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Disco Triathlon - Triathlon


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Valley View, Texas
United States
Dallas Athletes
Total Time = 1h 35m 42s
Overall Rank = 188/556
Age Group = Male 35-39
Age Group Rank = 35/69
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4am, grabbed my stuff and drove to the race site. Ate a bag of kids Quaker Breakfast Bites on the way out. Ate a Clif Bar when I arrived (6am).
Swim
  • 14m 7s
  • 547 yards
  • 02m 35s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started about three quarters in the back. I started out awful, just keeping pace with the majority around me. I ran into people and then treaded to find a good line and swam again. Right at the first buoy, there was a sand bar (can you have a sand bar in a lake??) and most would stand up. This cleared the crowd a bit. Also, after I rounded the buoy, I swam wide and found some clean water. I did the same at the second buoy coming back to the beach. I'm sure I swam a bit more than others, but it was worth it to not have to fight thought it.

I got out of the water and jogged towards T1. They had the time running at the start-of-T1-mat and it said 17:xx. I had my Forerunner on my bike, so I didn't time it my self. I knew I had a bad swim but didn't think it was that bad. It wasn't until after the race was over that I realized the clock was started for the first wave and I was in the second, so I was actually 3 min faster. Still, a bad swim, but considerably better.

Only about 1-2 dozen people had less than a 10 min swim time, so the swim had to be more than the advertised 500 yards. There was a decent run from the beach to the T1 mat, but that shouldn't have taken more than 30 secs or so.
What would you do differently?:

Swim aggressively. I sighted well and went where I wanted. I just need to swim my pace and assert myself through/around the others.
Transition 1
  • 02m 2s
Comments:

I'm really not one to be in a hurry in the transitions. I want a good time overall, but the transitions for me is a time to regroup and re-focus and I just don't want to rush through them.
Bike
  • 51m 11s
  • 17.6 miles
  • 20.63 mile/hr
Comments:

I broke a bolt on my aero-bars the night before the race, so I took my ('87 Schwinn) road bike.

Great bike for me. Almost immediatly after I started out, I started passing people. My goal was to see what I can do on the bike and then see how it affects my run.

I passed alot of people and got passed by much less. I really passed more people on the ups of the rolling hills than anywhere else on the course. This really suprised me as my commute route is really falt with 1 stretch with a whopping 2 rolling hills.

I ran into John (jcagg90) and chatted with him a bit. He asked me if I saw the 13 year old girl. I said, no, but that must have been who rode by and said "sorry" as she passed me. I wonder if she appologized to all of the old farts that she passed. I did catch up to her later, but didn't pass her back. How embarrasing would it be to be passed by her twice :o

I also saw Aaron (JeepFleep) coming the other way. I think he was about 3'rd at the time (his swim wave was the first).

I think this was a very fast course and I saw plenty (5 or 6) on the side of the road changing flats. I'm thankfull I wasn't one of them.

I've always told myself that I was not going to get a new bike until I averaged 20 mph in a race. I broke this rule about 2 weeks ago as I found the bike I wanted at a good price. But, then I broke the aerobar and have now validated the new bike purchase.

Also, I've gained 2-3 mph average over my bike splits of the two tri's I did last year.
What would you do differently?:

Not break my bike the night before the race and not get passed by the 13 yr old girl :)

Seriously, this was a great ride and there's not much I'd change about it.
Transition 2
  • 01m 16s
Comments:

I was suprised by the transition time. I thought it would have been longer than this as it felt like I took my time. Again, until I get real competitive, I'll not rush through the transitions.
Run
  • 27m 9s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 08m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

Immediatly when I started running, I had a pain in my left shoulder. It was on the top of the shoulder right at the place where the bone sticks up. It was kind of like a side stitch pain. This is the shoulder I've had some minor rotator cuff problems with, but I can't imagine it was this. My best guess is that it was something with the way I rode on the bike.

I found a pace that made the pain bearable, but it didn't go away for a while. I'd push it a bit and the pain would get stronger, so I paced myself by the pain in my shoulder as opposed to my HR or other feel. My hope was that it would eventually become minor or go away completely.

Towards the beginning, I see a flash of polyester and a black 'fro going by me. It didn't register at first, but I later realized it was John. Holy crap, how he ran with that shirt and wig in the heat is beyond me. You'll have to check out his RR as I'm sure he will have pics. Going through the run, I also see all 4 of my TNT coaches and Aaron sporting his Team Ironhead uni.

