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Wildflower Triathlon - Long Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Bradley, California
United States
Tri-California Events, Inc.
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 25m 39s
Overall Rank = 867/1963
Age Group = 35-39 M
Age Group Rank = 131/249
Pre-race routine:

Got up, ate a PB&J sandwich and a clif bar with a double espresso. Rolled on a foam roller and was out of the door.
Event warmup:

Was one of the first few to get into the transition area. Setup, stretched and ran a little bit around the area. It got really crowded quickly, and so I sat down and enjoyed the glorious morning.
Swim
  • 41m 11s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 57s / 100 yards
Comments:

I actually improved from my last 1/2 IM swim last year. I wanted to swim my pace but try to draft more consistently. I could not find anyone to draft off for the first 2/3s of the swim - I passed the slow swimmers, and then caught some from the previous wave only to get passed by fast swimmers from the following wave. They were too fast for me to draft off. Finally, with about 700 yards to go, I caught someone from my wave who started good, but slowed down to my speed. The rest of the swim was a breeze.
What would you do differently?:

I was disappointed when I saw a 41 min mark, as I was hoping for a 39 min swim time. I guess that I gave up too much time early on trying to stick to the back of the wave. Still a good 1 min improvement from last year.
Transition 1
  • 04m 58s
Comments:

I spent a little bit more time in t1 for 2 reasons - I had to pee bad coming out of the water (peed while changing but still took time:)), and I wanted to re-apply sunscreen as the sun was already getting hot. The exit of T1 got crowded when I got there and I had to let a couple of folks out.
What would you do differently?:

Try to pee in the water before exiting, doh!
Bike
  • 3h 25m 35s
  • 56 miles
  • 16.34 mile/hr
Comments:

Gotta say that coming out of the water the first hill really f..cks with your heart rate. I believe that it set me back in terms of pace for the next 10 miles or so. I recovered after we got out to the Interlake road. The wind really picked up there and it alternated between headwind and crosswind with appreciable gusts. Then 2 mishaps occurred.

I wanted to refill my gatorade section of the aero bottle and overfilled it. The smaller bottle popped out on the next downhill and flew out. I had to turn and pick it up/set it back up. That took a good chunk of time. After that the course got boring as we rode the back roads.

Then I flatted at mile 32! Changed the tube and moved on. The rest of the course was uneventful, the hills were fairly mild, except for a scene of a nasty crash near mile 50 or so. Some poor dude went down hard and the ambulances were streaming in. The last downhill was super steep and I really rode the breaks down to the lake.
What would you do differently?:

Lesson learned about the way aero bottles work. I also am now thinking that the cadence was a little bit low - perhaps I could benefit from a compact crankset as opposed to 53/39 upfront?
Transition 2
  • 03m 33s
Comments:

Again, re-applied sunscreen a bit, and was trying to find a clif bar, but one of the folks who racked next to me pushed under a towel. I had to grab gu drops to go, which I did not plan on.
What would you do differently?:

Is there a brand of sunscreen that's not nasty smelling, can be sprayed on, won't eat through the swimsuit and will stay effective for 5hrs+? Google search does not reveal much. Open to suggestions here.
Run
  • 2h 10m 22s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 57s  min/mile
Comments:

Coming off the bike, I felt great and immediately started hammering 8:10 miles. All was well until I hit the nasty grade and suddenly 2 things happened. My heart rate shot up to 210, and my right calf started to literally pulsate. I was half way up, and had to stop, pee, and walk the next mile and a half. The HR went back to 160, and the calf felt ok. By that time I was thoroughly cooked, as it always happened when allow yourself to walk. Best I could was 9:30 miles, and the last hill after the loop I had to walk a bit too. I ran down to the lake, but the calf started to protest again, and I had to throttle it back.
What would you do differently?:

I underestimated the impact of Nasty grade. I did a few bricks, but I did not do any combo bike climb/hill runs. That was a costly mistake - I was really trying to keep it under 6 hrs (yes, mentally I was subtracting the flat/bottle incident from my bike time:)). Oh well, lesson learned - I will be back next year, and will know how to train.
Post race
Warm down:

Sat down, drank gatorade and water and ate munchies/fruit.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

As I said, you need to do combo climbing bricks to be successful on this course. It helps to know the course too - I read/discussed it, but you must ran it to appreciate the challenging landscape.

Event comments:

Great race. Everyone was super nice, and volunteers were exceptional. Two minor suggestions to the organizers
1. SAG vehicles - honestly, I saw none on the course. Def no one passed by me when I flatted. That was odd.
2. The setup when leaving the race site. Ok, I get the fact that you expect to stay at the festival area and do not want to let the tired peepz walk the beach hill back while the runners are still coming in. However, making us wait 45 mins for the bus to come and take us a mile up the hill is just dumb. I could have walked/rode the hill in 1/3 of the time. Please consider opening the back trails to those of us who do not want to drink $10 wine glasses after the race.




Last updated: 2012-05-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:41:11 | 2112 yards | 01m 57s / 100yards
Age Group: 199/249
Overall: 1471/1963
Performance: Good
Suit: full xterra suit
Course: Clockwise out to the middle of the lake and back, marked with yellow bouys.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 69F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:58
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:25:35 | 56 miles | 16.34 mile/hr
Age Group: 151/249
Overall: 1015/1963
Performance: Good
Wind: Cross-winds with gusts
Course: Hilly, with some pretty rough pavement. Lots of rollers, and 2 major climbs.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 75
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:33
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:10:22 | 13.1 miles | 09m 57s  min/mile
Age Group: 112/249
Overall: 829/1963
Performance: Good
Course: Roads, dirt trails, and lots and lots of hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %4%
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2012-05-06 8:43 PM

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