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2011-08-08 1:39 PM

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Veteran
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Austin
Subject: Bridgeland Triathlon


2011-08-08 2:36 PM
in reply to: #3634303

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Elite
4235
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Spring, TX
Subject: RE: Bridgeland Triathlon
Great job getting out there and getting your first triathlon done!  Sorry to hear about the swim congestion. 
2011-08-08 3:15 PM
in reply to: #3634303

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Master
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Houston
Subject: RE: Bridgeland Triathlon

Sounds like you had a good race.  I'm really suprised to here about the water issues.

I was just ahead, and my wife was just behind you and we both had water.  However, when i got to the last water station they were scrambling for cups.  and were replenishing the water so sounds like you hit it before they replenished..

This happened to me a few weeks ago and it really sapped what strength I had left.

2011-08-09 6:22 AM
in reply to: #3634303

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Extreme Veteran
387
100100100252525
Houston, TX
Subject: RE: Bridgeland Triathlon
Please give more detail on your suggestions. Where was there no water. As far as I knew/heard there was cold drinks at every aid station. We put sponges at one too. Also please let me know what you mean by the swim waves. There's a reason we had them like we did. We do take advice so please let me know your suggestion. Thanks!
2011-08-09 9:15 AM
in reply to: #3634303

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Veteran
306
100100100
Austin
Subject: RE: Bridgeland Triathlon

hey i appreciate your interest in our feedback. it means a lot to us racers.

as for the swim, a lot of the younger racers (24 and under) i spoke with made comments about easily catching up with the wave in front. i was certainly not the fastest swimmer in my age group, but it was definitely noticeable most of us caught up with the wave in front. i definitely experienced more contact at the end with the wave in front than i did starting with my wave.

as far as the water, i noticed i misspoke. there was ice (maybe water?), but there were no cups. i considered grabbing a cup off the ground like a few people did, but instead settled for the ice. i'll admit the panic that set in after that was mostly my fault. i didn't hydrate while on the bike, so i was counting on water on the run. i think if i'd have hydrated properly while biking it wouldn't have been such a big deal.

as you mentioned, the sponges were amazing and a huge help! i hope all the races i do this season offer these. 

overall, it was a great race. it seemed extremely organized and well run. i really enjoyed every minute of it, including the expo and post-race activities. i'm not new to racing (marathons, half marathons, 10Ks), but it was my first triathlon and i'll admit i'm hooked. i went home and signed up for three more races this season, including the houston tri. but again, thanks for a great race! 

2011-08-09 9:35 AM
in reply to: #3635579

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Extreme Veteran
387
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Houston, TX
Subject: RE: Bridgeland Triathlon
Thanks for the clarification. Due to city regulations we needed to have all bikers on and off the course at certain times. That's why it was 3 minutes and not 5 between waves. That and heat. The extra 32 minutes that would have been added to the length of the swim starts overall would have sucked the life out of the later waves by the time they got to the run in the extreme heat. Thanks for the detail and thanks for the kudos. See you at Houston.


2011-08-09 6:17 PM
in reply to: #3635625

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Extreme Veteran
380
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Houston
Subject: RE: Bridgeland Triathlon
Sorry to hear you found yourself in the small window where they were scrambling for cups.  It looks like you had a pretty solid race overall.
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