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Rec Deeds TriChallenge - TriathlonSprint


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Pasadena, Maryland
United States
55F / 13C
Sunny
Total Time = 58m 34s
Overall Rank = 1/110
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 1/7
Pre-race routine:

Woke up around 5 am.... out the door by 0540. I took a nice warm shower before heading out to try to raise my core body temp up a little bit. I was really worried about freezing during this race...turned out to not be a concern, but i took as many precautions as I could. I taped over the toe vents on the shoes and my helmet vents also. This was a really convenient race, only a few miles away from my house. Got to the race around 6am, 2 hours before the race was scheduled to start. I dropped off my bike and went to work setting up my transition area. Chatted away with people and tried to stay warm. Tried to decide about clothing for the race... went back and forth about gloves, so i just got them ready. I knew I wanted arm warmers, so I rolled them up so all I had to do was put them on my wrists and unroll them.
Event warmup:

Around 7 I took my bike out to clip in the shoes and went for a quick jog to start warming up. Stretched until 730, and started to get the wetsuit on, which seems to take about 10 minutes. This would give me 10 minutes to get in the water and get acclimated. Right as I was about to get into the water, they called us all back to the transition area, so that got delayed a little bit. Went down to the beach and was the first person in the water. I've learned that you NEED to get in the water before the race starts, even if you don't want to. Tried to convince a few people around me to get their faces in the cold water before the race. Swam around a little bit to get used to the water and went back to the beach for the start. Everyone was looking for the buoy which was, of course, right where the sun was rising. Water was coooold (for me) and I was really glad I had the wetsuit and got in the water ahead of time.
Swim
  • 07m 20s
  • 437 yards
  • 01m 41s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim had two waves.... men, and 3 minutes later women. When they said go, I ran into the water and did a few dolphin dives. It was the first time I had done this, and I think it helped. The water was still pretty shallow for swimming, but to deep for running. I settled into a pace pretty quickly and tried to head towards the sun... No one could see the turn buoy for quite a while, so there were people everywhere. I guessed a little better then most people it seemed, and when everyone went way off to the left, I stayed right because during one of my sights I thought I saw the first buoy. Turned out I did, so I got to the turn pretty much with the pursuing pack (the leader, a former college swimmer was way out in front already... and wearing only a speedo...talk about shrinkage...) Pretty much had the same experience on the way to the second buoy, where my sighting was spot on. My feet were pretty much numb by this time so I made a conscience effort to kick more... not sure that it helped at all. Hit the final turn to head to shore, and was still feeling pretty good.... Relaxed even. The suit started to warm me up and before I knew it hit the shore. One guy in front of me stood up way way early and tried to run in, so I swam right by him. When I stood up to run, got the wetsuit down to my waist before I got out of the water, and took of to T1.
What would you do differently?:

hmmm... continue swimming and not take a month off? I also strained by pec about 2 weeks ago, and that has made it tough to train. My swim has come a LONG way this year, and my comfort level has really improved.
Transition 1
  • 01m 6s
Comments:

1/110 OA

So, the wetsuit was already down to my waist, and while running got my cap/earplugs/goggles off. When I got to the rack, I didn't have any real issues getting off my wetsuit. I certainly spent more time here than normal though. I put on wool socks (backwards, aka heel facing up, though i didn't notice until the end of the race), slipped my arm warmers onto my wrists, and got my helmet on. I decided to not go with the gloves as my hands seemed to be doing alright. Unracked the bike and took off. Practicing the flying mounts has helped and I executed a perfect one, even without feeling in my feel.
What would you do differently?:

warmer temp, so I didn't have to wear more clothes.
Bike
  • 29m 27s
  • 12.5 miles
  • 25.47 mile/hr
Comments:

Ok, lets put a disclaimer on this first.... I only had this at 11.15 miles. They insist on it being 12.5, and had the mile markers on the course the whole way. For standardization of the results, I'll just pretend to go with their calculation.

After my stellar transition (comparability) that netted my a few spots, I took off on the bike and worked my feet into the shoes and my arm warmers up a little bit, I caught the only person I would pass the entire race. Passed him on the access road to the main part of the course and tried to never look back again.... A truck with its hazards on was leading me around, although at the beginning of the course on the tighter turns, I would catch it and pass it, and was starting to get really frustrated. Took me a good mile to figure out that it was the lead vehicle for the race..... Ohhhhh thats why he won't go to far away from me.... so I assumed I was in the lead at that point, but wasn't real sure. I hammered it to make sure. Turns out a little to hard. About 3 miles in, going up one of the rollers, I thought I had to burp... no big deal right? False, burped and up came a whole bunch of stuff....all on my left leg. Interestingly, I did what all sane people would do... shrug my shoulder, grab my water bottle, squirt it off and kept going. I've never had that happen before, especially because I didn't feel bad at all prior to that. oh well, I'm sure the car passing me at that exact moment enjoyed the sight.

