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Sunbelt Cohutta Springs Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Crandall, Georgia
United States
Southern Adventist University
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 12m 35s
Overall Rank = 162/196
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 6/7
Pre-race routine:

It was a long 2 hour drive to the event on mostly lightly traveled roads. I ate breakfast at home then ate light carbs up until the event which started at 12:30.
Event warmup:

I donned my rented wetsuit and swam some. This is a fairly long sprint so I didn't want to spend too much energy warming up.
Swim
  • 17m 10s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 57s / 100 yards
Comments:

The water was cool and felt good. The mud near the bank was very soft and full of sticks and rocks.
What would you do differently?:

I would probably slow down and save energy for the rest of the race. I have finished in the top 3 in my age group in the swim at all 4 races I've done this year and except for the 1st race I've ended the race feeling completely wasted. I think I need to manage my race better.
Transition 1
  • 03m
Comments:

I don't have a T1 time. The race timed it but it is not in the results and I forgot to get it with my watch. My bike split time includes both transitions and it is 1:05:31. My bike computer includes the roll out of transition and the roll in and says 1:01:08. The difference is 0:04:23 and if I estimate the roll in and out time as 15 seconds each way then the two transitions are 4:53 total, probably 3 minutes for T1 and about 2 minutes for T2.
What would you do differently?:

The strong swim I did left me winded for T1 and I took a lot of time there because I had to take off a very tight wetsuit, bag it to keep it from soaking all my other stuff and then go through my normal T1 routine which is normally very fast. I would probably have done as well to use the shorty wetsuit I own and forget about using a full sleeveless wetsuit when the water is 79F. The tight wetsuit constricted my breathing somewhat and I should have just kept the swim simple.
Bike
  • 1h 00m 38s
  • 18 miles
  • 17.81 mile/hr
Comments:

My bike split was 4th of 6 in my age group but only a few seconds longer then the age group winner and only about 4 minutes longer than the 1st in the bike in the age group. I had two bottles of accelerade on the bike, one in the aero-bottle and one stored on the downtube. I had drank the first bottle by the turn around so I reloaded the aero-bottle and drank most of that by the time I reached T2.
What would you do differently?:

I think my bike split was competitive but I could still improve on it by just doing more training mileage and losing weight to speed the climbs.
Transition 2
  • 01m 53s
Comments:

I'm estimating my T2 time. I came into T2 tired from the bike because the last segment of the bike was a long but low rise climb. I was hoping for an easy but steady run. I took two flasks of accelerade with me on the run and stuffed them in the pockets of my tritop. Because the transition area was so small I elected to just dismount the bike with my shoes on and run in them to the bike hanger. I unclipped my right shoe and swung that leg over and glided to a stop and then unclipped the other shoe and started running.
What would you do differently?:

Probably nothing except move a little faster. I was a little tired.
Run
  • 49m 55s
  • 4 miles
  • 12m 29s  min/mile
Comments:

I was determined not to walk on this course but I finally did just about 250 yards before the finish which was up another mild long hill. I don't know why it happened, I just couldn't run another step. I walked about 100 yards and then started running again and finished. I drank just one of the accelerade flasks on the run. I didn't feel dehydrated I just felt extremely tired.
What would you do differently?:

I really thought with all the training I've done lately especially on the run and the bike that I would have been able to bring this run in on at least 11 minute pace. So I have work to do in the just started off season and it will consist of a lot of running and hopefully some weight loss.
Post race
Warm down:

I sat for awhile and then drank lots of fluids. After awhile I went back to the lake and swam to finish cooling down and also to clean up for the ride home. I swam in just my trisuit and it wasn't all that bad, I really could have done without the big wetsuit.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I need to do some bricks and do more run volume.

Event comments:

I liked the race, but I don't like it starting at 12:30 which makes it an all day affair. It did start about 10 minutes late. But the venue was nice, the roads were great, and the race felt comfortable to be at. Any problems I had on the run were based on my lack of conditioning and I'm planning on doing this race next year and going faster.




