Mini MightyMan - TriathlonMini Sprint


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East Meadow, New York
United States
Event Power
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 8h 15m
Overall Rank = 82/226
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 10/24
Pre-race routine:

I got up and found we were out of mini bagels so I had a PB & J on some Fiber One raisin bread along with a banana and some Gu20 to wash it down.

Drove there, effortlessly picked up my race packet, put together my transition area, ate 1/3rd of a gel (just to see how it did in my tummy) and drank some more Gu20.
Event warmup:

Lots of standing around and stretching while we waited for the children's race to get going and for the last of them to get out of the pool. I have to admit that it was awesome seeing them because the smiles on some of their faces had to mean they were totally living in the moment and having a blast. Seeing them made me vow that I would try to enjoy it in the same way!
Swim
  • 08m 25s
  • 400 yards
  • 02m 06s / 100 yards
Comments:

I got in and just did not feel great physically and technique-wise. It didn't help that due to the large number of us, I think we were leaving sooner than every 5 seconds. This caused problems throughout because three to five of us were piling up at the end of every lane. There was also the usual incidence of people underestimating their swim times (I know 8 minutes for a 400 isn't fast but I blew by some guy doing the backstroke at one point. I realize it probably was cramps, but, if it wasn't, he usually must be nearly Olympian doing it that way. ;))

Basically, I couldn't get by the same four people for 300 meters of the race. The worst was actually getting some water open, having a guy cut me off, trying to go to the right around him after he wouldn't get back over and then having him cut me off again. I don't watch NASCAR very often but it reminded me of the few races I've seen.
What would you do differently?:

Not insist on touching the wall? I don't really know what else I could have done other than been more insistent with my foot taps.

One thing I do need to work on is breathing to my right side for times when I have people like Mr. Splashy-pants tossing off mini-tsunamis while I was swimming next to him.
Transition 1
  • 02m 14s
Comments:

This transition was much better than my first T1 in my last race but it still needs some work. I was a bit disoriented balance-wise after the swim, so trying to put on my socks while still standing up was quite an adventure.

The bike next to mine was also unracked and resting on my bike so I had to take a few seconds, untangle it and move it off of mine.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing I could do about the bike but I think I will go back to kneeling but with my foot on one of the handtowels that I had in my bag. I actually ended up using it as a target for my foot and it worked pretty well.
Bike
  • 17m 52s
  • 6 miles
  • 20.15 mile/hr
Comments:

My legs felt pretty tight for some reason but I made the best of them and still felt pretty good about my ride (this was before seeing my time, which I loved seeing, but it makes me wonder if the distance is right!). The race course was a pretty simple three loops around the inside of the park. Other than some paved over spots, the road was flat, smooth and in great shape. I need to work on my speed heading into corners.

I did nearly get into an accident when some guy insisted on passing me on the right (I had just passed someone and was riding along the dotted line in the middle of the road. Since there were two lanes that could be used, I have no idea why he insisted on showing off by coming up on my right). I wish I could say he was the only one doing it, even though they explicitly covered passing on the left both in the pre-race briefing and information packet (I mean, there literally was an 8.5 X 11 red piece of paper with a diagram covering this...).

I also remembered to practice for my longer races by slipping down a gear and pedlaing at a higher cadence for the last 1/2 to 1/4 of a mile to get ready for the run.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. I'm pleasantly surprised by my time. :)
Transition 2
  • 00m 44s
Comments:

Other than struggling to rack my bike again, this went pretty well. Since I don't have clip in bike shoes, I just took off my helmet, grabbed my hat and took off.
What would you do differently?:

Figure out how to quickly rack my bike beforehand?
Run
  • 20m 36s
  • 2 miles
  • 10m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

The course was two loops of a 1/2 grass and 1/2 pavement route. I think the only problem was a soggy patch of grass in one area, but otherwise it was well marked and human sign posted.

I ditched my heart rate monitor this time because of the shorter distance and my desire to focus on running how I train (1 min walks between 4-5 minute runs). It seemed to pay off as I was much faster per mile than last time. I walked just three times and even had enough at the end to huff and puff my way past a few people to the finish line.

I even kept mama Super Cat in mind and gave the photograper shooting the runners a thumbs up on the way by. She laughed at me when I told her it was so I could at least look like I was having fun. ;)


What would you do differently?:

My running is getting better, but, like the bike today, it is what it is.

Ditching my calf sleeves did cause me to cramp a bit and have some varicose vein swelling after the race. I will definitely have to wear them in my full sprint races.
Post race
Warm down:

Wandered around and chatted with my fiancee and future mother-in-law while we waited for transition to open. I wanted to stay around and try to win a raffle but my tummy was hungry and even though they had a decent spread of fruit and bagels, that just wasn't going to cut it.

I also succeeded in enjoying it more. :)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I've been inconsistent with my training over the past two weeks and it felt like it affected things. On the other hand, I felt MUCH better than my first race and my times on the bike and run were improved.

Event comments:

I'd give it four and a half if I could. For the number of people there, it was very well organized, allowed us the pleasure of cheering on the kids, featured volunteers and race personnel that were awesome with their encouragement, had a tremendously newbie helpful race briefing and was a most enjoyable second race of my triathlon career.




Last updated: 2009-07-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:25 | 400 yards | 02m 06s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/24
Overall: 51/226
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course: Snaking up and down 8 lanes of a 5 meter pool.
Start type: Inside Pool Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:14
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:17:52 | 06 miles | 20.15 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/24
Overall: 57/226
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course: 3 loops around the road inside the park.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:44
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:20:36 | 02 miles | 10m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/24
Overall: 146/226
Performance: Good
Course: Two 1-mile laps around some playing fields.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4