Treasure Coast Challenge - Sprint Course - TriathlonSprint


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Hutchinson Island, Florida
United States
TriLife
82F / 28C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 23m 4s
Overall Rank = 50/91
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 6/8
Pre-race routine:

1.5 hour drive. Left 3:45pm. Had OJ and coffee on the way there. Lots of mental preparation, rehearsal, visualization. Scheduled start time was not until 8:00 so waited to eat cliff bar and banana until around 6:45 until after transition set-up.
Event warmup:

Jogged a few minutes and stretched. A fair amount of ocean swimming. There was a sand bar and some body surfing waves, which made it fun. Felt very loose and relaxed. Gorgeous sunrise.
Swim
  • 08m 26s
  • 400 meters
  • 02m 07s / 100 meters
Comments:

My biggest mental preparation was the swim. Had mantras/coping strategies rehearsed many times. Water visibility was limited, but it was comfortable. A lot of collisions, but I was resolute to keep my line. Tried drafting a bit but did not find any good ones. Was very pleased with my performance. Tri-shorts only helped with breathing more easily. Stayed in only tri-shorts the whole race.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing except perhaps to push the pace a little and go straighter at the first buoy rather than at an angle. With confidence will come some more aggressiveness.
Transition 1
  • 01m 48s
Comments:

Great running mount, which I had practiced. Had pan to wash sandy feet off. I reset bike computer beforehand but somehow got re-set during the race so I lost my data.
What would you do differently?:

Pick an end spot so I can have more room for my stuff. Try Yankz! or some other system to shave some time off. Socks onto wet feet always a little delay.
Bike
  • 46m 10s
  • 11.7 miles
  • 15.21 mile/hr
Comments:

Boy! I had the bike tuned up 2 days before race. Inflated tires to max PSI at set-up. After hill, looked down, and back tire looked a little low. Another rider confirmed this at my request. I decided to stick it out. At about the half way mark (guessing), I decided to take a pit stop to use my inflater to top off the tire. Felt like it was slowing me down. Stopped in the grass and inadvertently landed in a red ant pile. They were all over my ankles. Bit me up. Doused with water and swatted off. Gave some air to tire and continued. In the frenzy over the ants, dropped perfectly good spare tube in the grass. A little later, thinking I had a flat, I stopped again. Took back tire off but then it felt fine, so I just topped it off and kept going. UP to that point, I had been passing road bikes and staying around 18 - 19 MPH. Did get up to 30mph on the downhill! That was a thrill. Legs very tired from the bike. Extremely disappointed, but I did not quit. Just kept going. Great running dismount. If I had continued the way I was going, I would have placed 4th or 5th in my AG instead of 8th.
What would you do differently?:

Get a road bike. Don't stop in the ant piles! I did get into aero tuck (so to speak) a few times and gained 1.5 mph.
Transition 2
  • 00m 29s
Comments:

Fueled about 2 miles out from T2. Toe clips with running shoes in them. Pedaled pulling up SOME but not as much as I had planned. Quick, fast flying dismount, which I practiced. Did a quick spine stretch. Not pelvis level like I practiced. drank a little water and then headed out.
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Run
  • 26m 12s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 08m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

Hot, with some shady parts. Sidewalk. Seemed much longer than it was. Just went on forever. Legs tired. Some feeling a little winded. Briefly considered walking but then pushed that thought away. Tried to pick up the pace the 2nd half. Did a little bitt. Expected to feel fresher off the bike, given all my brick training. Had very little to give in terms of a kick at the end. Very few people to pass, but did catch up to and pass a couple in the last mile. No markers, and it was a straight road.
What would you do differently?:

Faster cadence. Better mental focus. Better preparation re: landmarks at the mile markers. With stopwatch, would have let me know my pace. I'm sure I could have picked it up more if I had a focus like that.
Post race
Warm down:

Eat, drink, socialize.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Bike fiasco. I was definitely faster than my first triathlon. Speedometer was between high 17's and 19 mph. If I had ended average 18/18.5 MPH, I would have been much higher in the rankings.

Event comments:

They did not have the swim course set up when we got there. Claimed they could not set it up the night before because of currents. Swim start was delayed 30 minutes. Got very antsy to start. They let women start before men, which was atypical. The swim course was totally different in configuration and direction than advertised and than was explained to me by the staff in an email 2 days beforehand. There were no mile markers for the bike or run. There was no orientation to the swim/bike/run in/out (although that may have been covered at a pre-race information session, which I missed).


Profile Album


Last updated: 2013-09-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:26 | 400 meters | 02m 07s / 100meters
Age Group: 3/8
Overall: 21/91
Performance: Good
I came in 3/8 in my AG! First 2 swimmers were out in 8:22. I was 8:26. 4th was 9:17! Tied for 21st overall out of 91! Tied for 13th out of 53 men!
Suit: tri shorts only. no top
Course: Very simple. Much simpler than advertised. 100 yds straight out to buoy, left turn (north), 200 yds to next bouy. Left turn. 100 yds back to shore. Very fun. Caught a swell on the way in.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 81F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:48
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:46:10 | 11.7 miles | 15.21 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/8
Overall: 69/91
Performance: Bad
Wind: None
Course: Had 2 up and overs a very steep and long bridge. Rest was flat. Some navigation/cornering necessary at bottom of bridge. On city streets in bike lanes, so sheriffs were directing traffic. Some glass on the road on bridge. Someone's tire went totally flat.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:29
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:26:12 | 03.1 miles | 08m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/8
Overall: 41/91
Performance: Average
My goal was 8:15/mile, which was 8.25. Close.
Course: Straight down to a 1.5 mile marker then back.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2