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Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park - TriathlonSprint


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Carrollton, Georgia
United States
Blue Sky Sports
Total Time = 1h 19m 9s
Overall Rank = 134/291
Age Group = Clydesdale
Age Group Rank = 9/32
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4:30, drove to the race site about 1:30 away.
Event warmup:

Swam about 50 yards to get warm up the water in the wetsuit. Stretched a little. Jogged from the lake to the transition area.
Swim
  • 13m 7s
  • 656 yards
  • 01m / 100 yards
Comments:

This was a terrible swim. I have really improved as a swimmer and consider it my strongest event now, so this was a huge disappointment. My plan was to come out of the water in 11 minutes fresh, instead I came out in 11:55 wiped out. The rest of my time was walking up to the transition area trying to catch my breath. For the first 250 meters I made contact with someone on literally every single stroke, front and back and to both sides. I started in the middle, since I planned an easy stroke, but I was pushed from behind and held up from the front. On a dozen occasions someone tried to climb up my back, and I did the same to others.
What would you do differently?:

My training is good, I need to re-think my strategy.
Transition 1
  • 02m 24s
Comments:

I barely remember this. I remember being dizzy and trying to catch my breath. Somehow I got out of transition and onto my bike.
What would you do differently?:

Fix my swim problems. I do transitions well, this was all left over from the swim.
Bike
  • 34m 17s
  • 11.2 miles
  • 19.60 mile/hr
Comments:

It took me a couple of minutes to get going and get my feet in my shoes. The course started on a shallow incline and I had to pedal and get my feet in, and I was still dazed from the swim. After a mile or so I got myself together and had a decent ride. I think my training is on schedule and I would have done well if I had gotten off to a decent start. The finish caught me by surprise and I didn't get my feet out of my shoes.

At some point during the ride I heard "Hey, you're a BTer, me too". I was wearing the BT temporary tattoo. It was nice to meet sranney on the course, I had seen him sing the national anthem at the PTC last year so I knew who he was. Unfortunately, some of the bad juju I was having must have rubbed off, he had a flat tire soon after.
What would you do differently?:

I think my bike problems all go back to the swim. I'm ok with it otherwise.
Transition 2
  • 01m 26s
Comments:

The problem here was not getting my feet out of my shoes on the bike, so I had to unclip. I was racked at the opposite end of the transition area and had to get there in my bike shoes, which I am not accustomed to running in. Otherwise, a mediocre T2.
What would you do differently?:

Get out of my bike shoes.
Run
  • 27m 52s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

Calves were cramping at the start. I think I was dehydrated. My bike water bottle was completely full at the finish, so obviously I wasn't doing anything about hydration. I struggled through most of the run and had to convince myself to keep going. I caught my second wind about 200 yards from the finish, and when another competitor passed me at the end I caught him and challenged him to a sprint to the finish, which I won. This is the third race that I have struggled through only to discover new energy near the finish. I need to figure out how to find that a lot earlier.
What would you do differently?:

Keep running and lose weight.
Post race
Warm down:

Bent over to catch my breath from the sprint to the finish. Drank some water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

As always, excess weight. But the story of this race was really the terrible swim, it hurt me the rest of the way. I actually swam strong, it was the exertion required to wrestle through the pack that killed me. I felt like a ran the rest of the race in a daze, until just before the finish. I also think I was mildly dehydrated from trying to lose weight before the race and not drinking before or during. I drank some water on the run and seemed to recover some.

Event comments:

I like the Tri the Park series and this one was good with a few exceptions. A vounteer strayed from their post (after I had passed, otherwise, in the condition I was in mentally I'd probably still be running) and some runners missed the turn. Another thing I found odd was the police car stopped on the right side of the road just before a sharp right turn, forcing riders into the left lane (this was an open course, meaning cars) to complete the turn. He may have been covering a pothole or something, but he hit his siren just as I passed to signal an oncoming car and almost startled me off the bike. And the awards ceremony took way to long to get started, not that I was involved, but I had to wait for abear2, who is making a habit of collecting the hardware. :)

Now that I have whined and complained about how terrible things were for me, I want to mention the extremely nice man I briefly chatted with at the end of the race. He had finished in 1:58 and had no complaints at all and seemed to be having a great time. At the time I think he was strapping on his lower "walking legs" which I guess are different from the running and riding legs he had to strap on during the race.

I guess my race wasn't too bad, now that I think about it.




Last updated: 2006-04-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:07 | 656 yards | 01m / 100yards
Age Group: 10/32
Overall: 0/291
Performance: Bad
Suit: Sleeveless wetsuit
Course: Triangular course in a pond/lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:24
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
00:34:17 | 11.2 miles | 19.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/32
Overall: 0/291
Performance:
Wind:
Course: Fairly hilly.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:26
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Bad
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:27:52 | 03.1 miles | 08m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/32
Overall: 0/291
Performance: Bad
Course: Flat around a lake for the first mile. Then a gravel section with a good side slope and then hilly country roads. Then back the same way, but around the other, shorter, side of the lake.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5] 1
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2006-04-30 2:49 PM

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Veteran
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Subject: Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park


2006-05-01 11:29 AM
in reply to: #410418

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Extreme Veteran
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Peachtree City, GA
Subject: RE: Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park
I know you don't think you did very well, but I think you did awesome. Remember last year? We are sooooo much more prepared than we were for Yargo last year. Every race your times get less and less. I am proud of you.

I love you,

Kelly
2006-05-01 12:05 PM
in reply to: #410418

Veteran
149
10025
Marietta, GA
Subject: RE: Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park
Great race - I hope to be down to times like yours one day!  I was one of the runners that missed the turn on the home leg of the run; tough deal.  And yeah, the swim was a zoo; mine was far worse than yours.  Terrific job.
2006-05-01 12:23 PM
in reply to: #410418

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Veteran
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Douglasville GA
Subject: RE: Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park
Great race!! I choked and tanked in my swim too! I just took my time and not drown by the horrible brown water! Will post my report later tomorrow. I probably passed you in the bike course -- similar time. Thank goodness for running, my swim is embarrassing.

See you guys at Fort Yargo!!

Alan
2006-05-01 12:58 PM
in reply to: #410418

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Expert
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Medina, MN
Subject: RE: Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park
Nice job. The best part about it is that it seems like you have a lot of easy fixes that don't involve hours of training - swim strategy, bike hydration, etc. Keep up the good work.

-Matt
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