After that incident, I settled into a little bit more of a grove, trying to work hard enough to keep the body temperature up without killing myself. I would spin the hills at about 17-18 mph, and hammer the downhills. My top speed for the race was 35.7 mph. When I reached the first turnaround, Traffic was all sorts of crazy, and the lead vehicle got stuck in a situation. I wasn't about to stop my momentum, so I went around him in the shoulder and continued on. I drove the course on my way home from work on Friday, so I knew that the back two thirds would be far more hilly then the first part. The second out and back portion would be my first real chance to figure out how much of a lead I had. It was eye opening. I started to think about putting some serious time in on the bike and see if I could hold on during the run. I switched to pure strategy mode. Went through the rest of the bike pretty uneventfully, climbed up the hills, headed back towards transition. When I went to get my feet out of the shoes, I discovered that they were completely numb. My first foot fell right off the top of the shoe, because I couldn't feel the grip. Same thing with the second one. It was actually a little frightening. Regained the composure enough to hold it till the dismount line and hopped off. First thing I felt was searing pain, every step in my feet. Next cold weather tri, i will get some toe covers, and stick some chemical toe warmers inbetween the layers.
What would you do differently?:

Can I say not puke? It certainly didn't cost me any time, and I think I laughed at myself a little bit during the race, but it surely wasn't the best thing in the world.
Transition 2
  • 00m 26s
Comments:

1/110 OA

man my feet were hurting at this point. Rack bike, helmet off, shoes on, grab gear and go. Left the arm warmers on, because I was still a little chilly from the bike. Not to much to improve on here. 10 seconds to the rack, 6 seconds at the rack, 10 seconds running away from the rack... sounds good to me.
What would you do differently?:

Toe warmers... Frozen feet hurt.
Run
  • 20m 12s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 30s  min/mile
Comments:

Tried to get into a grove right away, but feet were really hurting bad. I felt like I was plodding along, and I had no idea how far back the second place person was. I just tried to settle into 7 minute mile pace (or what I though was). I started cramping almost right away. Kept at it. The first "mile" I hit was 7:40 something and I though for sure that they would catch me. Except that first "mile" is really like 1.3 miles, and I just split about 6:35 or so. The first half of the out and back course is all uphill, which is slightly painful. When I reached the turnaround (still thinking I was running slow) I prepared myself mentally for the catch. The turnaround was off a little street from the main road, so out and back meant I would have a clear view within about a quarter mile of who was around me. As soon as I turned I saw.... no one. I was really relieved and that let me settle down and start hitting my stride... even with frozen feet. Got back on the main road and went another minute or so before seeing the second place guy and my confidence went through the roof. Tried to pick it up a little even. Told as many people as I could good job running by them going the opposite direction. When I got back to the park, I knew I had it in the bag, and just held my pace, running more to the race and not the time. I also had to laugh to myself a little bit about some of the volunteer chat I heard... "Wow, the first runner is going to be done before the last biker!" was my favorite. Saw my wifes car in the parking lot, and got excited, because in 3 years of racing, she has never seen me race, and she came to this one and I was about to win the overall race! Picked it up a little bit for the finish, and looked at the time.
What would you do differently?:

tough to say. The cramps hurt alot and slowed me down. perhaps I spent a few to many pennies on the bike as well, but the Chris Leito strategy worked for me today.
Post race
Warm down:

Met my wife.... went to get clothes on. I waited around to see the second and third place guys come in. Top notch people, and had a good time talking with them. Walked around a bit to try and talk with people and just kept moving.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I really burned out from my training the past 2-3 weeks. I wasn't looking forward to it at all, and just wanted the race to be done with. I also don't like the cold, but overall, I'm pretty darn happy with this race!

Event comments:

Tough end of season sprint tri. The course is no joke, lots of rolling hills and probably 2 decent climbs. I wish there was one aid station on the run somewhere though.




Last updated: 2012-10-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:07:20 | 437 yards | 01m 41s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/7
Overall: 8/110
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra 3 Vortex
Course: Big triangle... first leg straight out from the beach, then a dogleg back to the point where we went into the water.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 63F / 17C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:06
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:29:27 | 12.5 miles | 25.47 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/7
Overall: 1/110
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course:
Road: Rough  Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 00:26
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:20:12 | 03.11 miles | 06m 30s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/7
Overall: 3/110
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking
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? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2012-10-14 8:54 PM

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Extreme Veteran
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50025
Severna Park, MD
Subject: Rec Deeds TriChallenge


2012-10-15 9:20 AM
in reply to: #4453526

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Expert
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Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa.
Subject: RE: Rec Deeds TriChallenge

Nice race report!  That bike time is sick!!! 

I'm surprised the RD did not have even a water station on the run.  That would be one thing I would make sure they need to improve on for next year. 

Congrats on the OA win!

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