Old Colony YMCA Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Middleboro, Massachusetts
United States
Firm Racing
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 28m 38s
Overall Rank = 79/236
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 8/16
Pre-race routine:

The only thing I really do that is a routine is Dunkin Donuts wheat bagel, medium iced coffee, and a red gatorade for the drive to the course. Other than that, this was a very strange race morning. I had to stop and get gas on the way (thought I'd have enough) and then got two flats before I even got racked in transition. The screwy thing on my tube snapped off pumping up my front tire. Took it to the Quad sports tent and the changed my tire. I start walking my bike to the rack and then hissssssss. Must have been a pinch flat. I never got stressed out about it though. Oh, the other strange thing is that the day before I had a boozefest golf tourney and a wedding. I was also up at 5am to swim and run at Walden. That was a long Saturday and then only got 5 hours of sleep. Usually I'm a much better boy the day before a race.
Event warmup:

Didn't have much time after the flats but Colin (HockeyHands) and I went for a short jog and mixed in a few strides. Then a real short few strokes before the swim start. There was no on site parking so I rode the bike to transition so I was able to run through the gears at that point.
Swim
  • 24m 27s
  • 1760 yards
  • 01m 23s / 100 yards
Comments:

The whole point of doing this race was to get in a swim that would somewhat mirror Timberman. It's a lake and almost HIM distance. So, it's completely the same. OK, not at all but it worked out really well. I'm sure that it was a bit short. There is no way I was well under 1:30 per 100. I was really happy with the swim though. I am in love with the new wetsuit (or first wetsuit I should say). Anyone on the fence about buying a real suit go do it immediately. The closest thing I can say is that it's like paddling on a surfboard instead of swimming with jeans on. Beyond the suit, I drafted pretty well a few times, did a great job navigating and hugging the buoys really tightly, and most importantly felt amazingly comfortable and had a great time out there. I can't wait for the Timberman swim whereas a month ago I was a little frightened. Oh yeah, I also passed about 5 people at the turn around. I have to thank the BTT OWS clinic for that. I swam all the way up until grabbing sand, popped up, ran around the turn around, and dove into the water. A lot of people were walking/wading back in.
What would you do differently?:

The one thing I noticed I wasn't doing enough was really stretching out my reach. Keep training at Walden.
Transition 1
  • 01m 54s
Comments:

Went well. A bit of a run from the water. I had an injured toe so I did put on socks. That took a good 15 seconds or so. Otherwise I didn't waste much time. I may look into starting with shoes on the bike.
What would you do differently?:

Shoes on bike, no socks like usual, and run a little harder throughout.
Bike
  • 1h 10m 53s
  • 24.2 miles
  • 20.48 mile/hr
Comments:

Happy with the ride. I wanted to average over 20mph and did that. People say the roads were a little bumpy but it was really only in one spot. Unfortunately, I saw a guy go down hard at that spot. I just need to keep getting out there on the bike. I want to get up to 22mmph in the olys next year.
What would you do differently?:

Train more but happy. I'm definitely improving.
Transition 2
  • 00m 58s
Comments:

I didn't take the shoes off on the bike because the run to transition was through roots, bark mulch, and then a swamp (aka transition). Since I was running in the same socks I didn't want them to get wet. They still did.
What would you do differently?:

Not have a hurt toe and not wear socks and take feet out of the shoes on the bike. Otherwise everything went very well. I so love my Zoot shoes. They go on in under 4 seconds - not kidding.
Run
  • 50m 23s
  • 6.42 miles
  • 07m 51s  min/mile
Comments:

What they didn't say is that the first bit is through a trail (which is fine with me) and then when you come back you see the finish but have to go through a Freddie Crougar loop through the woods first - I'm cool with the trail run but I didn't time my kick so well. Actually it tricked me into timing it perfectly because I was able to hold onto the pace through the finish but it hurt pretty bad. I was holding off this guy who tried passing me for the whole access road into camp and the Freddie Crougar run. Maybe it was Freddie behind me - it sounded like him.

The run sucked. The lack of sleep and terrible nutrition the day before caught up to me. I also forgot to bring a GU on the run. I wanted to avg under under 7:30. Disapointed but it was an important golf event for my brother and my wife's cousins wedding so there was nothing I could do.
What would you do differently?:

Bring a GU and not drink and golf all day before.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk around and eat everything in site. Thanked the BTT member who ran the swim clinic. Got to see Beth finish and hung out with Colin and fam.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The day before.

Event comments:

Better than I expected. Everyone speaks ill of FIRM but it was fine. My only complaint is the transition area swamp but the weather wasn't their fault.




Last updated: 2009-06-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:24:27 | 1760 yards | 01m 23s / 100yards
Age Group: 6/16
Overall: 82/236
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex 3
Course: Two triangular loops.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:54
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:10:53 | 24.2 miles | 20.48 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/16
Overall: 98/236
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Four loops of a slightly rolling hills
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:58
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:50:23 | 06.42 miles | 07m 51s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/16
Overall: 0/236
Performance: Below average
Course: Reverse loop of the bike course.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3