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Memphis in May - TriathlonOlympic


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Millington, Tennessee
United States
Start2Finish
88F / 31C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 53m 38s
Overall Rank = 560/1545
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 82/109
Pre-race routine:

Arrived Friday with my Team in Training (TnT). Nothing too special, just got oriented in Memphis and Beale Street.

Saturday found the TnT group at the race site at 9:30. After watching the mountain bikers do their thing, we got a swim in starting at 11:00. Swam the mountain biker's sprint course, about 1/2 mile total, to get acquainted. Water temp on Saturday was 74. Dirty lake water -- couldn't see my HR on my watch a foot in front of my face!

On race day got up about 3:45 a.m. and rode with the TnT team by bus to the site. Arrived at about 5:15 a.m. Picked up our bikes from the ground shipper and made my way to transition by around 6 a.m. Got my number on my bike and taped three Gu's to the top tube. Loaded a bottle with Accelerade protein drink and the other with G'ade Rain. Set up everything then took my steed for a test ride to make sure she survived. Had lost my cadence magnet from the pedal stem, but other than that was fine. Started my GPS so that it would sync fast when I came out of the lake. Ate a bagel about 5:30, a banana about 7:00, and a Gu about 7:15. Drank a couple of 20 oz G'ades up until 6:30 and stood in the lines more times than I liked. Guess I was properly hydrated...
Event warmup:

Aside from a short ride to test the bike, walking, chatting, and some simple arm/shoulder stretches. Kinda hard to warm up with a start number of 1016 and 3-second shots from 7:30; by the time I was in line the pro's were out of the water and probably 1/4 done on the bike...
Swim
  • 29m 15s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 47s / 100 yards
Comments:

A PR for me in the wet suit! Went fairly fast. Swam buoy to buoy -- passed several people, was also passed by many. Had no issues overall except that I didn't stay perfectly on course.

For only starting to swim this past December, this was a huge success!
What would you do differently?:

I should get extra credit for swimming further than necessary. Got "into a groove" and didn't come up for a sighting a couple of times and was way off course. Felt great on the swim; could have gone further. Could have pushed myself harder had I had more experience.


Transition 1
  • 03m 40s
Comments:

Was slightly disoriented coming out of the water -- unzipped suit and was undressing as I ran to T1. No problem finding my bike b/c others had marked the lane well. Got out of suit without much effort and got helmet on. Socks and shoes weren't an issue. The 3:40 time is misleading b/c of the distance between the lake / T1 / bike start -- probably should be closer to 3:00.
What would you do differently?:

Smaller piles of "bike stuff" and "run stuff". Had it all there, but somehow it wasn't separated well enough so had to go through each article, making sure that I didn't need it for the bike. Didn't cost me alot, but it did slow me down b/c I wanted to be sure.

All I really need is my helmet, sweat/skull cap, glasses, gloves, socks and shoes. GPS is probably optional, but it was nice to see how accurate the course was (or wasn't, as the case was)...
Bike
  • 1h 12m 33s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.55 mile/hr
Comments:

A PR for me on the bike -- averaged almost 20.5 mph the entire way IF you go with the official distance. At my GPS distance it still equates to 19.44 mph average, which is pretty good for the distance. I FELT GREAT! I kept my HR at 155 as much as possible b/c I knew the run was going to be brutal. I normally train at 155-165 on the bike so I knew I had reserve. Ate a Gu right at the start, then another at MM 15, had a banana at MM 20, another Gu @ MM 24, and zipped in fast into T2.

My GPS said that I only traveled 23.47 miles, not 24.85, sooooooo not sure about the discrepancy....
What would you do differently?:

Hammer harder. I had reserves. I need to make sure cumulative average pace is under 3 min/mi right out of the start in order to break 20 mph average.
Transition 2
  • 03m 6s
Comments:

Despite the time, felt great. Not sure why it was 3 min except for the distance from where I was racked to where the start mat was for the run.
What would you do differently?:

RUN! Everything was smooth, have no clue why this took 3 min.
Run
  • 1h 05m 5s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

88 degree in the sun and a 80% relative humidity made this run BRUTAL. I was in trouble with the heat at MM 4 and I knew it. My HR was constantly pinging 160+ which I knew was too high. Kept throttling back almost to a walk and it would only drop to the mid 150's. I couldn't keep cool enough, which was a problem. Started to get goose bumps around MM4 so started to drink lots (already was) as well as stood in a sprinkler and soaked myself.

