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Spring Bassman Half Distance Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Tuckerton, New Jersey
United States
CityTri Racing
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 55m 21s
Overall Rank = 74/100
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 11/15
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 2am, had a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice. Got dressed, loaded car with all equipment and gear. Got in the car by 3am and made the 2 hour 15 minute car ride down to southern New Jersey. Drank 24 ounces of water and ate a stinker waffle and a Clif bar on the long ride.
Event warmup:

Set up transition. It was cold (46 degrees and windy). Looked at the lake and decided to wait as long as possible to put on the wetsuit, neoprene hat and booties. Did some stretches to get loose and finally suited up only to be told start would be delayed - of course then had to take wetsuit down to pee (how annoying). It was really cold and uncomforatble waiting for the race to start.
Swim
  • 38m 32s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 49s / 100 yards
Comments:

Got in about 10 minutes before my wave and splashed around a bit. The water was warmer than the air. My wave was all men 40 and over, we started 2 minutes after the female wave, with the 30 and unders and relayers in the wave after us. I never found feet to draft off of as the field was small and opened up quickly. Only had issues at a few of the turning bouys as people crashed together. Was able to breathe bilaterally for the majority, had no big sprint but on the second loop I tried to go harder. Anticipated a swim over 40 minutes due to the cold and my lack of speed in the pool was pleased to see sub-40 as I came out.
What would you do differently?:

I think I could have tried to go more aggressive on the second loop - I felt good and was very awake after being sluggish waiting around for 2 hours.
Transition 1
  • 05m 16s
Comments:

I take an inordinate amount of time in T1 every time - still much faster than my last 70.3 transition. I put on a under armor base layer and a bike jersey. Sunglasses, helmet, gloves, socks (I usually skip these) and then my shoes. Was a 200 or so meter run with the bike to the mounting area.
What would you do differently?:

HTFU - I am glad I wore what I did - I practiced this transition at home and I felt confident I would whip it through in 4 1/2 minutes but it did not correlate in the race.
Bike
  • 2h 51m 6s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.64 mile/hr
Comments:

I planned to go hard on the bike and only look at HR - only watched cadence and HR. Planned to keep cadence at 78 but decided to go steady at a high gear instead - focus was on consistency and taking nutrition at scheduled times. Ate a bonk breaker immediately after T1, took a stinker waffle every 20 minutes on the bike (ate 6), drank 8 ounces of perpetuem/double Gu "super mix" every 25 minutes - knocked down both 24 ounce bottles and started into my water bottle.
What would you do differently?:

Nutrition test worked fine - I was able to maintain steady cadence/HR while pushing same power throughout. Could I have gone harder - yes - but as my run suffered I imagine it would have been even worse. Coming off the bike I had passed a bunch of the guys in my age group. My cornering is a weakness that I need to work on.
Transition 2
  • 03m 45s
Comments:

200 meter run back to transition after the bike course. Took helmet/gloves/bike jersey off and put sneakers on. I tried something different in this race - speed laces will not fit in my sneakers so I had them pre-tied and had a shoe horn - had them on quick enough. Considered taking off the thermal shirt as the sun was now out, regretfully left it on. Threw on tri top and number belt, grabbed my water bottle and ran out.
What would you do differently?:

I need to practice transitions I give away too much time in these.
Run
  • 2h 16m 43s
  • 13.2 miles
  • 10m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

My plan was 9 minute miles, keep it steady and avoid imploding. Like a complete ass I came out of T2 fired up and was chugging along thinking I was on plan when I looked at my watch and said "holy %&*$" slow down!" Took it down a notch for the second mile but again when I didn't look at the watch my pace would speed up. I started feeling bad at mile 3 cramps in weird places (upper part of crotch) ... kept running but did not feel good at all - I was grabbing sports drink at every mile but my legs were getting tight. Had a SunRype fruit bar in my number belt - high in potassium - ate it and almost immediately my cramps subsided - THANKS SunRype! At mile 6 I started to suffer from over heating - stripped off my tri top and thermal and tossed the thermal, put the tri top back on ... but I was now overheated and in HR zone 4 without even pushing at all. Diced to do next 2 miles with run 5 minutes walk 1 minute see if I could get my legs back. Tried to run mile 9 solid but my mind and body were now in a fight and my sole driving force was now sub-6 hour finish. Sufferfest from here to finish with run/walk the whole way - glad some people were out there to give encouragement but it was terrible being passed by over 30 people on the run because my wheels fell off.
What would you do differently?:

I have trained my run to the point that this should not happen and doesn't on runs ... I guess more bricks are in order. Maybe more nutrition on the bike - and I must keep to my plan for pacing once the run actually starts.
Post race
Warm down:

Chatted with a few people at the finish, walked around to make sure my legs didn't cramp. Broke down my transition, grabbed a plate of food and loaded up for the 3+ hour ride home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My run sucked - I should be able to do this run at least 10 minutes faster and maybe shave a few more minutes off the transitions.

Event comments:

I want to do this one again ... I need to beat the run ...




Last updated: 2013-01-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:38:32 | 2112 yards | 01m 49s / 100yards
Age Group: 10/15
Overall: 74/100
Performance: Average
Suit: Xterra Vortex 4 (full sleeve)
Course: Two counter clockwise loops in the calm and clear waters of Absegami Lake with the start on a well maintained and clean beach area. Some reeds and stuff in the water but at times very clear where you could see the sand/rocks at the bottom of the lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 60F / 16C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 05:16
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:51:06 | 56 miles | 19.64 mile/hr
Age Group: 6/15
Overall: 39/100
Performance: Average
57 minutes or so in Zone 3 and 1:53 in Zone 4 ... pushed hard and tried to maintain steady HR throughout.
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: The bike course is primarily right turns on country roads with wide shoulders. No sun at all - overcast and cold for the first 46 miles of my bike ride, so thankful I was dressed for the wind. There were gusts and some steady headwinds at times (I guess there were tailwinds as well but my bike speed really did not fluctuate). One slight (very slight) climb but the rest was all pretty flat.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 69
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:45
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:16:43 | 13.2 miles | 10m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/15
Overall: 89/100
Performance: Below average
HR 37:50 in zone 3, 1:40:02 in zone 4 - splits are pathetic but here they are anyway ... 7:33 (WTF was I thinking), 9:02, 8:37, 9:03, 9:00, 9:27, 10:25, 10:27, 9:49, 11:05, 12:06, 10:24, 10:45 ... came out too fast - imploded at mile 7 ...
Course: The 13.2 mile run course is a fast flat run with lots of shade and on the roads and paths of the campground area of the Bass River State Park - really awesome run with loop backs and turns that let you see and interact with all the other runners out there. I saw a lot of cool birds and a BIG black snake.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2013-05-16 5:37 PM

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Subject: Spring Bassman Half Distance Triathlon
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