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Musselman Half-Iron Triathlon - Triathlon


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Geneva, New York
United States
Musselman Triathlon
89F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 41m 28s
Overall Rank = 469/717
Age Group = M20-24
Age Group Rank = 13/23
Pre-race routine:

Woke up around 3:30. Got the rest of my family up, piled into the car and headed out to the race, about an hours drive.
Swim
  • 35m 17s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 40s / 100 yards
Comments:

Swim started out with a walk out to the starting buoys. I made sure to get in the corral early, as yesterday they were starting waves in the sprint while people were still trying to walk to the start. I started out in the front and a few people over from the left buoy. Countdown started, and off we went.

Start went well, I managed to either get out in front of most the group, or was just blown by by the super swimmers. Either way, managed to avoid a lot of the arms and legs at the start.

I was moving along pretty well when I hit the first turn. This is where I started having some problems. I was struggling to sight the buoys. I almost ran in to a support kayak two different times, having to pop up and relocate the buoy each time. Based on where i ended up each time, I'm guessing I added at least 100 yards to the swim.

About halfway through the course I started running into traffic from the wave before me, and it was pretty crowded the rest of the way. By the time i was in the canal, I was swimming over people from the two waves in front of me, but i managed to navigate them reasonably well. As I ran up the boat launch, i checked my watch and saw 35 minutes, so I knew I was in a good place for me.
What would you do differently?:

Work on sighting. I know I left at least a minute or two in the lake.
Transition 1
  • 02m 35s
Comments:

Decent transition. Struggled a little getting the top of the wetsuit down on the run in, but had a long enough run that I had it sorted out by the time I got to my spot.
Bike
  • 3h 02m 41s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.46 mile/hr
Comments:

Left transition feeling pretty good after my swim, and settled in pretty quickly. It's a bit over 10 miles before you make any kind of turn, and while it seemed to take forever, I was feeling good and was right where I wanted to be.

I kept cruising right along, passing a few people, getting passed by many more, and playing the occasional game of leapfrog. I was constantly reminding my self not to chase people and ride my ride. So I just kept it going, getting my nutrition and fluids in and feeling good. However, things were about to take a bad turn.

I race with Nuun for electrolytes and rely on food for my carbs. At the 4th aid station, I dumped my empty Nuun bottle and grabbed a fresh water bottle. As I go to drop a Nuun tab in, I lost the whole thing, all my Nuun tabs were now all over the road. I knew at this point that I was in some trouble, but I kept on going, knowing I had another aid station and I could at least get some HEED there. Well, get to the last aid station, and i somehow botched the bottle hand off and it ended up dumped everywhere. I grabbed a bottle from another volunteer farther down, but it was just water. Looking back, i know i should have stopped and gone back for what I needed, but I was feeling good, so i kept going. I'd pay for that later.

I finished up the bike still feeling good, and I was pretty much still right on my goal pace, actually just a little ahead.
What would you do differently?:

Plan ahead more. Have more ways to get electrolytes in. Don't go off plan just on feeling good at the time.
Transition 2
  • 02m 47s
Comments:

Decent transition for me. Racked my bike, got my shoes and belt, grabbed my shot bloks for the run and headed out. Still on track to break six hours.
Run
  • 2h 58m 8s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 13m 40s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, this is where it all went wrong, and I paid dearly for my mistakes on the bike. I went out feeling pretty good, knowing that if I could hold 10 minute miles, I'd make my goal. Unfortunately, that didn't work out to well. I started having cramp issues within the first half mile. I tried to run through it, but it was not happening. at around a mile and a half, my entire right leg locked up, and I practically fell over. I was out on the side for 5-10 minutes trying to coax my leg into working again. after a lot of massaging and stretching, I could mostly walk again.

I walked/hobbled my way to the aid station, got some HEED and Endorolytes, and decided to keep walking, stretching, and try to work it out. Well, from that point on, it was just a battle to keep moving. I jogged when I could, walked when I couldn't, just kept moving. I stopped a pretty much every aid station for HEED or electrolytes, but it was not working out well. At one point or another, pretty much every muscle in each leg cramped. It was pretty much a disaster. Even walking up the hills was putting enough strain on my calves that they almost cramped again with each step. If nothing else, I knew I was going to keep going until I made it to the finish, but it was a struggle every step of the way.

Luckily, I had the greatest cheering section ever. My brother Daniel (who did the sprint the day before), and my friend Sam rode their bikes through the town and constantly found places to cheer me on with the best signs ever. (I'll post some pictures later). Every time I saw them. it just kept me going.

Eventually, I made it to the last mile an a half, and as I was about to give up jogging again and walk it out, this awesome girl was running by me and gave me the "don't give in now!" Well, thanks to her, I ran that last mile and a half and made the finish with her.

What would you do differently?:

So, so many things. Get the hydration and electrolytes right. Stick to the race plan... it just all went bad.
Post race
Warm down:

I pretty much got through the finisher corral, walked out, and pretty much just fell. My leg locked again, and i spent the next 10 minutes working various parts of my body back into functionality. I got some more electrolytes and water in, and slowly started recovering

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Poor choices regarding electrolytes and nutrition.

Event comments:

Very well put on race, I just couldn't do it like I wanted




Last updated: 2013-07-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:17 | 2112 yards | 01m 40s / 100yards
Age Group: 10/23
Overall: 225/717
Performance: Average
Suit: Synergy Hybrid
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:35
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:02:41 | 56 miles | 18.46 mile/hr
Age Group: 9/23
Overall: 301/717
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:47
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:58:08 | 13.1 miles | 13m 40s  min/mile
Age Group: 16/23
Overall: 636/717
Performance: Bad
Course:
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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