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Queen's Cup Hua Hin International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Hua Hin,
Thailand
36C / 97F
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 13m 21s
Overall Rank = 2/191
Age Group = M40-49
Age Group Rank = 1/54
Pre-race routine:

This turned out to be a great race as the family was able to join me for first time in a long time. We blew our remaining hotel points and stayed at nice 5 star hotel on the beach in Hua Hin. This made for a great base camp and the family enjoyed the upscale facilities all day Saturday.

Come Sunday morning I woke to the sounds of Monks chanting from the near by temples. I ate a few mini bananas (the small sweet ones they have in Thailand) and snuck out of the hotel room a little bit before 5 am and headed to the start area.

The race was not too large (300 athletes - triathlon & duathlon), so it was easy to find your way around the transition area.
Event warmup:

Just when the sun was about to rise we got hit with a steady, heavy tropical down pour. Rain is usually not a 'coldness' problem in Thailand; however the rain tends to bring out the Jellyfish and would make the down hill sections of the course a little more treacherous.
Swim
  • 20m 6s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 20s / 100 meters
Comments:

Had a good start and bumped into a few other racers while running towards the water. It took about 100m and I was free and clear of the other swimmers. As I exited the water after the first loop I had a 30 sec lead. I jumped back in and headed out for round two. I did not feel that I was swimming that fast, but managed to post a great time (20 min). As I exited the water, saw the wife - a great sight. As I ran up the beach saw my girls making 'Go Daddy' signs in the sand. All in all a solid swim that gave me a 1+ minute lead on the field. Note : Official time included an extra 3 min.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Good swim.
Transition 1
  • 01m 45s
Comments:

In an effort to speed up my T1 time I decided not to wear socks. For me, T1 was quick, but I still lost about 20 sec. against the field. Still need some work here.
What would you do differently?:

More quicker.
Bike
  • 1h 08m 26s
  • 42 kms
  • 36.82 km/hr
Comments:

I had a great ride and had the fun of riding in first place for the first half of the bike section. I had my own police escort (car + motocycle), plus a TV crew on a motorcycle. Very fun. I was taking it all in. I wanted to keep the lead up until the first check-point (CP1) at the top of hill over looking a golf course. At the CP1 turn around, I saw the chase pack. Three people about 15 secs back. I put the hammer down on the downhill and managed to keep the lead into the second half of the bike leg.

I finally got passed by the trio (a Brit, French and Thai guy). The French guy pulled ahead, but I managed to keep pace with the Brit and Thai guy. At CP2 I saw that we had a good minute (or two) on the other racers. The second half of the course was quire treacherous with dirt sections, large potholes and standing water. Fortunately we had some space to operate and the lead cars were controlling the traffic. The athletes farther back had a little more of a challenge as they had to avoid the road obstacles and traffic.

As I approached T2 I saw the family cheering wildly who informed me that I was in 4th place. I entered T2 just behind the No.2 and No. 3 placed guy. We were all about 20 sec behind the French guy.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. A good ride for me. First time my bike rank was higher than my run rank!
Transition 2
  • 01m
Comments:

Excellent T2 and kept pace with the No. 2 and No. 3 guy exiting T2.
Run
  • 42m 2s
  • 10 kms
  • 04m 12s  min/km
Comments:

I exited T2 in 4th place and took about 500m to catch the Thai guy that entered T2 in second place. The guy who entered T2 in 3rd was flying and I could see that he had caught the leader very quickly. It look me about 1.5k before I passed the leader from T2. The new leader was a strong runner and I would not catch him without blowing up, so I settled down and raced my race. I clicked off 4:15/km (sub 7 min/mile) splits and paid carful attention to my nutrition and hydration (it was hot and humid). My pace was consistently putting distance between myself and the guys behind me.

The course ran back and forth in-front of the transition area, so I got regular up dates from family who was cheering me on. Must admit, it makes racing that much more enjoyable when you actually have people cheering you on that you know!

Pushed the pace up until the finish and negative split'ed the 10K. Got to 'break the tape', loads of photographers and TV crews from local media. Kind of cool.

Note: Not too sure about Age Group Rank, but I was definitely in the top 3, if not the fastest.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Strong run. Good pacing. Negative split.
Post race
Warm down:

Caught up with the family and then hung around for a few hours for the Award Ceremony.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not much. Strong race in all categories. Not too sore the following day which is nice.

Event comments:

For Thailand this was a very well run race. It would be a great race if they fixed the roads. While 'Paris-Roubaix' adds a certain challenge, the assorted potholes and dirt were quite dangerous.




Last updated: 2011-08-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:06 | 1500 meters | 01m 20s / 100meters
Age Group: 1/54
Overall: 1/191
Performance: Good
HR monitor did not work.
Suit:
Course: Two triangle swims of 750M.
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 28C / 82F Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:45
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:08:26 | 42 kms | 36.82 km/hr
Age Group: 5/54
Overall: 8/191
Performance: Good
AVG HR 156. Max HR 166.
Wind: None
Course: Out and back type course with a hilly section that had you climb 100M over 4 km.
Road: Potholes Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:42:02 | 10 kms | 04m 12s  min/km
Age Group: 1/54
Overall: 9/191
Performance: Good
5K - 21:24 (158ahr) 10K - 20:38 (162ahr)
Course: 2 x 5km loop in front of the finish area.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2011-08-29 9:24 AM

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Subject: Queen's Cup Hua Hin International Triathlon
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