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West Point Lake Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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LaGrange, Georgia
United States
GA Multi-Sports
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 48m 38s
Overall Rank = 163/296
Age Group = Clydesdale
Age Group Rank = 6/12
Pre-race routine:

Alarm went off at 5:00AM and we made breakfast and gathered our gear. My wife; Deb was also racing today so we were doing our separate thing. We stayed at a local B&B which made the morning less stressful. Packed the car and headed to the park. I underestimated the time required for this race to get to the park and walk to TZero. I think you should get timed for this portion of the event and make it a Quadrathlon. HR and fueling very important in the giant walk from the car to the start.
Event warmup:

Loaded bikes into TZero and set up. Chipped up and continued organizing. I admit that I will now start getting to the park the minute it opens. Met up with Steamy and found Deb and we were about to head to the lake when whistles started blowing for everyone to get out. Guess they were running late and wanted to move to the start. So, no warmup in the H2O!?! The course was even weirder this year as with the previous nights weather and low water levels they had to buoy the course in the AM and avoid as many low's as possible.
Swim
  • 34m 35s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 07s / 100 yards
Comments:

Swim was difficult for me again. I'm currently working on my stroke and tried to concentrate on those items necessary for more efficient swim. However my goggles fogged after about 200M. (That defogging stuff is all hype). Got bumped more this race than any race I've ever done which I didn't expect given the TT start. Finally, got goggles kicked off my face a little and got some water in them. That cleared me for better navigation.
What would you do differently?:

Next time get there early and do an adequate warm-up. I think I was trying to sight too much and never got a rhythm going. My best sections were when I was walking over the sand bars.
Transition 1
  • 01m 11s
Comments:

Cleared T1 quickly enough but as I was boarding a guy in front of me started weaving trying to get his shoes in. I was suddenly in the grass! Naturally, I started to struggle with my right tri shoe. There was a moment there where I thought I could go over. What a crowd pleaser that would've been!
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I was third fastest in my group here. Socks (a necessity for me) still take a little extra time but I'm getting more and more efficient with them.
Bike
  • 1h 18m 53s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 18.90 mile/hr
Comments:

I was very happy about my bike. Getting better each race with this and that's been my concentration over the winter/spring. While recovering from Plantar Fasciitis, I wasn't sure about how I would deal with the run so I wanted to make sure that I had a successful bike segment. The walking around in the lake thing definitely put some hurt on my legs. It took a good many miles to loosen them up after the swim. Caught my wife at Mile 6. She had a good swim and was looking really good on the bike. It was exciting to see her motoring. Ate all my newtons in the first 6-8 miles. Gel'd with about 10 minutes to go in the segment. There were a few people out there who refused to give way with the passing or would pass right back before you cleared them but other than that it was a good fast field with lots of fast riders. I was also successful in my third event at removing and riding on top of my shoes the last 1/2 mi or so. A little tricky but cool.
What would you do differently?:

Although I was over my LT on the bike I really tried to keep it down. I think I can go a little faster yet. Spin classes focusing on strength training are really helping. In many instances I was still in the saddle while others were out and pumping up hills that didn't seem that difficult. The long weekend rides are also helping gain strength and familiarity with my ride.
Transition 2
  • 00m 44s
Comments:

Just a good fast T2. A little time lost fiddling with the race number belt. Otherwise I was in and out of there. Fastest in my group.
What would you do differently?:

Run out with the belt in hand. I've got my number so just fasten it as I run.
Run
  • 53m 16s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 08m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

Gel'd coming out of T2. You can see the dam as you exit transition and enter the course. It looked a million miles away. Course was really well stationed and the weather was on our side. A guy that I had been jousting with for about 10 miles on the bike took me after the first water stop and I couldn't catch him. He was cruising. I focused on a steady HR even though it was now high. Passed a couple of drink stations and wanted to get out to the dam since it was the halfway point. Mile 5 has a nasty little hill follow by a slight incline out to the main road again. Lots of people walking up it. I just shorten my stride and increased the turnover to get up and out of there. My last mile seemed fast but I wasn't thinking this was going to be my fastest tri 10K. Finished really strong trying not to leave anything out there.
What would you do differently?:

I was right. Not my fastest performance for a tri 10K but respectable. In review I think I could've gone a bit faster at the beginning of the run. With the injury recovery I hadn't done as many bricks like earlier in the season and my mileage had been a bit off. The run is usually my best segment but on this day I think the bike was my strongest.
Post race
Warm down:

Met up with Steamy and then went back down the road about a 1/4 mile to wait for Deb and cheer her on. Grabbed a water and a couple of diet cokes and walked around talking to folks. Massage was great. Chiro worked on my PF and educated me on further recovery techniques.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Swim for sure. I really need to get some focused swim coaching. 3-5 minutes here would be a huge impact on the rest of my race day. Also, a reduced brick and running schedule affected my run just a bit. I've logged faster times there.

Event comments:

This was a PR for me at this distance! I improved over last year's time by 14 minutes. Really pleased with overall accomplishment. I also met a goal to finish in the top half of my group which I did do. A little side note here that of all Clydesdales I was the oldest and only 40something. This race is a mainstay on my calendar.




Last updated: 2006-07-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:35 | 1640 yards | 02m 07s / 100yards
Age Group: 11/12
Overall: 0/296
Performance: Bad
HR was pretty good except when we were walking. I think this was almost a duathlon because I ran/walked about a third of the swim.
Suit: Tri suit only
Course: Clockwise pseudo-triangle with three portages in case you were carrying a canoe.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 01:11
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:18:53 | 24.85 miles | 18.90 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/12
Overall: 0/296
Performance: Good
Not sure about Autocalc here. Race results had me at a whopping 19.8 mph which is a PR for me at this distance.
Wind: None
Course: Loop course with some good ups and downs. Almost no traffic to deal with and well monitored except for the guy in his car around Mile 8 (?) who would just stick his arm out the window and wave. Good volunteer there.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:44
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:53:16 | 06.21 miles | 08m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/12
Overall: 0/296
Performance: Average
HR was up above my running LT and I wanted to make sure that I managed it appropriately. I didn't hit the first mile hard because I knew it was mostly uphill.
Course: Out and back over dam with a few nasty little hills (especially Mile 5). Although this one can get really hot, it was manageable on this day because of the overcast conditions. It did start to get muggy a bit.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2006-07-24 12:09 PM

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Subject: West Point Lake Triathlon


2006-07-24 12:28 PM
in reply to: #491205

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Smyrna
Subject: RE: West Point Lake Triathlon

Awesome job, H.!  Way to PR a tough race.  It was great racing with you and Deb as usual.  It's nice to have people to talk about the race with afterwards.

I *thought* that y'all were getting there a little late, but figured that it was all in your game plan (I mean - you do have one of those, right?).  No matter, you pushed out a nice race in strange conditions.  (Walking through a swim?  Fish stench on the run?)  Your run will come back to you, just make sure that you give it time to heal.

Can't wait to race with y'all again.  Hopefully WP will be a future event for lots of us.  Congrats again!

2006-07-24 2:03 PM
in reply to: #491205

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Atlanta, Ga
Subject: RE: West Point Lake Triathlon
Nice race. The swim sounds bizzare. At least they didn't have to cancel.  Nice time though for sure. Congrats on your PR. Obviously you have been working on your transitions. Strangely, those have been my worst events this year. 
I want to talk to you about swim coaching. I've decided to open a buisness.. heh no, for real, I found a program you might be very interested in. It's already being used by someone I know and is getting good reviews.
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