Breath of Life Ventura Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Ventura, California
United States
Breath of Life
65F / 18C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 06m 29s
Overall Rank = 16/363
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 1/24
Pre-race routine:

Woke up about 4am and got some breakfast. Headed out about 5am to get to transition at 530 or so. We parked really far away and walked in. Got set up and stood around for sometime. I was the 9th wave so I didn't start till just before 8am.
Event warmup:

Not much I could do really. My wave was so late, I couldn't do any real meaningful warm up. After the first few waves took off, I suited up and hit the water for a quick swim. I kind of pinned it to see how I felt and everything was ok so I headed back in. Water was surprisingly warm.
Swim
  • 06m 53s
  • 437 yards
  • 01m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

Horrible swim. Absolutely horrible. I took off at the front of the pack. On the first dive, goggles came off...but I had them under my cap so I didn't lose them. I could also stand and put them back on as this was on my first dive in about waist deep water. Got the goggles back on quickly but they had a little water in them...oh well, no biggie. Started out very fast, probably too fast. I felt really good heading for the first buoy but that's when the chaos started. We had to merge with the Olympic swimmers and when we hit that first buoy and started to bunch up it became crazy. People everywhere of all different levels. This was at the tale end of the Olympic swim, so we were obviously going much faster than the Olympic folks. I was literally swimming over people. I would catch them so fast, before I knew it, I was on their back. I quickly moved off to the side...I didn't want to submerge anyone. Rounding the second buoy I got my arm caught in the rope! I had to come up and get it off. This cost some time. After that, I simple couldn't get my breath and rhythm. I struggled to breath and had to come up a couple times for air and pause for a second. I even tried to stand up too early because I was literally just sick of the situation. Finally made it to shore and headed up the long run through the sand to transition. Time reflects that run which was well over a minute. So my swim time was still fast. I figure about 1:13's/100 but man, it was tough going. As far as the race was concerned, it was fine. As far as coming out of the water feeling good, it was horrible. I was dying to get on the bike and relax for a second.
What would you do differently?:

Man, I don't know. It was just chaos and I had to deal with a lot of things. I came out of the water with a good attitude though and just HTFU and pushed it through the sand and got to the bike. I handled all the BS as well as could be expected.
Transition 1
  • 01m 22s
Comments:

Great transition. I've really got my transitions down to a minimum. The splits didn't have transition times so I figure they just added both transitions to the bike times. I broke down my Garmin times and this is the best I can figure. So I just put 1:22 for this transition and 1:30 for the other. This is almost right as my Garmin time for the bike was 35:30
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 35m 30s
  • 12.68 miles
  • 21.43 mile/hr
Comments:

Got off to a great start on the bike...slipped into my shoes pretty easy and got rolling quick. My legs never got that initial shock feeling they always get till they warm up. I felt great right out of the gate. I will say though this is my first tri were the start was not up hill. The start was slightly downhill and felt really good. I caught a ton of people right off the start as I started passing Olympic riders. After the first 3-4 miles there were about 5 of us all trading spots. Some of these guys were either cheating or didn't understand the rules. No one would give an inch and they would ride on my left forever...and even right behind. I was just about to say something when I saw the sign that turned us back to the harbor. I was like, no good saying anything now...we were almost done. Kind of pissed me off though as these guys had no regard for the rules.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing...cycling is coming along. Just keep working at it.
Transition 2
  • 01m 30s
Comments:

Great transition. Shoes on, visor in hand and I was off.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 21m 13s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 06m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt weak on the run. HR was down but legs were tired. I was really going for it on the bike and it showed on how I felt on the run. BUT, it didn't show on my time. This was absolutely the fastest 5K I have ever run. Granted, I haven't done any stand alone 5K's since March, but this was really fast for me. Well under 7min miles. This is really really encouraging as I now have the ability to decide on which discipline I'm going to favor. Before, I was just pacing to finish as fast as I could. I know I could have let up slightly on the bike and run even faster.

I did feel good off the bike as far as that wobbly feeling I sometimes get. Legs felt comfortable right off the bat. Got some water right out of transition and I was off. Settled in behind a couple guys and we had a good pace. Some guy with a 37 blazed by me, and I just hoped he wasn't in the sprint. At the turn around, he was no where in sight so was obviously in the Olympic. At the turn around a guy that was chasing me said, "You pulled me to here, now you chase me home" I really tried to hang with him and finished about 15 seconds behind. My legs got really heavy towards the end. Again, my HR and breathing felt at ease, I just couldn't move my legs any faster. Given the time, I'm really happy with this run. I just think I'm on the verge of a running breakthrough when everything comes together.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Just keep with the training and let things develop.
Post race
Warm down:

Came in and got a Gatorade from my girlfriend and was pleasantly surprised to see live timing. As soon as you crossed the mat, your name appeared on the screen and all I saw was my name under 35-39? Ummmm, ok? Did I win...lol. Took me a sec to figure out that I had won.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Need more training. I still think I'm in the big gain department when it comes to starting training. I think I can still make some good gains in running and cycling before the gains start to slow.

Event comments:

Very surprised and excited to win a race of this caliber since this was a USAT Age Group Regional Championship and Age Group National Qualifier. I know the Sprint was a little easier than the Olympic, but that's ok. My first Olympic will be in a month on almost the exact same course...I'll be ready to go for that. Gonna keep the training volume up and try to go sub 2:15...I'm pretty sure I could have gone around 2:10-2:12 for this course, but by looking at the swim results from the Olympic, I believe the swim was short. Next race might have a more accurate swim, so the goal is still sub 2:15 for that race.




Last updated: 2010-05-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:06:53 | 437 yards | 01m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 1/24
Overall: 9/363
Performance: Bad
Suit: Xterra Wetsuit
Course: Simple loop.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 66F / 19C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:22
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:35:30 | 12.68 miles | 21.43 mile/hr
Age Group: 1/24
Overall: 15/363
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Very flat and fast
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:30
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:21:13 | 03.11 miles | 06m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/24
Overall: 28/363
Performance: Good
Course: Through the harbor. Flat out and back course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5