Hawk Island Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Lansing, Michigan
United States
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 22m 49s
Overall Rank = 395/400
Age Group = Clydesdale
Age Group Rank = 13/25
Pre-race routine:

Got to the site around 6:40, got checked in and marked. Chatted with some of the BT folks then went back to my bike on the rack. I was just sitting there and pop, the back tube blows. Apparantly the bead on my tire was not set and when I pumped up to race pressure it just blew. Ran it over to the onsite bike dude who changed it for me, I figure he could do it faster and better than me. I'm just glad I was there to hear it pop. Once that was done I didn't have much time to go get to the start.
Event warmup:

Didn't do much at all after dealing with the bike. Took a short swim to make sure the googles were not leaking.
Swim
  • 11m 3s
  • 437 yards
  • 02m 32s / 100 yards
Comments:

This did not go well for me. Historically, I have been a slow swimmer so I stayed in the back and kind of let everyone else go. I then waited just a bit for things to clear and went in. It was not good after that, people were doggie paddling, back floating, just hanging out, you name it they were doing it. I had to stop 5 or 6 times, weave back and forth and I could never get into a decent rythym except for maybe the last 50 meters. I am sure I could have been 2 minutes faster if I would have not been back there.
What would you do differently?:

Start in the middle of the pack or at least to the outside. To be honest, this is the first tri I have done where it seemed like a lot of people just didn't really know how to swim. It was only 400 meters and people were hanging treading water and hanging onto the spotter boats. The other tris I have done were 1/2 mile swims and it seemed like everyone just flew the whole time.
Transition 1
  • 03m 45s
Comments:

OK, I am just plain bad at transitions. What I was worried most about was getting my wetsuit off as I had never swam in a tri with one. Well that was no problem, got it right off and didn't even need to sit down. However, I screwed around forever trying to put socks on my wet feet as I hate running without socks and I just wanted to get them on. I ended up giving up on the socks.
What would you do differently?:

I need to practice this more.
Bike
  • 33m 59s
  • 9.94 miles
  • 17.55 mile/hr
Comments:

After taking my good sweet time in transition, I hop on the bike hoping to make up some time. I get chugging along and all the sudden it becomes very easy to peddle. I look down and realize my chain has come off the big ring. I stop, unclip and toss it back on then I have to wait for a huge line of bike traffic to jump back into it. After that, I felt really good and started moving well. I think I passed just about everyone back who passed me when I was out of commission. Overall, I was happy with my bike performance but for the chain issue.
What would you do differently?:

Not have my chain fall off.
Transition 2
  • 02m 26s
Comments:

This transition wasn't too bad and I did manage to finally get those socks on.
What would you do differently?:

Probably not too much, I could likely shave a little time off here but I don't think significant.
Run
  • 31m 39s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 10m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

I started out the run just like I normally do trying to find my legs. That usually takes the first mile which it did this time too and I was right around 9:30 for my first mile which I was happy with. Second mile was ok...not great. Third mile, I started having issues, thinking back now I think I should have probably hydrated better before the race and part of that might have to do with dealing with the bike and being sort of freaked out and not thinking about drinking water. I started getting those side cramps that I seem to get when I haven't drank enough.
What would you do differently?:

Hydrate better. I also realized today that I need to put a little more focus into running. I'm just plain slow.
Post race
Warm down:

Spent some time with the BT crowd. It was really great metting everyone. Found out that Erik beat me by 13 seconds but I want a rematch next year. Overall had a real good time chatting with everyone.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The main factor in limiting my ability to perform faster comes from my old, 225 lb body. However, I made some mistakes and had some issues. Starting in the back of the swim pack was a big mistake for this race. Losing my chain on the bike wasn't something I could control but it certainly cost me time. Also, I should have spent a little more focus on hydration and I think the run would have been better.

Event comments:

I really liked the race. Nice layout, well organized and a good first tri as it is short. I will plan on doing this one again next year.




Last updated: 2009-05-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:03 | 437 yards | 02m 32s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/25
Overall: 0/400
Performance: Bad
Suit: 2xu comp full wetsuit
Course: A U shaped course in a small lake. My one complaint with the course itself is that the bouys were quite small and hard to see.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Bad
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:45
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:33:59 | 9.94 miles | 17.55 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/25
Overall: 0/400
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Loop around the park, some little hills but they were not tough at all.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:26
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:31:39 | 03.11 miles | 10m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/25
Overall: 0/400
Performance: Below average
Course: Nice out and back on a running trail. I really liked this course fairly shady no big hills. Should have been a fast course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4