Honolulu Triathlon - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Honolulu, Hawaii
United States
Honolulu Triathlon
84F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 23m 5s
Overall Rank = 102/705
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 16/65
Pre-race routine:

Battled a stomach virus/flu since Tuesday night. May have been from riding in the rain last Saturday or this past Tuesday. There were thunderstorms in the weeks leading up to the race, so God knows what type of bacteria/runoff was being sprayed in my face or on my water bottle tops.

Was planning to do light workouts Wednesday to Friday, but due to illness did not do anything at all. For a few hours Thursday, I did feel better, so I decided to take the bike out on a test ride with the race setup. After 3 miles, took a spill on some gravel trying to make a U turn and scraped up my palms and my left forearm. Bike is "okay", but shifters will need to be replaced, and the right aero bar is slightly bent.

Illness got really bad on Friday, and I was about 65% sure I would not race as there was point at 5pm in the afternoon (around 80 degrees) where I had to put on sweat pants, a long sleeved shirt, and curl up in a blanket to stop shivering...then 2 hours later I took everything off and was sweating.

Amazingly I felt better on Saturday. Still had not crapped anything solid since Tuesday afternoon, but no longer had the chills and did not have the urge to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes. So I went through with bike drop off and check in. Got a goods night sleep and actually felt really good race morning. Thank God I woke up though...because I didn't set my alarm correctly.

Got to the race site, and everything was normal from there. My original goal was to go balls to the wall and just see what I was capable off. Hoping for a sub 2:20 on a good day. Had no idea how the illness would play out though...honestly...goal #1 changed to "just don't shit your pants". Anything after that I would just have to see how my body would respond.
Event warmup:

Swam about 200 yards.
Swim
  • 29m 18s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 47s / 100 yards
Comments:

Got in the water and just swam. Drafted a little, but couldn't find that one set of feet to just follow. That and the people I did follow weren't swimming very straight...so I had to constantly switch my drafting targets. Also, since the water isn't very clear, I could barely even see the feet in front of me...I actually had to constantly sight to make sure the person I was drafting really was 2 feet in front of me.

Made the turn around in a little over 14 minutes...not great, but not that bad either. I knew though that I would need a perfect race from here on out to break 2:20.

Didn't draft as well on the way back, but 15ish minutes is not so bad considering the way back is slightly into what little current there is.

Shaved 2:59 of my time last year. Was hoping for a little better, but I know I didn't put in enough work to deserve it.
What would you do differently?:

Latch onto feet better. Swim more volume.
Transition 1
  • 01m 36s
Comments:

HR was pretty high coming out of the water and had to sort of jog into transition. Didn't help that the asphalt we had to run on is just horrible. Honestly...this race is so well run...but I may consider not doing this race simply because I don't want to run on that shit through transition. My bottom of my feet are the only thing hurting right now, and it's because of running on crappy asphalt. I'm literally hobbling around like I just ran a marathon because the bottom of my feet are bruised.

Other than that, cut a 49 seconds off last years T1, by doing away with socks,leaving shoes clipped into the bike, and just being more efficient. 9th fastest T1 in my division and T-37th overall.
What would you do differently?:

Swim with shoes on
Bike
  • 1h 03m 8s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 23.62 mile/hr
Comments:

Took me a while to get into my shoes once I jumped on the bike, but overall not bad considering it was the first time I did it in a race.

Once I got settle in though my body immediately would not respond to the wattage I wanted to put out. I was shooting for 240, but 210 felt like my heart was going to explode and I was over 180 bpm. My legs felt great, but overall my body couldn't handle it. I suppose my immune system fighting for 4.5 days is just as draining as 4.5 days of hard training.

The good thing is that my speed wasn't too bad. Holding about 23.5 mph going out with a slight tailwind at 195 watts wasn't too bad. At this point I totally ignored my wattage...it wasn't going to help me and I just focused on HR since it seemed to be my limiting factor. Just tried to keep it around 170.

