5430 Long Course Triathlon - TriathlonLong Course


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Boulder, Colorado
United States
5430 Sports
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 14m 48s
Overall Rank = 232/798
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 37/97
Pre-race routine:

Stayed at the Courtyard Marriott again. Woke up at 4:30, which was too late, we should have been up at 4, but whatever. Ate a banana and half a bagel with peanut butter.
Event warmup:

Very short run, very short swim. We got there a little late, so that was all I had time for before the race started.
Swim
  • 31m 20s
  • 1931 meters
  • 01m 37s / 100 meters
Comments:

Pretty decent swim. Navigation was tough into the sun, so I just looked for heads and arms instead of the buoys. After that it was pretty smooth. Settled into my bi-lateral breathing to make sure I was going hard enough, but not too hard. Overall, pretty decent. Thought my time was a little faster, but maybe my watch got bumped at the start.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really, that felt pretty good.
Transition 1
  • 01m 52s
Comments:

Decent transition. Kind of took my time so that I could get some socks on. Otherwise, it was pretty quick, and even a little faster than I expected, so that was good.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Bike
  • 2h 39m
  • 56 miles
  • 21.13 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike felt pretty decent. Got into low Z3 a couple of times, but otherwise bounced around from low Z2 to high Z2. Took in the exact nutrition I had planned: 2 bottles of perpetuem, 1 clif bar, 2 electrolyte tabs, and a ton of water. The only downside was that I had to stop and pee twice, once at the very beginning of the second lap, and once at the very end of the second lap.
What would you do differently?:

I don't know right now. Given that I fell apart at the end of the run, maybe go easier, but during the race the pace never felt too hard, my lungs felt decent, and my legs did too. I was a little fatigued coming off the bike, but after riding 56 miles I don't think you're supposed to feel totally fresh, so I'm not thinking that was a problem. Tough one to figure.
Transition 2
  • 01m 42s
Comments:

Nice smooth T2, no problems.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 2h 00m 59s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

First lap was good. Looking at my splits, I was running around 8:20 pace for the first 5 miles. I walked through every aid station on the course, and took in water, gatorade, ice, whatever they would hand me throughout. The splits get a little confusing after that because they didn't have the course marked for mileage after 6 miles (which was extremely annoying). Around mile 8-9, I looked at my watch, still felt decent, and was starting to think that if things went well I was going to be right around or just barely over 5 hours. About 20 steps after that realization, I started to fall apart. The first problem, of many, was that my IT bands on both legs were screaming. Plus, I suddenly started feeling hot, tired, miserable, and altogether shitty. I had to walk up any inclines in the last 3 miles, and when I say I had to walk, it wasn't like a strategic decision to slow down to keep my HR low or anything like that. I mean I HAD to walk, my body simply wasn't going up the hill. I forced myself to run every step of the last mile, but my pace must have been in the 11-12 minute range. I have never hurt that much in my entire life or felt that miserable.
What would you do differently?:

I don't know, because I don't know what happened, I was just cooked at the end. I could come up with 50 possible explanations, but since none of them relate to nutrition, pacing, race effort, mental strength or overall decision making, they don't really amount to much that I can take away.
Post race
Warm down:

I was basically non-functional when I crossed the line. Yvonne came over and I couldn't talk for about the first 15 minutes after the race. I took in a bunch of water, then ate, then sat in the shade for a while and started to feel human again. By about 30 minutes after the race I was okay.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training. My running base simply isn't where it needs to be to hold a decent pace for 13 miles, so I don't have the muscular endurance to go that long at any kind of respectable pace. I was late coming up to speed building base after my knee surgery last fall, I have very few long runs, and nothing before this race over 12 miles (which was only 2 weeks ago). I've done some long bricks, but for the most part they were in the spring before race season. To add to all of that, my focus this summer was doing well at Nationals and the Boulder Peak, and the training was focused on getting me ready for those races. With only a little time to get ready for the 1/2, I just wasn't mentally or physically prepared for this race.

Nutrition wise, I had a plan and stuck to it precisely, so I don't think I bonked. I've been short on calories before, and that's not how this felt yesterday. I wasn't dehydrated. I peed in my wetsuit 2 minutes before the start, during the swim, twice on the bike, and once on the run, so dehydration could not have been a factor, if anything, stopping to pee that much was seriously annoying. Pacing? Well, it's easy to question my pacing now, but during the race I never felt like I was going too hard. Decision making? Nothing significant that I can recall.

Event comments:

Looking at my overall time, I can't say I'm all that disappointed. I basically expected to go somewhere between 5 and 5:30, and I was smack in the middle. Nevertheless, it's tough to feel good about a race where I wanted to vomit and then curl up and sleep with 4 miles left to run. Just felt aweful. However, it makes me want to train and get better at the endurance/pacing races for next season. Needless to say, I have a lot of room for improvement on my running.




Last updated: 2006-03-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:20 | 1931 meters | 01m 37s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/97
Overall: 92/798
Performance: Good
Suit: Sleeveless
Course: Rectangle, first leg into the sun.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:52
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:39:00 | 56 miles | 21.13 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/97
Overall: 198/798
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: 2 laps up to St. Vrain, over to 75th, and back to the Res.
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:42
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
02:00:59 | 13.1 miles | 09m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/97
Overall: 347/798
Performance: Bad
Course: 2 lap, dirt roads, couple of small hills.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4