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5430 Sprint Triathlon
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5430 Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint
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 Swim
Comments: The swim time includes about a minute for the run up the beach to the timing mats on the way to transition. The swim start was probably the most brutal one I've experienced so far, even though I started in about the second row. I thought I had a decent swim, but after looking at the time and having it be exactly the same (to the second) as last year's time, I am pretty disappointed. The boat exhaust fumes were really bad on this swim - probably from the jet skis patrolling the swim. Air is rarefied as it is when you can only breathe every so often, but when it's tainted with choking fumes - that's not too much fun. What would you do differently?: Have more confidence that I was swimming in a straight line to the buoy instead of stressing out that I couldn't see the buoy because of the sun. I know I swim straight, so I just have to have faith in that. I stood up when my hand touched sand, but it was still a bit of a wade/run to get out of the water. That ate up some time.  Transition 1
Comments: The run up the beach to transition never looks bad before the race, but it's difficult in a race. Several people got in my way and I had to run around them. Found my bike in transition easily and had no problems taking off my wetsuit (love the sleeveless). I must have forgotten to velcro my left shoe when I put them on because it was flopping around when I was running with my bike to the bike start. What would you do differently?: Pay attention to make sure my shoes are BOTH fastened! I had the 4th fastest T1 time in my age group, so I can't be too disappointed in that.  Bike
Comments: I know I can go faster than this on this course. Immediately out of transition, my hips were very sore in the aero position, and the harder I pushed, the more they hurt. I think I need to stretch more before a race (or stretch, period!!!). And I think I was afraid of going to hard in the first 5 miles that were uphill and blowing up. Later, when the course was downhill or flat, I found myself not pushing the speed where I should have. I was kind of out of it and not completely there mentally. What would you do differently?: Hurt myself more - it's only 17 miles. I tend to stress out about losing it on the run, so I think I am too conservative on the bike segment. Transition 2
Comments: It took me a little longer than I would have liked to get my running shoes on (yes, I have yankz). I took a couple of seconds to get a drink of water from the bottle on my towel - probably should have skipped that, but my hands were full with my race belt and visor when I passed the water table exiting transition, so I wouldnt have been able to grab water there either. What would you do differently?: Practice putting my shoes on faster. I was 15th in my AG in this transition, so T2 seems to be what I need to work on.  Run
Comments: I took 3:18 off my run time from last year's race, so that's a definite improvement. But I was the only person in the top 20 of my age group that ran over a 8 minute mile pace. Everyone else ran sub 8s (or sub 7s). My legs felt really slow for about the first mile, and even though I tried to push it harder, that signal was getting lost somewhere before it reached my legs. This was a hard run for me and I never felt very good. What would you do differently?: Who knows? Running is my weakness (physically and mentally). I'll continue to work on my speed, but I need to work more on the mental aspect of my run so I'm not so self-defeating. Post race
Warm down: Got ice water dumped over my head by the finish line volunteers, walked around, ate pancakes and hung out with the BT crew. What limited your ability to perform faster: I don't think I brought my mental A-Game to this race. That being said, I took 5:35 off of my time from last year, so I guess that's not too terrible. Event comments: 5430 Sports puts on a great race. Very organized, even with 1,200 participants. Last updated: 2006-05-15 12:00 AM
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 2006-06-21 12:29 PM |
Extreme Veteran  458   Denver, CO |  Subject: 5430 Sprint Triathlon |
| 2006-06-21 1:02 PM in reply to: #461693 |
Veteran 308 Denver, CO | Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Triathlon For what it's worth (maybe not much, but I'm putting it in here anyway), I've spent some time this year thinking about the same basic topic of your race report and today's post. Essentially two points, that this is voluntary pain, and that I can't get complacent because of all the training. I don't know which famous athlete said it (might have been Lemond), and I'll butcher the exact quote, but it was something to the effect that "it never gets easier, you just get faster." With all this training behind us, it's tempting to think that the race will be "easier" and hurt less. Just the opposite is true. We have probably developed a higher pain threshold, but getting over the mental hurdle of pushing through that pain hasn't necessarily become any easier (we've just gotten faster). I've had mixed results pushing through that pain this year - sometimes I still feel like I'm entitled to hurt a little less with all the training pain I've endured, sometimes I remember that it will still hurt like hell but pay off in the end. It'll continue to be a struggle, I'm sure, but that's my challenge, to continue to push through that pain to higher speeds and better results, even when I don't feel like I should have to do it anymore. In all though, I do think you had a very respectable race. The swim was harder than any I've done, and the waves, fumes and crowd were tough. You improved in the other disciplines, which is the whole point. If nothing else, that swim made you stronger for the next time you face tough conditions. |
| 2006-06-21 1:53 PM in reply to: #461693 |
Expert 683 Denver | Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Triathlon Not surprising that you weren't pleased if you felt you didn't bring your mental A-game. After all the training, I think race day focus is the toughest aspect and is easily forgotten about, whether it be 300m into the swim (for me!), the bike, or run - wherever the real suffering starts. Physically, you did well and dropping 5:35 is real time so nice work! Now do me a favor and read this book: http://www.bobbymcgee.com/buyBook.htm It's supposed to address overcoming the mental aspect of running, among other things, rather than the physical aspect. Basically I just want you to read it and let me know how it is. |
That way we'll both know within 48 hours of having received it. If I say I'll read it, we're looking at the beginning of next tri season before we know.| 2006-06-21 2:09 PM in reply to: #461693 |
Official BT Coach 2210 Englewood, CO | Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Triathlon I think I have said enough about your race to put in a book. I like what Adam and Ryan said. Nice positve words! I thought the swim in general sucked too. All those things in the water can kill a good swim. Great race again and keep training positve and be patient!!! |
| 2006-06-22 4:02 PM in reply to: #461693 |
Master 4101 Denver | Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Triathlon If you really feel that badly about the race then chalk it up to experience, but to me it looks like a solid effort and taking off 5:35 sounds like a great race to me. Edited by drewb8 2006-06-22 4:03 PM |
| 2006-06-22 8:15 PM in reply to: #461693 |
Pro 4228 Broomfield, Colorado | Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Triathlon Dang, 3:18 off of your run alone is pretty darn impressive It was fun chilling with you the night before! |
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United States
5430 Sports
80F / 27C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 279/1067
Age Group = F 30-34
Age Group Rank = 20/128
Shannon (swgtri) and I stayed at Cathy and Erik's house (COgirl and Macdaddy) the night before the race, so we got to "sleep in" a little bit. Woke up at 4:30, filled the water bottles, loaded the bikes on the car, on the road by 5am, ate a bagel and drank a smoothie on the drive to the reservoir. Got a good spot in transition. Racked next to Julia (juliapurr), Shannon, and Jen (numberswoman). Talked to the other BTers at the race, went to find a quiet spot overlooking the lake to relax.
Did a short jog with Julia and Shannon to warm up, rode my bike for a few minutes to run through the gears and make sure everything was ok since I hadn't ridden it since putting on the race wheels again. Grabbed the wetsuit and got out of transition before they removed me forcibly. Did a quick swim to get used to the water.