Normally I blow by people during the first 10 miles of the bike, but since I couldn't, I effectively drafted people (legally) as I slowly picked them off. About 8 miles in, I found 2 guys that were riding my pace and we did a little 3 man rotation...again legally...well sort of. We were probably about 2 bike lengths apart at times...but we were each trying to stay legal as much as possible. We pretty much stayed together the last 15 miles. There was no communication, I don't think any of us were actively trying to "work together"...it's just what ended up happening.

Overall, not bad considering my wattage was over 50 watts below what I was shooting for. Course was only 23.7 miles according to my Garmin. So average pace of 22.6 mph. I'm pretty sure my PT was outputting correctly (189 avg, 197 normalized)...but God knows what I would have done if I pushed 240 watts.

3:56 improvement from last year. Actually wasn't hoping for that much better considering my power was off by about 50 watts of my goal. 1:02 was my goal, but I think the legal draft helped a lot...where last year I was just full steam ahead cutting my own wind the whole time.
What would you do differently?:

Not get sick.
Transition 2
  • 01m 8s
Comments:

Good transition. Efficient. Did I mention how running barefoot in on rough asphalt F#&%@# sucks? Garmin showed I was running a 8:19 pace over that crap. And while my dismount was beautiful...it hurt like shit.

4 seconds slower than last year...but I had a really good transition last year with a better rack spot. I call it a wash. T-7th fastest T2 in my division and T-43 overall.
What would you do differently?:

Bring 200 feet of carpet to lay from bike finish to my rack spot.
Run
  • 47m 58s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

Same issue on the run as with the bike. Legs wanted to go...but the cardio and HR wasn't there. I knew I would need a sub 45 minute run to break 2:20, and after my first mile split of 7:50, I knew I had no shot. Kind of took the wind out of my sail for a few miles as I sort of just trotted along. This is an area I'm going to have to work on. Being new to the sport, my first few races have been very successful (making my A goal in every race prior) because I only can go up. Improvements are harder to come by now, and I can't mentally pack it in just because I won't hit my A goal.

Now I will say that I was at my target HR...170's...but I think I could have pushed miles 3-5 harder just to see if I really would die.

Juices finally kicked in the last half mile or so and sprinted to the finish very strong. Another sign that my legs were not the issue. Once I was able to convince myself I could go anerobic the last 90 seconds, my legs took off.

2:52 improvement from last year. I was hoping to run sub 46, but not bad considering.
What would you do differently?:

Not get sick. Be mentally stronger to push a little more even though I know my A goal is out of reach.
Post race
Warm down:

Didn't feel nearly as tired after this race compared to last year. Part of it is improved fitness...part of it was my muscles never really got any lactic acid.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Getting sick...not pushing harder.

Event comments:

Despite being a sour puss about how this race went, I'm very pleased all things considered. I made my #1 goal, which was not to shit my pants...and honestly, I'm just glad I was well enough to even toe the line. I PR'd by over 10 minutes, and only missed my goal time by a little over 3 minutes. On a good day...pushing even 225 watts, and having a little more motivation on the run, I think sub 2:20 would have been a walk in the park.

Either way, the real goal is Honu. What I did learn is that I can sustain a pretty good speed at 180-190 watts...and that wattage goals may not be that important to having your best race for a given day. If I went strictly by wattage today...I would have blown up the bike by mile 10.




Last updated: 2011-01-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:18 | 1640 yards | 01m 47s / 100yards
Age Group: 36/65
Overall: 243/705
Performance: Average
Suit: Zoot 2 piece
Course: Simple out and back in the lagoon of Ala Moana. Slight current with you going out, and into the current coming back.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:36
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:03:08 | 24.85 miles | 23.62 mile/hr
Age Group: 10/65
Overall: 47/705
Performance: Average
Avg HR ~ 169 Avg Power ~ 189 Norm Power ~ 197
Wind: Some
Course: Ala Moana, out to Pearl Harbor entrance (via Nimitz) and back with a loop of Lagoon Drive
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 82
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 01:08
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:47:58 | 06.21 miles | 07m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 32/65
Overall: 223/705
Performance: Average
Avg HR ~ 174
Course: Out from Ala Moana in and around Kakaako, in and around Kewalo Basin, back to Ala Moana with a loop of Magic Island.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4