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Sandman Triathlon - Triathlon


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Aptos, California
United States
Santa Cruz State Lifeguard Association
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 59m 8s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Ate ~20% of a Clif bar and about half of a gel shot. Think maybe I should have eaten more--maybe some Clif bloks or something. Sipped on Gatorade/water mix until it was time to head down to the start. I was probably pretty well hydrated because I already had to pee while warming up. I tried to get my wetsuit way up high in my crotch & armpits to give my shoulders a bit more room. I think it worked.... to a certain extent. Still had a bit of shoulder fatigue going on.
Event warmup:

Went for a brief run to make sure that my old running shoes weren't going to cause major problems (I wore an old pair because I didn't want to get my current beloved ones all gross with sand and sea water). Also swam around for a minute or two to try to get used to the water, which was pretty darn cold even with a wetsuit. Probably should have warmed up a bit more, both on land and in the water.
Swim
  • 20m
  • 880 yards
  • 02m 16s / 100 yards
Comments:

A bunch of us thought that the swim course was somehow longer than it was last year. I gmap-pedometer-ed it and it came to around 0.6 mi, rather than 0.5. All of my times are estimates, as I didn't remember to hit 'lap' on my watch until I was nearly done with T1. I did look at my watch at various times to see where I stood, I just didn't hit 'lap' in the right places.
What would you do differently?:

Warm up more, practice swimming in my wetsuit more prior to the race. I hadn't worn my wetsuit since this race last year, and I think that hurt me. Also need to kick more toward the end so that my legs don't feel so awful starting out on the bike.
Transition 1
  • 04m 30s
Comments:

I was really dizzy and out-of-it during this transition. Nearly fell over two or three times. As a result, I sort of took my time.
What would you do differently?:

Practice this transition more often.
Bike
  • 48m
  • 15 miles
  • 18.75 mile/hr
Comments:

My legs were pretty dead starting out. Not sure why--could be yesterday's ride, could be not enough food (I didn't eat anything in T1...), could be not enough warming up or stretching. It didn't help that we hit hills almost straight out of the TA. The really rough road meant that I often didn't feel comfortable letting go of the handlebars to grab a water bottle, so I didn't drink as much as I should have (or, for that matter, wanted to). I was, however, able to use my aerobars on a few sections, which was nice.
What would you do differently?:

Warm up more, eat more, try to drink more.
Transition 2
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

Not terribly speedy, but not nearly as slow as T1. Eh, it was fine, I guess. Except for the part where I forgot to take off my bike gloves (at least I remembered to take off my helmet!).
What would you do differently?:

Um, remember to take off my bike gloves. :)
Run
  • 44m 30s
  • 4.2 miles
  • 10m 36s  min/mile
Comments:

Not actually a bad run, given how tired I was feeling. I stuck to a relatively easy pace starting out, so as to let my legs get used to running and also not to tire them out too fast. Walked the sand stair, which was fine (nearly everybody does), but ran the rest of the course. Ate a gel at the first pass by the water station, which conveniently coincided with the sand stair (i.e. I was walking anyway), and I think that helped a fair bit. Toward the end I was trying to judge how far I had left and how fast I needed to run it in order to make my goal of <2h. For a while I didn't think I was going to make it, but I picked up the pace anyway. With about 0.5mi left (I think) I started booking it, and I was very pleased when I headed into the finish chute with nearly a minute to spare. I'm really glad I stayed strong and pushed through, rather than just giving up. :)
What would you do differently?:

Not much! Maybe have a bit more faith in my running abilities earlier on and pick up the overall pace.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk around a bunch, do a bit of stretching, eat! The blueberries tasted AMAZING. And then... lunch at Gayle's Bakery! Yummmm.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not enough sleep in the week leading up to it, maybe not enough food or warming up, etc.

Event comments:

I mostly like it 'cause it's got my name in the title. :)

But, I made my goals of 1) not getting injured, 2) beating last year's time of 2:20, and 3) finishing in under 2 hours. All of that turned what was kind of a bad race into an okay race.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2007-07-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:20:00 | 880 yards | 02m 16s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Suit: BlueSeventy Reaction
Course: Three sides of a rectangle. Straight out from the beach, left turn to go around the sunken concrete ship, left turn around another buoy to go straight in to shore.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 56F / 13C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:30
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:48:00 | 15 miles | 18.75 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Wind: None
Course: Mostly uphill for the first 35-40% of the ride. Lots of backroads through farm/orchard country, then through seaside residential communities. I'd forgotten how rough that course is. The pavement is pretty awful.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Bad
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:30
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Bad
Running
00:44:30 | 04.2 miles | 10m 36s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Course: Along the beach for the vast majority of it, which is always interesting. There was enough wet/packed sand to allow both outgoing and incoming traffic, and we only had to run on the dry sand at the very beginning and to/from the "sand stair" part. Going through the campground we were on pavement, which was a nice change.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2007-08-05 4:58 PM

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Mountain View, CA
Subject: Sandman Triathlon
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