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Shoreline Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Hamlin, New York
United States
Fleet Feet Rochester
80F / 27C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 19m 50s
Overall Rank = 76/163
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 1/13
Pre-race routine:

Firstly, let me say hi! I've been lurking and decided to post this, my second tri. The race is at 8:15, takes me an hour to drive there, so I got up at 5 and ate a granola bar and a banana, put my bike on the rack, double and triple checked everything and left the house at 5:45.
Event warmup:

I scoped out the nearly empty racks and picked on that was close to the bike exit, straight run thru from the entrance from the swim. Mostly I talked to others, visited the restroom a few times, went to see the really really choppy water, worried about the choppy water, decided not to warm up in the choppy water since I was sans wetsuit and didn't want to be spending energy trying to stay warm after warming up. Plus, its only 800 yards (we'll see that thought bite me in the ass...)
Swim
  • 21m 37s
  • 880 yards
  • 02m 28s / 100 yards
Comments:

The horrible, no good, very bad swim. I'm a swimmer. First and foremost, I'm a swimmer. And not half bad either. But I learned today that a wetsuit can be your friend and that I don't know how to swim in 2 foot swells. On the way out I was completely baffled with how to make forward progress and get air. I was way out of line for parts of it too. I had to breast stroke mostly because I couldn't find any rhythm and I was getting battered by the waves. I spent a ton of energy just trying to stay horizontal in the water and realized that while my 800s in a pool are easy and fast, that this was a nightmare. I would have gladly stripped the wetsuit off the guy next to me, but I was choking on too much lake water. After poorly rounding the first bouy, I found my stroke a bit, but was beat from the first 100 and didn't bilaterally breath, instead was breathing every stroke. Just so winded. The second bouy went better, but by this time I was pretty far back. I did pass a number of people once I was able to swim like I know that I can, but I was still just completely beaten by this. I did learn that for a wade start I'd be better off just going as deep as they'll let me rather than wait at the back. I'm still afraid of getting run over, but I'll have to get over it. I expected more like 14-15 minutes for this, so you can see why I'm unhappy.
What would you do differently?:

Start closer to front, GET A WETSUIT!!!
Transition 1
  • 01m 21s
Comments:

Not bad. I don't clip my shoes in and I'm about at graceful as an elephant getting on the bike, but I've got no complaints. Set up my transition well.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to get on the bike faster
Bike
  • 1h 17m 28s
  • 24 miles
  • 18.59 mile/hr
Comments:

I've only had a bike for 5 weeks so I can only listen to the advice of those who know better. I drank my whole gatorade and burped my way thru the bike (all the gatorade etc makes my stomach unhappy, but I did it anyway). On the way out we had a nice tailwind, so I was able to keep spinning at 90 or higher in a higher gear than usual, of course that meant on the way back I was slower, but still spinning at higher than 90. I was very pleased with my time and pace on this, didn't chase anyone, passed a few people on the way out and back and tried to remember that I had to run 5 miles.
Transition 2
  • 00m 51s
Comments:

Apart from falling off the back rather than dismounting it (where's that elephant?) this was fine, got my feet out of the shoes easily and maintained speed thru the corners coming into the finish, then dumped it right there at the dismount line. A collective "ooh" from the spectators, but nothing bruised other than my ego.
What would you do differently?:

Not fall!
Run
  • 38m 31s
  • 5 miles
  • 07m 42s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt great, turns out the bike cadence and speed were just right to give me a good run. Since this is only my second race I was concerned about crashing on the run, took the pace conservatively for the first three miles, passing many people (who, frankly, I couldn't believer I hadn't passed sooner!) at a nice pace. At mile 3 I decided to step it up a little, figuring I can gut out 2 miles. I absolutely had enough in the tank for the run and probably could have gone a bit faster, but very happy.I chased a girl down who I'd been eyeing the entire bike. We traded positions the bike several times and she ended up maybe 50 yards ahead of me. I didn't try to run her down until the last two and made up lost of ground on her, but didn't catch her. I should have just gone, my run was faster than hers, and another half mile at the pace we were on I would have had her for sure.
What would you do differently?:

Just run, if you crash and burn that's the way it goes.
Post race
Warm down:

Smiles!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

worst swim decision ever!! and underestimating the difficulty of open water swimming in really open water.

Event comments:

I learned alot, discovered that I've got my transition set up right for me, but that I need to get more OWS practice and a wetsuit, and to be more aggressive on the run. I did win my age group, but I was the slowest age group winner under 50. I find myself comparing this to my running finishes, which are significantly better in terms of my overall finish. I had a great time, even though I work for a competitor, Fleet Feet does a great job with their races and will do this again. Since my swim was so defeating I decided to sign up for an Oly next weekend, simply to get back in the water. I must be insane!




Last updated: 2006-07-31 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:21:37 | 880 yards | 02m 28s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 100/163
Performance: Below average
Suit: just me and my speedo
Course: triangle, out 100 yards, perpendicular for 500, angled back to shore for 200
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: High
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Below average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Bad
T1
Time: 01:21
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:17:28 | 24 miles | 18.59 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 86/163
Performance: Good
Wind: Headwind
Course: out and back
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:51
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:38:31 | 05 miles | 07m 42s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 68/163
Performance: Average
Course: trail, grass, pavement, two out and backs
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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] 4

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2006-07-31 1:14 PM

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Extreme Veteran
451
1001001001002525
Lake Effect Snow Country
Subject: Shoreline Triathlon


2006-07-31 2:09 PM
in reply to: #498379

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Master
1324
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Rochester, NY
Subject: RE: Shoreline Triathlon
Nice looking race!

Swimming in Lake Ontario the first time is tough. That lake is so volatile, you just have no idea what you'll be getting. On any given day, it could be totally flat or 4 foot swells. It could be 75 degrees or 55 degrees. I had a very hard experience at the Sodus Point tri last year with Lake Ontario and I'll never go back into that lake voluntarily again You did well under tough conditions that you weren't prepared for.

Welcome to BT, btw. Glad to have more people from the area here.
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