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T-Rex Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Brighton, Michigan
United States
Running Fit Triathlon
82F / 28C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 06m 59s
Overall Rank = 9/412
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 1/21
Pre-race routine:

I'm going to try and keep this one relatively short, just so I can get it out of my brain...

Arrived at the race site and set up right away. I got there plenty early(probably a little to early), but I had a couple of things I wanted to take care of. I got a flat on my race wheels earlier this week, so it was a new tubular glue job, and although I rode on it once before, I wanted to test it again.

I got back from a short bike and remembered to ask if it was wetsuit legal. The guy pointed to a sign that said 78 degrees, but then told me it wasn't... huh? Long story short, he was confused, and it was clairified that it would be legal, so back to the car I went to go grab it.

Finished setting up and waited until about an hour before the race.
Event warmup:

Went for a 10 minute jog. My legs were feeling great! Ran back to the transition area and stretched out. With about 25 minutes to the start, I got my wetsuit on and went for a swim. Waited for the gun.
Swim
  • 14m 2s
  • 875 yards
  • 01m 36s / 100 yards
Comments:

Nothing special here. I love swimming in my wetsuit! The time was about 1.5 minutes faster than my fastest time on this course, so I can't really complain. My sighting was spot on, in fact, I hit two of the bouys, and I even caught a couple drafts along the way. I do need to continue to improve my endurance. I made it about halfway through before my arms began to fatigue, but up until that point, I was able to hang relatively close to the front. I swam until my hand hit the bottom, stood up and got super lucky getting my wetsuit unzipped in the first try. Took off my googles and cap, stuffed them into the sleeve of my wetsuit, and ran to T1! Even though the water was 78 degrees, as warm as it can get for wetsuits, I really didn't feel hot at all until the last 100 yards or so. The wetsuit (although a bit of a crutch for me) helps so much just by keeping my form together longer.
What would you do differently?:

Hmmm... More swim training. I have 1 more tri this year and it only a 500 yarder, so my hopes are high for it.
Transition 1
  • 00m 44s
Comments:

So the chips all screwed up here, and I got assigned a default T1 time of 44 seconds. I actaully think its pretty accurate, since my time was only .5 seconds off from what they assigned me. Whatever. It was a good T1. After enough practices, the transitions "slow down" in your mind and become routine. 44 seconds to get the wetsuit off and get going on the bike is plenty fine with me. Took off to the mount line, hopped on, and took off.
What would you do differently?:

Nada. Maybe move a little quicker on the run in from the swim, but I just try to control my heart rate during that time.
Bike
  • 30m 27s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 24.49 mile/hr
Comments:

I was able to cruise this... and still set my fastest bike time ever...

There are three things I hate about this course. The transition setup, the amount of turns on the bike course, and the beginning of the bike course where you can only ride single file. Got stuck behind a girl riding at oh...14 mph..... Come on! lets go! But I digress

After I got around her I got my shoes fully situated and took off. The first mile is all about not loosing a ton of time, but not blowing up after the swim. Once I settled down, I was able to pick up the pace. I was passing a bunch of people, and even though I started in the elite wave, I am not the strongest swimmer, but I'm pretty good on the bike. Today, I just felt great. I was consciencely trying to hold back a little for the run, but every time I looked down, I was above 25 mph! GREAT!

Got to the first major turnaround, and I though I saw the leaders heading back... I wasn't to sure though. At the second turnaround, I knew exactly where I was. 8th place and not so far back. I caught two more guys the way back, and got passed twice (by the same two guys I rode out of transition with, we were just swapping places the whole time). Entered T2 in 8th.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, I felt like I saved plenty for the run here, and still had a great split. The turnarounds on this course and the narrowness at times can really limit your speed. Without that, I'm pretty sure I could have been sub 30 on this course, which would have been great.
Transition 2
  • 00m 20s
Comments:

3rd fastest T2!!! and the faster guys had 19 second T2's... Needless to say, I left T2 a couple spots ahead of where I entered, either 4th or 5th.
What would you do differently?:

What can you do differently? Pause time? take a timeout? Throw your chip accross the run mat so it stops your T2? I don't know.
Run
  • 21m 26s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 53s  min/mile
Comments:

OK. The run started out pretty good. My plan was to run "easy" for the first mile (its 100% uphill) at about a 6:40 pace to get everything underneath me. When my body is really clicking, I can run 6:10 ish for a 5k pace in a sprint tri, but I have been slacking my running a little bit too much perhaps... The first mile, I did keep it under control and felt pretty darn good being at the pointy end of the race. I was making distance up to the guy in front of me, and then A fast dude went blowing by me. He is more than double my age..... Holy crap. haha. It took a little bit of mental recovery from that blow, and managed to convince myself run my race. Hit the first mile right at 6:40 and I really wanted to pick it up from there. But my body had other plans. I cramped up nicely and was only able to manage a 7 minute mile for the second mile. I think about 4 guys passed me in that mile. The third mile did me no favors either, and I ran a 7:07, and got passed at least once more. Oh well, it serves me right for slacking. Unfortunatly, with about 3/4 mile left, I started feeling good again, and was able to drop back to around 6:30 pace. Crossed the finish line right as the clock clicked to 1:07. A PR for this course (not the run.... at all)
What would you do differently?:

More running.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk around, talk, suck down water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Ready.... run training. I never thought I would say that. More miles needed in the month remaining before my next race. I set swim and bike PR's for this course, and if I ran anywhere near what I was running at the beginning of this season, I would have run about 1:04, which would have moved me up significantly. OH well.

Event comments:

This was the 5th time in two years I have done this course. It was my fastest time, and besides the comments above about what they should fix (transition, narrowness, and the turnarounds on the bike) I really enjoyed racing here. It is also my last time racing here, as next year I won't be in Michigan by the time the series starts, so it was fun guys!




Last updated: 2011-01-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:02 | 875 yards | 01m 36s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/21
Overall: 36/412
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex 3 Full Suit
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:44
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:30:27 | 12.43 miles | 24.49 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/21
Overall: 5/412
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:20
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:21:26 | 03.11 miles | 06m 53s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/21
Overall: 26/412
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2011-08-18 7:39 PM

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Extreme Veteran
528
50025
Severna Park, MD
Subject: T-Rex Triathlon


2011-08-18 9:43 PM
in reply to: #3649913

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Expert
1145
100010025
Ann Arbor, MI
Subject: RE: T-Rex Triathlon
YES, you killed it again! Congrats on the PR for the course, the monster bike split, and daaaaayum those transitions are stellar. You WILL take down rivals on the run next race because you're a wicked fast runner.
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