The course was completely shaded and a little crowded, but overall I really liked it. At the first aid station, I grabbed a cup of water and through it on my head. After this, there was a fairly slight and long incline to climb. I slowed considerably at this point and was wondering if I'd even break a 9 min/mi pace. I reach the second aid station and turnaround. I stop and drink the water and then get going again. Going down the hill was a nice pick-me-up and my shoulder was starting to feel better. By mile 2, the pain was almost completely gone and I was able to pick up my pace a bit. At this point, my HR is lower than it was on the bike and my legs feel real fresh. I'm now running a decent pace, but still conservative. I think at the time I feard the shoulder pain coming back, so I still held back some. With 1/4 mi left, I upped the pace again and was able to just about sprint the last tenth of a mile. I forgot to stop my watch and I didn't look at the timer, so I really didn't know how I did until the results were posted.



What would you do differently?:

Looking back on the run, I think I found a comfort zone and just stuck to it. I should have kept pushing myself, especially after mile 2 when the pain was pretty much going.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, stretched, drank water and ate an orange. Hung out for a while with the other BTers (jcagg90, JeepFleeb, Comet, DerekL, tri_it_cajun_style).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Breaking tri bike? Pain in shoulder.

Event comments:

I really liked this race. The theme was great. There were even a few who was in full Disco gear and riding old beach cruisers. That must have been a blast.

After volenteering for a few races , I really would have thought that I'd pay the volenteers more attention. With the exception of a couple of "thanks for volenteering", I didn't really pay them much attention.




Last updated: 2006-06-29 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:07 | 547 yards | 02m 35s / 100yards
Age Group: 52/69
Overall: 315/556
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:02
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:51:11 | 17.6 miles | 20.63 mile/hr
Age Group: 28/69
Overall: 104/556
Performance: Good
AveHR: 182 ---- MaxHR: 189
Wind:
Course: Out and back. About 3 miles on the State park road. Then about 6 miles on the shoulder of the hwy with rolling hills. For the first/last 2 miles, the shoulder was rough and almost everybody rode in the lane. Other than that, it was smooth with the expected rocks/gravel at the private road intersections.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:16
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:27:09 | 03.11 miles | 08m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 46/69
Overall: 253/556
Performance: Below average
Ave HR: 179 ---- Max HR: 187
Course: Out and back. In the trees on a concrete "trail", shaded the entire route.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2006-07-10 11:28 AM

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, Texas
Subject: Disco Triathlon


2006-07-10 11:55 AM
in reply to: #477715

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Queen BTich
12411
500050002000100100100100
,
Subject: RE: Disco Triathlon

You had a great bike! At least be happy about that.

I hope that pain in your shoulder doesn't come back. It didn't sound fun.

It was great to see you again.

2006-07-10 12:06 PM
in reply to: #477715

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Extreme Veteran
760
5001001002525
Provo, UT (my heart is in Seattle)
Subject: RE: Disco Triathlon
Chris, your bike leg was awesome; Comet's right.  I agree with your philosophy entirely about the transitions.  I didn't get into tris to compete for awards, I got into them to challenge myself, so I take transitions as a time to refocus and get ready for the next discipline.  Often, I actually stop and watch people run around like chickens with their heads cut off in the T area, and I chuckle to myself.  It's a short moment for me to relax before the next portion of the race.  Congrats on completing another tri!  I wish I had been racing this past weekend.
2006-07-10 3:06 PM
in reply to: #477715

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, Texas
Subject: RE: Disco Triathlon
I still have a high from that bike leg. Going in, I was hoping for a 19.5 average on the tri bike. When I finally pulled out the road bike, I was just going to see how it went and thought I'd still be able to get 19 mph. That 20.6 mph came out of left field for me and I'm still giddy about it.

I'm also content with my run, but know I could/should have pushed harder. I am proud of myself for not walking until the pain went away and an 8:44 run pace is certainly nothing for me to hang my head for. It's still a good :30 min/mi better than previous best tri run. During the run, I didn't even think I was going to keep a 9 min/mi pace.

Overall, I had a really good race and the race bug has bitten me again. I'm going to do what I can to add Stonebrior, Rockwall, and a couple of Royce City TTs.


Drew,
I once spent a solid minute in T1 sitting on a curb just looking around and watching the other people. It was a better people watching event than I've ever got at the airport.


Edited by camy 2006-07-10 3:14 PM
2006-07-10 9:34 PM
in reply to: #477715

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Elite
3020
20001000
Bay Area, CA
Subject: RE: Disco Triathlon
Totally awesome bike, and the rest of your tri went well too... congratulations!
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