GPS unit said that I went 6.49 miles, not 6.21... go figure....

MM1 Pace: 9:41
MM2: 9:46
MM3: 9:52
MM4: 11:35 <== Overheating, goose bumps, standing in sprinkler
MM5: 10:56
MM6: 10:04
End: 11:42
What would you do differently?:

Train more in higher heat and humidity (but how?).
Post race
Warm down:

Drinking water, standing in shower, some leg stretching.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

For the run, heat and humidity. For swimming, lack of experience and not wanting to burn myself out. For the bike, keeping my HR down in anticipation of the run.

Event comments:

Overall, I was glad to finish under 3 hours. The PR on my swim and bike paces were AWESOME! The run sucked -- no other way to describe it. The Memphis Belle got the best of me on the run.

Probably more important than any of my personal goals or pain was that the 220 members from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training raised over $750,000 bucks participating in this event, and to the best of my knowledge, all TnT members finished the triathlon. We WILL kick cancer's ass, one mile at a time....






Last updated: 2005-12-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:15 | 1640 yards | 01m 47s / 100yards
Age Group: 81/109
Overall: 0/1545
Performance: Good
Suit: Orca S1 Full
Course: Open water course with a 3-second timed entry. Triangular course with the last leg into the wind (from the west). Buoys were on the left out of the start then switched to the right for the last 2 legs.
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:40
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:12:33 | 24.85 miles | 20.55 mile/hr
Age Group: 76/109
Overall: 0/1545
Performance:
Average HR: 154 Peak HR: 165 Z4 time: 1:11
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: More or less flat with good road conditions.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:06
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:05:05 | 06.21 miles | 10m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 81/109
Overall: 0/1545
Performance: Bad
Avg HR: 158 Peak HR: 173 Z5: 7 min Z4: 60 min
Course: Hilly, partially shaded.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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] 4

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2006-05-23 9:15 AM

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Regular
99
252525
Vienna, VA
Subject: Memphis in May


2006-05-23 9:26 AM
in reply to: #431265

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Champion
8766
5000200010005001001002525
Evergreen, Colorado
Subject: RE: Memphis in May
Hey, great race!  It was darn hot on that run!  I swear the sun came out just in time!
2006-05-23 9:26 AM
in reply to: #431265

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Champion
8766
5000200010005001001002525
Evergreen, Colorado
Subject: RE: Memphis in May
Hey, great race!  It was darn hot on that run!  I swear the sun came out just in time!
2006-05-23 9:49 AM
in reply to: #431265

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Extreme Veteran
476
100100100100252525
Denham Springs
Subject: RE: Memphis in May

good race

 

 

2006-05-23 3:23 PM
in reply to: #431265

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Master
1254
10001001002525
Chesapeake, VA
Subject: RE: Memphis in May

WOOT!  Congratulations Paul - Awesome job, especially on the swim and bike!  You are going to have to teach me speedy! 

2006-05-23 4:19 PM
in reply to: #431265

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Elite
2768
20005001001002525
Raleigh
Subject: RE: Memphis in May

Dont know how we missed each other and I beat you by a whole 20 seconds....

Great race and I second the heat comments.

Hope to race with you again and we meet this time



2006-05-23 4:57 PM
in reply to: #431265

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Master
1728
100050010010025
Pulaski TN
Subject: RE: Memphis in May
Man great job with the PRs. Hated I did not get to meet you by the way.
2006-05-23 8:27 PM
in reply to: #431265

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Expert
1205
1000100100
Herndon VA
Subject: RE: Memphis in May

Way to Paul, great race and report.  Congratulations on breaking 3 hours and setting PRs in the bike and swim.  That was a great first Oly.

Ernie

2006-05-24 12:01 PM
in reply to: #431265

Member
9

Savannah, GA
Subject: RE: Memphis in May
Hi Paul!  Great job.  Looks like the swim and bike went great.  Not too much you can do about the heat during the run.  Congrats on your first? Oly.  How did you like the distance?
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