Last updated: 2004-10-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:17:10 | 880 yards | 01m 57s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/7
Overall: 0/196
Performance: Good
I finished 1st in my age group in the swim. I didn't feel that I really had it in gear until about the time I hit the buoy at the half way point. My starting wave was all the women over 20 and all the men over 50. I got bumped a little but it was easier then being with the 40 and over men at the other races I've been at this year. I felt like I was giving too much effort to the swim and probably should have conserved some energy.
Suit: XTerra sleeveless
Course: The course was straight out to a buoy on the right and then left over about 200 feet to another buoy and then a straight swim back. I suppose the buoy's were to keep the coming and going separated.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 79F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:00
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:00:38 | 18 miles | 17.81 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/7
Overall: 0/196
Performance: Average
I estimated that my bike time from my computer had 30 seconds on it from leaving and entering transition. My official split time included the two transitions so I'm using the corrected computer data to try to get a close road time.
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: The course was a 9 mile out and then 9 back the same way. I like this format because you get to see the leaders go by from the turn around. The route had some mild but long hills and a few steeper hills but nothing terrible.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 80+
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:53
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
00:49:55 | 04 miles | 12m 29s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/7
Overall: 0/196
Performance: Below average
Course: The run course was a lot of mild, long, hills. It seemed that I was always climbing even though I know the ups and downs all equal out.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2004-10-04 3:27 PM

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Regular
71
2525
Sugar Hill, GA
Subject: Sunbelt Cohutta Springs Triathlon


2004-10-04 4:49 PM
in reply to: #69193

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Extreme Veteran
572
5002525
Seattle, WA
Subject: RE: Sunbelt Cohutta Springs Triathlon
Nice swim time John! It sounds like it was a brutal run course, especially having a hill at the end! But great job on the swim, you were blazing!
2004-10-05 10:38 AM
in reply to: #69193

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Veteran
134
10025
Marietta, GA
Subject: RE: Sunbelt Cohutta Springs Triathlon
Congrats on your race!

I could not believe all the hills on the way out of the run. The only thing that kept me going was knowing it would be mostly downhill on the way back in

Great way to end the season though.

cheers
2004-10-05 10:45 AM
in reply to: #69193

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Veteran
134
10025
Marietta, GA
Subject: RE: Sunbelt Cohutta Springs Triathlon
Have they posted the splits online yet?
I can't seem to find them
2004-10-05 1:30 PM
in reply to: #69439

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Regular
71
2525
Sugar Hill, GA
Subject: Results are posted .....
on a link below the race if you go to TriFind.com for Georgia. I saw your results and you had a great run. Here's a link to the results http://www.doitsports.com/newresults3/client/56622_88493_2004.txt

They don't have the transition times. They bundled T1 and T2 into the bike time. I'm not sure why they did that because they measured everything.

JT
2004-10-05 1:34 PM
in reply to: #69222

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Regular
71
2525
Sugar Hill, GA
Subject: Thanks Jasmine ...
I wish I could run as well I as can swim. At least running is easy to work on, just put on the shoes and out the door. I just don't like to run.

John


2004-10-05 1:54 PM
in reply to: #69193

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Veteran
134
10025
Marietta, GA
Subject: RE: Sunbelt Cohutta Springs Triathlon
Thanks for the link

I was really happy with my run....
And pretty excited about my bike because it was the second time EVER I had been on a road bike (picked it up Thursday night).
The good thing about the swim is that I met the Emory swimming coach while I was setting up, if I can work on my swim I may actually be competitive next year.

That would rock!!
2004-10-05 8:08 PM
in reply to: #69526

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Regular
71
2525
Sugar Hill, GA
Subject: Your biked rocked ...
with that being the second time you had been on a road bike. You must mountain bike or something. My first year, the season before this one, I wrecked my bike on a Wednesday and had purchased a new bike by Friday and rode it the next day at the first John Tanner Triathlon (2003) that I did.

The swimming will come with time in the pool and I find that swim workouts are easy to do because at least in Gwinnett County there's a lot of pools and because they're indoor you can swim in any weather. Gwinnet has its own pools that are super cheap to join for a season of swimming. Cobb County probably has a series of pools also. Good luck with next year.

John
2004-10-06 9:46 AM
in reply to: #69193

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Veteran
134
10025
Marietta, GA
Subject: RE: Sunbelt Cohutta Springs Triathlon
Thanks John!

Look forward to meeting you at some of the area triathlons next year

aims
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