AMICA Try Andy's Tri - TriathlonSprint


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Sugar Land, Texas
United States
Try Andy's Tri
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 10m 20s
Overall Rank = 330/850
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 50/69
Pre-race routine:

This was my first triathlon so the alarm goes off at 3:45 to allow me time to get lost and find my way. I had packed the night before so had gone through my checklist enough. At this point I just made sure I had my bike, helmet, goggles, timing chip, and shoes.

Made a peanut butter bagel and cut it into fourths to have up until race time.
Event warmup:

Parked with no problem (shouldn't be since I got there at 4:45). Followed some others to transition, found my spot, racked my bike and got set up.

Prayer and National Anthem was great.

Actual warmup: walked to the swim start, got in the water.

Breathing: check
Swim cap: check
Goggles not leaking: check
Swim
  • 06m 58s
  • 300 meters
  • 02m 19s / 100 meters
Comments:

Even though the time is slow - it's about what I was aiming for. The problem was that at about the 200m mark, I was gassed and got a big lung-full of lake water - which took a lot of the fight out of me. Swam the remaining 100m alternating between breast stroke and free-style (more breast stroke). The fact that I still swam under 7 minutes with roughly 100m of breast stroke tells me that I went out way too fast for the first 200m.

They're not kidding when they tell you to practice OWS's before your race.
What would you do differently?:

Go slower at the start, and find the time to practice open water.
Transition 1
  • 03m 27s
Comments:

This took a little more time than I would have liked, but I'll cut myself some slack since it was my first.

I walked a little since I was still gassed from the swim.

It took me longer than I wanted to wash all the dirt off my feet before I could put my shoes on.
What would you do differently?:

Be quicker getting to the bike and getting my stuff on.
Bike
  • 31m 33s
  • 10 miles
  • 19.02 mile/hr
Comments:

I was actually very happy with this time. I don't yet have a tri bike and I rode this on my Haro mountain bike. 19 mph was more than I'd been able to do in training. It was a mix of great weather, tapering, and adrenaline.

With my level of experience (only 12 weeks) with any real bike-specific training, this seems to be more than a reasonable expectation.
What would you do differently?:

For this race, I don't know what I could have done differently given my experience level.
Transition 2
  • 01m 15s
Comments:

No problem with transition since I was riding with my running shoes. Sprayed water on my head and took off.
What would you do differently?:

I'll need to get better racking my bike, sucking it up, and getting out of transition.
Run
  • 27m 4s
  • 3 miles
  • 09m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt a little sick at the first like I'd gone too hard on the bike, but my time was almost 30 seconds per mile faster than in training so I guess it's really just getting used to that feeling and working through it.

I ran down the finishing lane and saw my family about 50 m from the finish and it really made me smile.
What would you do differently?:

Try to relax a little more. I think there may have been a little more speed out there for me if I could have relaxed.
Post race
Warm down:

Got past the finish line, and a volunteer took my chip. I made my way around the crowd and found my 4-year old daughter who's first words were: "Yay, daddy!". Next words were: "Did you win?" Even though I certainly didn't win, it was great to have my family out to watch and support me.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'd have to say that my ability to perform faster was limited by my experience level more than anything else.

Event comments:

What a great race for a first timer. A lot of great volunteers and Andy put's on a first rate event. It was fantastic to get there early and see transition fill up with all the different bikes from 15 year old 10 speeds, mountain bikes, and $12k speedsters.

People were very friendly and were more than willing to offer any help. The spectator's area is also set up very well to allow you to see those that have come with you.

For those of you who do this race in the future, something I missed was that the shirts were uni-sex sizing, meaning they run a little small so choose your shirt size accordingly. That's not the race's fault, I just didn't know.

The 15 year old record got broken this year - 0:42:33.6 - wow!

I'll definitely be back next year!




Last updated: 2011-09-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:06:58 | 300 meters | 02m 19s / 100meters
Age Group: 37/69
Overall: 0/850
Performance: Below average
Suit: 2XU tri suit - no wet suit
Course: Straight swim
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Good Navigation: Average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:27
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
00:31:33 | 10 miles | 19.02 mile/hr
Age Group: 48/69
Overall: 0/850
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Loop
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:15
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:27:04 | 03 miles | 09m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 47/69
Overall: 0/850
Performance: Good
Course: 2 loop course
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5